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Association & Industry News
Early bird registration for NRMCA’s 2023 Annual Convention, scheduled for March 10-13 at the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas Hotel, ends at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time this Friday, January 13. The convention is the venue to explore industry trends and network with your peers. It's co-located with the Portland Cement Association and the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association’s 2023 annual conventions; special discount pricing is available to those who are members of all three associations. In addition, these events immediately precede the CONEXPO-CON/AGG Show and convention attendees receive significant discounts on show registration and seminar tickets when they register for the show at the same time via the link listed on our registration website. Click here to access event registration and more information on the convention itself. For more information, please contact Senior Director of Meetings Jessica Walgenbach at 703-706-4852. NRMCA’s Concrete Cares Award celebrates Producer members’ dedication to supporting their local communities through a wide range of charitable endeavors. If your ready mix company gives back to your community, please let us know. Winning companies receive a donation to the nonprofit organization of their choice and NRMCA will also feature your work on NRMCA social media outlets throughout 2023. The deadline for submissions is Monday, January 23. Click here for more information and to access the nomination form. You may nominate your own or another company. For more information, contact Alex Land at aland@nrmca.org. The NRMCA Materials Division is still welcoming nominations for the annual Shydlowski-Turner Materials Leadership Award. Named in honor of L. Michael Shydlowski and Robert P. Turner, the award was created to recognize a current or former employee of an NRMCA Materials Division member company who exemplifies leadership, commitment and support for the ready mixed concrete industry and the initiatives and activities of NRMCA. The winner will be honored during the awards ceremony at the 2023 NRMCA Annual Convention in March in Las Vegas. The deadline to nominate a valued partner or colleague is Monday, January 23. Click here for more information, including background on Mr. Shydlowski and Mr. Turner. You may also contact Amanda Muller at amuller@nrmca.org.
NRMCA, along with Build With Strength and Pave Ahead, are excited to announce the inaugural Concrete Innovations Award Program which recognizes outstanding achievement in concrete manufacturing, design and construction. People, companies, products and projects that demonstrate outstanding performance in concrete manufacturing, research, design and construction are rewarded for their achievements in helping improve concrete performance while lowering environmental impacts, including embodied and operational carbon footprint. Winners will be announced at a ceremony on March 14 in Las Vegas during CONEXPO-CON/AGG.
Sponsorship opportunities for NRMCA’s upcoming Annual Convention being held March 10 -13 in Las Vegas are still available. Member companies have the opportunity to sponsor the overall convention and registration kiosks and have a full page advertisement in the convention program along with several other brand recognition opportunities that still remain. Additionally, sponsorship opportunities are available for our fall event, ConcreteWorks Conference and Expo and the National Truck Mixer Driver Championship. You can find these specific sponsorship opportunities here. Sponsorship opportunities are limited and sold on a first-come, first-serve basis so act now to join the growing list of members who support NRMCA through annual sponsorship. For more information, contact Jacques Jenkins at 703-706-4865 or jjenkins@nrmca.org. NRMCA is currently accepting applications for the position of director, sustainability codes and standards. The successful candidate will join our dynamic team of professionals to advocate for concrete in national, state and local green building codes and standards to ensure a pathway for the adoption of innovative products that help reduce concrete’s environmental impacts. He/she/they will also provide technical support to NRMCA members and state affiliates regarding green building codes and standards, including but not limited to LEED, Green Globes and the International Green Construction Code. A bachelor’s degree in engineering, architecture, construction management, environmental science or related field is required; advanced degree is a plus. Minimum five years’ experience working with green building standards is required and a working knowledge of environmental life cycle assessment and energy analysis is a plus. This position requires significant travel (25%). The candidate will work from a home office located reasonably close to a major airport in the United States. Click here for more information along with a link to apply. The 2023 Concrete Industry Management (CIM) Program fundraising auction will be held next week, Wednesday, January 18, in Las Vegas, NV, and you can support the program while buying great items whether you are at the event or at home! Once again, there are items for everyone – many of which are ready mix specific (Mack/McNeilus mixer truck, Peterbilt/Con-Tech mixer truck, loads of cement from nearly all manufacturers nationwide, fly ash, aggregates, plant and truck equipment, and more).
Buildings
An article titled EPDs are Key to Concrete’s Sustainable Future authored by Don Clem, PE, NRMCA vice president, local paving, and Matthew Lemay, NRMCA manager, codes and sustainability programs, was recently posted on the American Public Works Association's (APWA) Education and Credentialing Blog. APWA serves professionals in all aspects of public works throughout North America with a worldwide membership of more than 30,000. Clem, who is a longtime member of the association, serves on the APWA Sustainability Transportation Subcommittee chaired by Freeman “Fritz” Anthony, PE, City of Bellingham Public Works. For more information, contact Don Clem at dclem@nrmca.org. MIT CSHub principal investigator Admir Masic along with an international team of researchers from Harvard University and laboratories in Italy and Switzerland have been collaborating to study ancient Roman concrete to uncover the secrets of its longlasting durability. On January 6, the team published its breakthrough findings in the journal Science Advances where they revealed ancient concrete-manufacturing strategies that incorporated several key self-healing functionalities. (Click here to read a summary of the research findings in the MIT news release which has been picked up by many major news outlets in recent days.) Understanding these strategies can be the key to producing highly durable, resilient and sustainable modern concrete mixtures as the industry strives toward carbon neutrality. This research has inspired the idea of using carbonates to store CO2 in concrete; one of the MIT CSHub’s current projects underway with Masic is investigating that topic. Click here to learn more about the MIT CSHub’s current research portfolio or contact RMC Research & Education Foundation Executive Director Julie Garbini at jgarbini@rmc-foundation.org. The RMC Research & Education Foundation sponsors the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub.
