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Association & Industry News
NRMCA is seeking submissions for its newest award, the Shydlowski-Turner Materials Leadership Award, established by the Materials Division to recognize and honor an individual that is a materials supplier to the ready mixed concrete industry and supports the initiatives and activities of the NRMCA. The award is named in honor of L. Michael Shydlowski and Robert P. Turner, who both served as past chairman of the Materials Division. L. Michael Shydlowski spent 35 years in the concrete industry and retired in 2007 after serving as president of Master Builders/BASF Admixtures for over 11 years. Robert P. Turner spent his 34-year career with W.R. Grace and retired as vice president/general manager of W.R. Grace’s Global Construction Chemicals business in 1999. Both were very supportive of NRMCA, the RMC 2000 initiative and the RMC Research & Education Foundation. Candidates for the award must be a current or former employee of a NRMCA Materials Division member company. Click here for submission guidelines and nomination form. Completed nominations should be forwarded to Brett Ruffing, senior vice president, membership, by e-mail at bruffing@nrmca.org or mail to 66 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 250, Alexandria, VA 22314. The deadline for submittal is Friday, January 17, 2020. 
Buildings
The Design Assistance Program (DAP) reports, offered free of charge by BWS, support the heavy interest from across the U.S. in concrete construction. Multiple leads developed at the conference include projects in every region of the U.S. BWS DAP reports compare various building systems with side by side comparisons of available regional first costs, operating and related expenses. As interest in concrete as the building material of choice for low- and mid-rise structures continues to increase, BWS provides resources and support to local development teams interested to convert their projects to ready mixed concrete. For more information, contact Michael Wymant, Patrick Matsche or Doug O’Neill. 
Government Affairs
A week ago, the 2018-2019 Developing Industry Leaders Government (DIL) Affairs Group traveled to Washington to meet with Members of Congress and staff about the importance of resilient utilities and critical infrastructure. The group's project involved the threat to utilities from natural disasters and homeland security concerns and developed recommendations on how to best protect against these threats – a problem that has concrete-intensive solutions. The group shared these findings with three Members of Congress, Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Scott Tipton (R-CO) and Derek Kilmer (D-WA). In addition, the group met with staff from two Members of Congress who serve on the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Innovation Subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee: Reps. Kathleen Rice (D-NY) and John Joyce (R-PA) as well as staff from the office Rep. Jimmy Gomez. You can find the group’s two-page report here and the one-pager they provided to Congressional offices here. In addition to presenting information both on the threat and recommendations to secure utilities, the group prepared district-specific maps detailing critical infrastructure points of interest, connecting the general problem to the members’ home districts. The response from both Members of Congress and staff was positive, with both members and staff indicating an understanding of the need to enhance the security of utilities and critical infrastructure and expressing interest in working with NRCMA in future reauthorizations or appropriations legislation. The DIL group included David Brenner (Sika US), Holly Martin (United Companies/CRH), Mandie Perez (Central Concrete/US Concrete) and Ryan Ransavage (Miles Stone and Gravel). Also part of the group but unable to attend the Hill day was Dan Beskar (GCP Applied Technologies). For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. Working in continued cooperation with the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), NRMCA’s Government Affairs team is active on Capitol Hill lobbying against an anti-business legislative package titled the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. This legislation not only brings back card check, but also includes the joint employer standard, the persuader rule and a number of other labor provisions NRMCA has opposed in the past. You can read an opinion column about the PRO Act here, and visit the CDW’s site and fact sheets on the PRO Act here. This legislation would dramatically tilt the landscape in favor of unions and make it much harder for companies to oppose unionization efforts or even communicate with employees; in many instances forcing companies to provide employee information to organizers and disclose any legal advice received in connection with their response to the organization effort. CDW has issued a call for pro-business groups such as NRMCA to contact their Members of Congress. Click here to visit the CDW’s grassroots portal and let your representatives and senators know that you oppose the PRO Act. While the legislation will not pass in a Republican Senate, it is critical for House members of both parties to hear from the business community about the devastating effects of these policies on commerce and employment. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. The North American Concrete Alliance recently hosted Massachusetts of Technology researcher Jeremy Gregory, the lead scientist at the Concrete Sustainability Hub, for a briefing on the impacts and policy implications of the emissions connected to the manufacture of cement and concrete. Dr. Gregory’s research and testimony before both the House Energy and Commerce Committee (testimony here) and the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis (testimony here) is laying the foundation for NRMCA and PCA to have conversations with Congressional offices about the challenges of manufacturing our product as well as the opportunities for research and innovation, both around the manufacturing but also around the importance of building with resilience and energy efficient building systems such as Insulating Concrete Forms. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. NRMCA is accepting entries for its 2020 Kids' Art Contest, sponsored by the Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau. The theme for this year’s contest is “Safety.” The contest is open to children up to Grade 12 who have a relationship to an NRMCA member.
