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A Pile of News - February 2022
February 1, 2022Coronavirus Safety Best Practices
January 31, 2022
Coronavirus Safety Best Practices
PDCA members could be our best resource to determine what is working on the jobsite and in the office to combat the potential spread of the COVID 19 virus.
Please take the time to list your Coronavirus Safety Best Practices and post them to this blog. We are hoping this will serve as a resource for all PDCA members.
This blog is intended to provide PDCA members an opportunity to share their thoughts with their fellow members and is NOT intended to provide legal advice or serve as a fiinal source. In all cases where safety is involved employers must use their best efforts to provide for the safety and health of their employees.
Thank you for your interest and support. Please contact the PDCA office if you need any assistance.
New Texas Chapter Receives Board Welcome, Sets 2/24 Event in Houston
January 27, 2022
A new PDCA chapter is now serving the local pile driving industry in Texas and will gather for a networking event in late February. In a letter to the locally elected leadership of the group, PDCA President Brian Heck reported that their request to affiliate as a PDCA chapter "was reviewed and unanimously approved by the PDCA Board of Directors" during its January Strategic Planning meeting.
Heck continued; "we are extremely impressed by your hard work and want to congratulate you again for accepting the responsibility to organize the PDCA of Texas." The formal communication completed several months of work by contractors, suppliers, manufacturers and engineers in Houston and beyond who pursued establishment of a formal presence for PDCA in the region. A Texas Chapter has not been available for local member engagement for several years.
As previously reported, four individuals have come forward to voluntarily serve as Texas Chapter leadership, they include:
- President: Brandon Bicknell, Russell Marine LLC. Brandon is a veteran contractor in the Houston region who joined Russell Marine as VP in 2019. Effective December 2021, he was promoted to President of the company.
- Vice president: Condon Verble, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. Condon has spent 20 years in the pile driving industry where he has been a General Superintendent. He assumed this role at McCarthy in 2019 and works in very active pile driving operations.
- Treasurer: Arjin Dogan, JD Fields & Company, Inc. Arjin is a recently graduated engineer from the University of Texas at Tyler and began with J.D. Fields as Engineer in July 2021. The Houston Business Journal published the announcement of her hiring in a January '22 article.
- Secretary: Armando Guajardo, BRC International LLC
The PDCA of Texas Chapter is planning to host an industry networking event on February 24, 2022 at Pinstripes in Houston near River Oaks. Check back for details and registration information.
PHOTOS: 2022 South Carolina Chapter Oyster Roast
January 24, 2022
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Many thanks to the sponsors for the South Carolina Chapter of PDCA, 2022 Oyster Roast: S&ME, Junttan, Koppers, Terracon, Essve Tech, ECS Carolinas, Carter Lumber, Ahern Rentals, NUCOR Skyline, ESP Associates, Pile Drivers, Inc., Wahoo Trucking, Soil Consultants, Dawley Surveying, Wire Products, Inc., Van-Smith Concrete, Palmetto Pile Driving, Inc., Cape Romain Contractors, Parker Marine Contracting, SJ Hamill Construction Corp, Consolidated Pipe and Supply, American Piledriving Equipment (APE), Equipment Corporation of America (ECA), International Construction Equipment (ICE), AMERICAN SpiralWeld Pipe, Insight Group.
Crawfish, a Casino and Continuing Ed at Gulf Coast Conference in March
January 21, 2022

West Coast Students Can Now Apply for Chapter Scholarship; Meet the '21 Winners
January 20, 2022PDCA Pacific Coast Chapter 2021 Scholarship Winners


(Left to Right): Sophie Robinson, Zhixiang Jesse Chen, Karen Siqueiros, Erick Medina, Andrew Ballinger
Congratulations to the following winners of the Pacific Coast Chapter of PDCA, 2021 annual scholarship:
- Andrew Ballinger is a freshman at Chico State University in California who is studying construction management
- Zhixiang Jesse Chen is a student at San Jose State University who plans to pursue a career in construction in California upon his graduation
- Erick Medina is a student at California State University - Sacramento where he is completing a curriculum in construction management
- Sophie Robinson studies English at University of Nevada - Reno; she intends to work in construction communications and/or human resources
- Karen Siqueiros is a University of Oregon student from San Diego who continues work on her double majors in business and economics
mark your calendars
The Pacific Coast Chapter of PDCA has set the date of April 29, 2022 for the Annual Scholarship Shoot which raises funds to support students pursuing construction careers. Once again, the event will take place at the Bird's Landing Hunting Preserve located at 2099 Collinsville Rd, Birds Landing, CA 94512. Check back here for registration details as the event draws closer.
the pacific coast chapter of pdca 2022 scholarship program is open for your entries!
Students who live in the Pacific Coast region of the United States are invited to apply for the 2022 PDCA Pacific Coast Scholarship Award. This is a program that encourages high school seniors or college students to enroll in a course of study that will prepare them for a career in the pile driving industry. It is also a great opportunity for those students who may want to follow in the footsteps of a friend or relative who is already involved in PDCA. Student applicants be advised; you are not limited to a strict academic curriculum for construction. Your pursuit of a career in construction is crucial, but that can include safety, civil engineering, accounting and information technology (among others) which are all applicable to a pile driving company. Be sure to make your best case when you fill out the application.