The RMC Research & Education Foundation (RMCREF) has commissioned MIT to take a systemic look at the role of a Concrete Delivery Professional (CDP) and how it can potentially be reshaped to better recruit and retain individuals as well as at how technological advances in the industry can be leveraged to potentially reduce the shortage overall. The MIT researchers are working closely with RMCREF and NRMCA personnel and committees to use all previous survey information and other industry resources to inform their work. They are also evaluating external sources of driver and workforce data from related industries and are conducting interviews with a variety of stakeholders, including equipment and systems manufacturers, contractors and other interested parties in the concrete construction value chain. However, the MIT researchers do still want more feedback from CDPs themselves. They are requesting the industry’s help in distributing a flyer to CDPs for participation in a survey and alerting them to the chance to win $500 in a drawing that will take place on January 31. The flyer can be put in your breakrooms and/or distributed electronically. For more information on the research study, contact RMC Research & Education Foundation Executive Director Julie Garbini at jgarbini@rmc-foundation.org. Findings and recommendations from the study are anticipated later this year. NRMCA and RMCREF are collaborating on a variety of projects to address CDP and workforce-related issues. Look for lots of exciting new resources coming soon. Government Affairs
On Tuesday, January 3, NRMCA’s Government Affairs team was on Capitol Hill visiting congressional offices as the 118th Congress convened. NRMCA staff welcomed incoming members and their staffs, and visited with returning members and staff in both the House and Senate. Later that day, the House of Representatives met for what would become the first of four days and 15 rounds of voting before Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was elected Speaker of the House. On Monday, January 9, the House adopted the Rules of the 118th Congress and considered legislation to rescind Internal Revenue Service funding to hire additional enforcement agents, kicking off the new Republican majority’s legislative agenda. NRMCA’s Government Affairs team looks forward to working with the new Republican majority on pro-business, pro-concrete legislation. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. SEO
For years, NRMCA's Safety Contest & Benchmarking Survey has been a safety performance and incentive/award program aimed to foster safe practices at ready mixed concrete plants across the nation. The 2023 survey is a per-plant contest open to facilities operated by NRMCA member companies in good standing in 2022. Companies with more than one division are encouraged to distribute entry blanks to individuals responsible for keeping safety records at each plant location. Entries must be e-mailed to safetycontest@nrmca.org by Friday, April 7. Click here for more information on, and to download the entry form. The staff contact is Gary Mullings.
NRMCA's Effective RMC Supervisor Course returns to the West Coast from April 18 - 20 with the class being held near the Los Angeles airport. It is expected to sell out so do not delay registering. Why should your frontline supervisors attend? Those who understand their own strengths, weaknesses, biases and working styles are better equipped to influence and interact effectively with their team – and colleagues – who can have different working styles and personalities. As a result, the content includes industry-specific, hands-on situational exercises that develop solid communication skills, team building know-how and use conflict resolution procedures. Click here for registration options and more information. The staff contact is Eileen Dickson. 
Business Advancement
The last two Certified Concrete Sales Professional (CCSP) modules will be held in Dallas; both are still open for registration. • Module 3: RMC Business Knowledge, February 14-16 - Content is an overview of critical business concepts used in the RMC business, focusing on job cost analysis. Assure your reps know the factors to price a job profitably without solely relying on a plug-and-chug software program. • Module 4: Professional Sales Skills and Promotion, March 28-30 - Mid-level staff learn to apply Each class stands alone so it does NOT have to be taken consecutively or collectively. Additionally, these are required courses in the STEPS® Sales and Promotion certification program where those in the field earn the For more information, please contact Jeffrey Bowers at 703-706-4835 or by e-mail, jbowers@nrmca.org. Calendar
Please note that e-mail and direct registration links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's website. January 24 - 27, Charlotte, NC *Sold Out January 24 - 27, Manchester, NH February 6 - 10, Orlando, FL *Sold Out February 14 - 16, Dallas February 21 - 23, Nashville, TN March 10 - 13, Las Vegas, NV March 14 - 18, Las Vegas, NV March 21 - 23, Nashville, TN March 21 - 24, Columbus, OH *Sold Out March 28 - 30, Dallas April 18 - 20, Nashville, TN April 18 - 20, Oklahoma City April 18 - 20, Los Angeles April 25 - 27, Manchester, NH May 23 - 25, Manchester, NH June 20 - 22, Manchester, NH September 29 - October 3, Nashville, TN November 7 - 9, Charlotte, NC 
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