Winners in each category will be announced at NRMCA’s 2020 Annual Convention, March 10-14, in Las Vegas. Images of the winning entries will be used later in the year to create a 2021 NRMCA calendar and winners and the sponsoring members will receive a free copy of the calendar. Selected entries will be displayed at NRMCA’s Annual Convention. NRMCA reserves the right to copy and modify any entry for reproduction. Entries will not be returned and may be used for future promotional opportunities. Entries must be postmarked no later than December 31, 2019 and should be mailed or delivered to:
SEO
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has scheduled multiple Webinars to help educate stakeholders for the January 6, 2020 requirement for all commercial motor vehicle carriers to be registered with the new FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. The Webinars will cover requirements for clearinghouse substance abuse professionals, medical review officers, clearinghouse employers, consortia/third-party administrators and CDL drivers. The Webinars will be held December 5/January 22 and December 10/January 23, respectively. Click here for more information on the clearinghouse, including requirements, factsheets, query pricing schedules, frequently asked questions and more please. Click here to access the Webinars. For more information, contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org. NRMCA's free How To Become A Green-Star Auditor Webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, December 3, from 10 to 11 a.m. Eastern time. This is a required Webinar to be an Accredited Green-Star Auditor. This Webinar explains the educational and work experience needed to be an Accredited Green-Star Auditor along with the continuing educational requirements to keep the certification. The Accredited Green-Star Auditor certification is valid for three years at which time the auditor must reapply. A few handy templates are covered to assist the company in starting Green-Star. At the conclusion of the Webinar, the attendee will understand the requirements to be an accredited Green-Star Auditor and the expectations that accompany certification. Click here to register or for more information. You may also contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org. 
Pavement
 NRMCA and the Utah Ready Mixed Concrete Association (URMCA) recently joined forces to create a presence at the 2019 UDOT Annual Conference. URMCA sponsored Jay Goldbaum, senior engineer, RockSol Consulting Group, to discuss history of concrete overlays over asphalt in Colorado. Goldbaum (shown here addressing a workshop) was the pavement manager at the Colorado Department of Transportation and was instrumental in the adoption of concrete overlays in the state. His presentation attracted over 150 attendees; more than 2,200 attendees involved in the transportation industry attended the conference overall. For more information, contact Don Clem, dclem@nrmca.org. NRMCA’s paving engineers Amanda Hult and Ken Justice will join the Florida Concrete & Products Association on Wednesday, December 4, in Jacksonville for a pervious concrete seminar. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. followed by the seminar program at 8 a.m. Lunch will be provided followed by a live demonstration of pervious concrete placement. Contractors desiring to become NRMCA Pervious Certified should come prepared to work during the live demonstration. FC&PA will administer the written exam after the demonstration. Click here for additional information on the seminar and to register. The Vermont Department of Transportation recently invited Luke McHugh, NRMCA senior director, local paving, Jon Kuell of the Northern New England Concrete Association, Bill Cuerdon of the New York chapter of the American Concrete Pavement Association and Mike Praul of FHWA to discuss the benefits of concrete pavement and the concept of performance engineered mixes (PEM) before more than 50 state personnel and consultants. They discussed the use of performance specifications and the impact of construction contract process and oversight; national PEM activities, what FHWA can provide should Vermont choose to move ahead with concrete pavement projects, concrete intersections and roundabouts, concrete pavement overlays, concrete pavement repair, introduction to NRMCA’s PaveAhead program, the Design Assistance Program (DAP) and PavementDesigner.org. For more information, contact Luke McHugh at lmchugh@nrmca.org. 
Business Advancement
NRMCA’s once-a-year Dispatcher Training Forum will be held January 28-30 in Orlando, FL. Schedulers and dispatchers work for three days learning how to make the order flow system seamless and productive in your company. Key skills covered are: • ASTM-C94 and other technical knowledge that assure the order’s materials are correct; • The plant’s production system as well as Drivers’ Hours of Service that impact efficient delivery timing; • Properly handling of technical, practical and customer service issues; • Juggling priority customers, advance notices, callbacks, plant managers’ and sales reps’ demands; • Managing stress, building phone skills and using peer relationships; and • Dealing with the gazillions of details that can stifle the system’s flow and the bottom line. Click here for information, staff contact and registration options. What are your plant managers and operators doing in the dead of winter? When the pace slows down, it’s a perfect time to support their career development - and your staff retention - through NRMCA’s Plant Manager Certification class. Reality is the more skills your folks have, the better they handle the myriad of daily challenges they encounter and, as a result, they are happier and more than likely to see the job as a career within your company. Firm up your “institutional knowledge” through NRMCA’s Plant Manager Certification class. The 2020 classes throughout the U.S. are open for registration: • Miami, February 25-28 • Boston, March 24-27 • New Orleans, April 28 - May 1 • Phoenix, December 15-18. Click here for information, including staff contact and registration options. 2020 January 14 – 16, Des Moines, IA January 14 – 16, Nashville, TN January 21 – 24, Cincinnati *Sold Out January 28 – 30, Orlando, FL January 28 – 30, Dallas February 25 – 28, Miami March 7 – 9, Las Vegas March 10 – 14, Las Vegas March 17 – 19, Dallas March 24 – 27, Boston April 28 – May 01, New Orleans, LA September 27 – 29, Aurora, CO December 15 – 18, Phoenix 
Calendar
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. December 3, Denver December 3, Webinar December 10, Hagerstown, MD December 10 – 13, Orlando, FL *Sold Out December 17 – 19, Dallas |
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The Design-Build Conference & Expo 2019 recently concluded in Las Vegas; it is the largest annual national gathering for the design-build community. NRMCA’s 
URMCA also sponsored a booth at the conference under the direction of Executive Director Brad Stevenson which featured NRMCA literature and videos promoting ready mixed concrete. (Shown here are, from left, Stevenson, Darin Davis, director of quality – Southern Division, Altaview Concrete; Scott Tisor, sales, Altaview Concrete; Tony Davies, commercial sales, Altaview Concrete and Goldbaum.)