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Association & Industry News
Each year, NRMCA reviews candidates to serve on its Board of Directors. The Nominating Committee will review all submissions during its meeting this fall and will determine the slate of Board nominees and state association representatives to be presented to the membership during the Annual Business Meeting next March. The Nominating Committee encourages nominations from diverse backgrounds to ensure the Board of Directors is reflective of the Association’s membership. The basic requirements, in addition to a willingness to be an active and engaged participant, stipulate that each candidate must be committed to promoting NRMCA programs and working in the best interest of its membership and the industry while operating in accordance with NRMCA’s Strategic Plan and Vision 2030 objectives. The Board provides strategic direction, fiduciary oversight and governance of the organization’s operations. Employees of NRMCA Producer members in good standing are eligible to serve. Click here to review the NRMCA Board Job Description. To nominate a candidate, please complete and submit this form to Heather Houck. Self-nominations are accepted. The deadline for nominations is Friday, July 26. 
Engineering
Twenty industry personnel attended the NRMCA Concrete Durability Course held earlier this month in Milwaukee. The course was taught by Kevin Folliard of the University of Texas at Austin, Anton Schindler with Auburn University and NRMCA's Colin Lobo. Attendees provided good reviews for the administration and content of this offering. The results of the certification exam are being sent to attendees. The exam was attempted by 19 and 12 passed the exam for a pass percentage of 63%. NRMCA Concrete Technologist Level 4 Certification was awarded to 5 individuals. Level 4 Certification is awarded to those who have the NRMCA Concrete Technologist Level 2 and 3 Certifications obtained at the NRMCA Technical Short Course. Congratulations to all who attended the course and to those passed the exam and obtained this industry-recognized certification. Sean Clarey with Riv/Crete Ready Mix in Milwaukee and Ben Longmire with Haas Sons, Inc. in Eau Claire, WI, are congratulated for obtaining the highest score of 96% on the exam. The next NRMCA Concrete Durability Course will be scheduled as an in-person offering, likely in November. Location and dates will be finalized soon. Contact Colin Lobo for more information. 
Earlier this month, Build With Strength Director, Building Innovations, Justin McCain met with structural engineers, architects and Houston Airports to promote concrete. The emphasis of the trip was how firms can achieve their sustainability goals through consistent specifications and partnering with ready mix producers early in the design process. Meetings were held with the following organizations:
The Skate4Concrete project is a multifaceted, recruitment and community relations program that connects the skateboarding community with the concrete industry. In its latest edition of Spotlight, the Concrete Advancement Foundation provided links to a variety of resources related to the Skate4Concrete project, particularly one of its most successful elements: the concrete certification that is being taught in more and more schools as educators become aware of this new certification opportunity. The Concrete Certification Handbook may be viewed here. To help spread the word about this growing program, please download, post and distribute the Foundation’s Skate4Concrete flier and encourage others to do so. The industry has a tremendous opportunity to elevate the next generation’s interest in concrete and bring them into the fold early with this exciting project! For more information on the work of the Concrete Advancement Foundation, please contact President Julia Garbini or Vice President Jennifer LeFevre. 
Buildings
Recently, Build With Strength Senior Director, Building Innovations, Patrick Matsche presented to the Washington Aggregates and Concrete Association and American Concrete Institute's Washington chapter on how companies can achieve their sustainability goals through consistent performance-based specifications and partnering with ready mix producers early in the design process. Matsche cited the Concrete Innovation Award winners in Washington State, including the Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance, Hubbard’s Corner, Seattle and Habitat for Humanity, Tacoma/Pierce County, WA, as prime examples of his presentation.
 On May 15, NRMCA, the Pennsylvania Aggregate & Concrete Association (PACA) and Nudura Insulated Concrete Forms teamed up to present the Low Carbon Concrete Symposium at Toftrees Golf Resort in State College, PA. The event focused on innovative approaches that fortify structures against disasters while promoting energy independence. Some 65 attendees learned more about resilient building design, explored integration of zero energy and resilient construction methods for sustainable communities.
NRMCA Senior Vice President, Local Paving, Phil Kresge recently spoke at the Spring Technical Seminar of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Central Ohio Section. His presentation, Design and Construction of Concrete Roundabouts, was well received; he fielded several questions during a break in the agenda. The invitation to participate was facilitated by Ohio Concrete Association’s (OCA) Central/Southwest Promotion Director Lisa Weaver-Moon. “Ohio ranks 10th among the 50 states for total number of roundabouts with over 400 currently in use,” Kresge. said. “With a large number of projects expected to be completed across the state over the next few years, now is the time for our industry to work closely with state, county and municipal officials, and engineers to influence their pavement selections.” For more information, contact Phil Kresge at pkresge@nrmca.org. 
Pavement
NRMCA Senior Director, Local Paving, Amanda Hult recently traveled to Sarasota, FL, to present Designing Concrete Parking Lots to engineers in the local office of BGE, Inc. Hult helped the group evaluate low and medium volume parking lots and industrial facilities using the American Concrete Institute’s 330 design documents and NRMCA's PavementDesigner.org software. Throughout much of 2024, Hult has also been working with BGE, Inc’s Jacksonville, FL, office on several projects after presenting Designing Concrete Parking Lots. The Engineer of Record told her that a revised pavement design submitted through the Design Assistance Program (DAP) was accepted for one of the projects. Contact Amanda Hult if you would like to submit a project for design review or would like to schedule a presentation on concrete pavement design. NRMCA Senior Vice President, Technical Services, Karthik Obla attended Transforming Industry: Strategies for Decarbonization, a workshop hosted last week by the Department of Energy (DOE) in Washington, D.C. The workshop aimed to identify cost-effective and industry-specific strategic pathways to achieve a thriving U.S. industrial sector with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. More than 100 participants from several industries, including cement and concrete, attended the workshop. Breakout sessions focused on challenges and solutions around various topics such as creating demand and increasing the supply of low-carbon ingredient materials and concrete; the need for performance-based specifications; education needs of various stakeholders; incentives and carbon-capture utilization and storage (CCUS). Short- and long-term solutions were discussed. DOE seeks comments on this topic by June 10; they can be submitted here. NRMCA and the Concrete Promotional Group is presenting the one-day course Improving Concrete Quality, intended for concrete producers, ingredient material suppliers, engineers and testing labs, on September 25 in Lenexa, KS. Improved concrete quality can benefit all stakeholders in a concrete construction project. This course will address the following questions:
Calendar
Please note that e-mail and direct registration links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's website. June 24 - 25, Indianapolis September 9 - 13, Baltimore September 10 - 12, Sacramento, CA September 25, Lenexa, KS October 10 - 14, Denver October 15 - 18, Denver December 3 - 5, Orlando, FL December 10 - 13, Charleston, SC *Sold Out December 10 - 12, Denver 
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