Pacific Coast Chapter Awards Four Scholarships
December 3, 2019
December 2, 2019: The PDCA of the Pacific Coast Chapter awarded four $1,500 scholarships this year to the following students:
Seth Myhre A project engineer at Shimmick for the past three years, Myhre is studying for a degree in mechanical engineering at California State Chico with a GPA of 3.2.
Sam Follett, P.E. An engineer at Foundation Constructors Inc., Follet is returning to school to get his Masters in geotechnical engineering. In his essay, he says, "My experience working with a deep foundation contractor and my future graduate degree will allow me to design piles that are constructible. I understand the limitations that are presented by site conditions (soil, access, permitting) and necessary equipment to install various types of piles. I will be able to make sure that owners are able to pick foundation options that actually make sense. I will also be able to explain the benefits to owners that come with pile driving compared to other foundation options, such as increased material quality control, the ease of pile testing and ability to test increased amounts of piles at a time, and the schedule benefits compared to other foundation types."
Erick Medina A full-time college student at Sacramento State University pursing a degree in Construction Management, Medina is in his first year at Sac State. He earned a GPA of 3.3. One of Medina's goals is to be the first person in his family to earn a four-year college degree. He is a hard worker and has learned that teamwork in the workplace is one of the keys to success.
Russell "Teddy" Bruin One of the 2018 recipients of a PDCA scholarship, Bruin says he appreciated the support provided last year. He successfully completed his first year at Loyola University Chicago, where he is still pursuing a degree in environmental science. He was involved in several extracurricular collegiate activities along with having a solid academic year.
Sam Follett, P.E.
Seth Myhre
Erick Medina
New Chapter launched at The PDCA Florida Georgia Blitz
October 31, 2019PDCA Announces Northeast Florida Chapter Formation
Jacksonville, FL (10/31/2019): The new Northeast Florida Chapter of the Pile Driving Contractors Association is planning its first formal meeting scheduled for February 7th, 2020. The event will be a luncheon (11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) at the Aloft Jacksonville Tapestry Park hotel (4812 Deer Lake Drive West); and in addition to discussion about the new Chapter formation, it will include a business-oriented program designed to benefit practitioners in the deep foundations industry. Pile driving contractors, geotechnical and structural engineers, and equipment suppliers and manufactures are encouraged to attend. This luncheon will require a nominal registration cost to attendees for the lunch.
The Northeast Florida Chapter initiative was introduced in Jacksonville during an October 30th social event hosted by PDCA for organization members and prospective members from throughout Florida and Georgia. Named The Florida-Georgia Blitz, It was held during Jacksonville's Florida-Georgia Week that precedes the annual rivalry college football game. Attendees were provided heavy hors d'oeuvres and an open bar at no cost, thanks to event sponsors CZM Foundation Equipment, Bridgestone HosePower, Nucor Skyline and USI Insurance. A notable attendee from USI was former Florida Gator inside linebacker Jason Wozniak who played under famed-coach Steve Spurrier in the early 1990's. Following an hour of social and networking time, the 45 people in attendance heard a brief program explaining the efforts toward local Chapter organization; this was welcome news to many in the local pile driving industry who were at the event.
If you are a Member of PDCA in the Northeast Florida region, or if you are a practitioner in deep foundation construction in this area, you are encouraged to Save the Date of February 7th, 2020 and plan to attend the inaugural meeting. Please contact PDCA at (904) 215-4771 or by email at info@piledrivers.org if you would like to join the mailing list for information about The PDCA Northeast Florida Chapter. PDCA looks forward to supporting its newest Northeast Florida Chapter.
ih
Capacity Attendance at Gulf Coast Chapter's Engineers Conference
October 25, 2019More than 110 practitioners in the deep foundations industry gathered in Prairieville, Louisiana on October 24th for a comprehensive, day-long professional development event designed to educate attendees on some of the newest and best practices for driven pile installations. The PDCA of the Gulf Coast organized the event, chaired by contractor member Michael Kelly, which the Chapter offers to educate professionals in the region every other year on the driven pile. All participants who completed the seminar were awarded 7 Professional Development Hours.
The 2019 PDCA Engineers Conference was co-sponsored by PDCA of the Gulf Coast and Nucor Skyline and consisted of seven different presentations. PDCA of the Gulf Coast Chapter President Travis Schonacher from Sealevel Construction opened and closed the program. The following agenda is a list of each presentation and session sponsor in the order they were provided to attendees:
Breakfast - Sponsored by PDCA
Vibration Monitoring Protocol per Purple Book by Joubert Harris, MS - LADOTD
Sponsored by Southern Earth Sciences
Experimental Study of Driven Pile Set-Up in Soft Clays by Chad Held, P.E. - Eustis Engineering
Sponsored by GRL Engineers
Efficient Structural Design of Precast Concrete Piles by John C. Ryan, Ph.D., PE - Ryan Structural Engineers, LLC
Sponsored by American Piledriving Equipment
Advanced Measurements/Pile Layout by Joey Coco, PE MBA - Forte & Tablada, Inc.
Sponsored by Sealevel Construction, Inc.
Lunch - Sponsored by LB Foster Company
Steel Coating and Application to Steel Piles by Marty Hall - Yellow Creek Coating Services
Sponsored by PDCA
Preserving Wood Pilings by Tim Carey - Lonza Group AG
Sponsored by Desoto Treated Materials
LAPELS Professionalism and Ethics by William Hyatt - LAPELS Board Investigator
Sponsored by Mississippi River Equipment
PDCA of the Gulf Coast Chapter thanks all attendees for participating in this highly successful event. The next gathering of the Chapter will be November 14th when it hosts its Fourth Quarter Dinner Meeting at Messina's in Kenner, LA.
Gulf Coast Presents Free Engineering Seminar October 24th
August 15, 2019The Pile Driving Contractors Association of the Gulf Coast has announced that it will be conducting the "PDCA Engineers Conference" on October 24, 2019 at Parc 73 in Prairieville, LA. The day-long event begins READ MORE
South Carolina Chapter Board Seats Available
August 9, 2019
(Charleston, SC): The nomination process is now open as the PDCA South Carolina Chapter works to fill vacancies on its Board of Directors for the calendar year 2020. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Chapter President John King to learn how to obtain a seat on this voluntary, yet critical leadership position within the local pile driving industry. All 65 attendees at the Chapter's 3rd Quarter Dinner Meeting were made aware of the openings and asked to consider an elevated level of participation.
This was the 64th consecutive quarterly meeting, as noted by [PLEASE VISIT WEBPAGE TO FINISH READING: http://www.piledrivers.org/chapters/south-carolina/south-carolina-chapter-news/ ]