Here are the details:
- Scholarship amount is $1000
- Award for academic year beginning Fall 2022
- Applications are due by July 1, 2022
- The awards will be released August of 2022
- Click here to obtain your electronic copy of the application
PDCA Pacific Coast Chapter
PO Box 97
Oakley, CA 94561
dfallon@foundationpile.com
dollis@reevetrucking.com
Questions? Call (925) 754-6633
Pile Driving Industry Invited to 2022 S.C. Oyster Roast on Friday
January 17, 2022
Planning to attend? Have you registered? Spread the word! All friends of the driven pile industry are welcome (families too)!
The South Carolina Chapter of PDCA invites you to attend an Oyster Roast taking place at Palmetto Pile Driving, Inc. on Friday, January 21st from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EST. This annual event attracts contractors, manufacturers, suppliers and civil engineers from miles around to network, eat and experience a truly unique regional tradition. If you have never attended, make 2022 the year that you join your colleagues and enjoy a unique, Friday-evening celebration of the driven pile industry. It's a simple menu: FREE oysters, pulled pork, hot dogs, chili, and beverages thank to the generous sponsors who include the following: S&ME, Junttan, Koppers, Terracon, Essve Tech, ECS Carolinas, Carter Lumber, Ahern Rentals, NUCOR Skyline, ESP Associates, Pile Drivers, Inc., Wahoo Trucking, Soil Consultants, Dawley Surveying, Wire Products, Inc., Van-Smith Concrete, Palmetto Pile Driving, Inc., Cape Romain Contractors, Parker Marine Contracting, SJ Hamill Construction Corp, Consolidated Pipe and Supply, American Piledriving Equipment (APE), Equipment Corporation of America (ECA), International Construction Equipment (ICE), AMERICAN SpiralWeld Pipe, Insight Group. For more information or to reserve your spot at the 2022 Oyster Roast, an annual event hosted by the South Carolina Chapter of PDCA, please click the button below: |
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2022 Strategic Planning Meeting Sets PDCA Goals
January 16, 2022
Daytona Beach, FL (January 14, 2022): A common practice of the modern workplace is participation in virtual or hybrid (part live, part virtual) meetings. This dynamic exists at the Pile Driving Contractors Association in both Board of Directors meetings and educational presentations. Concerning the former, the Board of Directors engages each year in a January Strategic Planning Meeting where members review Association activity of the past year and consider priorities for the new year. The January 2022 meeting had several Board members attend in person while others joined the two-day event through the Zoom webinar platform.
A component of the Strategic Planning Meeting is the ceremonial passing of the gavel, a tradition signifying a leadership change at PDCA. In 2022, outgoing PDCA president Kevin Gourgues attended the meeting in person, but incoming president Brian Heck appeared virtually. So, meeting participants witnessed a first-ever, hybrid gavel exchange for PDCA leadership. And to further distinguish the 2022 meeting, Gourgues explained how he "carefully packed the gavel in bubble wrap in a box, added extra packing peanuts for protection and sent it from Baton Rouge" to Heck in Cincinnati. However, the delivery tracking mechanism (at the time of the meeting), showed the gavel was delayed in Indianapolis. Fortunately, President Heck had a meat tenderizer available to him and dutifully tapped it to begin the strategic planning proceedings.
From there, the Board considered a full agenda of business items over the next day-and-a-half. Participants engaged in detailed discussions about a variety of issues and initiatives of the Association. Among the actions of Board members during the 2022 PDCA Strategic Planning Meeting were:
- Passage of a 2022 PDCA budget
- Acceptance of new PDCA of Texas Chapter affiliation request
- Discussion on standing committee optimization
- Review of bylaws
- Establishment of 2022 goals
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Houston PDCA Members Organizing Local Chapter
January 14, 2022
(L-R) Brandon Bicknell to serve as President of new Houston-based PDCA group, Arjin Dogan named Treasurer
A new PDCA chapter is now serving the local pile driving industry in Texas and will gather for a networking event in late February. In a letter to the locally elected leadership of the group, PDCA President Brian Heck reported that their request to affiliate as a PDCA chapter "was reviewed and unanimously approved by the PDCA Board of Directors" during its January Strategic Planning meeting.
Heck continued; "we are extremely impressed by your hard work and want to congratulate you again for accepting the responsibility to organize the PDCA of Texas." The formal communication completed several months of work by contractors, suppliers, manufacturers and engineers in Houston and beyond who pursued establishment of a formal presence for PDCA in the region. A Texas Chapter has not been available for local member engagement for several years.
As previously reported, four individuals have come forward to voluntarily serve as Texas Chapter leadership, they include:
- President: Brandon Bicknell, Russell Marine LLC. Brandon is a veteran contractor in the Houston region who joined Russell Marine as VP in 2019. Effective December 2021, he was promoted to President of the company.
- Vice president: Condon Verble, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. Condon has spent 20 years in the pile driving industry where he has been a General Superintendent. He assumed this role at McCarthy in 2019 and works in very active pile driving operations.
- Treasurer: Arjin Dogan, JD Fields & Company, Inc. Arjin is a recently graduated engineer from the University of Texas at Tyler and began with J.D. Fields as Engineer in July 2021. The Houston Business Journal published the announcement of her hiring in a January '22 article.
- Secretary: Armando Guajardo, BRC International LLC
The PDCA of Texas Chapter is planning to host an industry networking event on February 24, 2022 at Pinstripes in Houston near River Oaks. Check back for details and registration information.
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PDCA members in the Houston, Texas area are organizing a new Chapter to give all local PDCA members a new resource in the region for industry networking, among other opportunities. The group has met multiple times since PDCA hosted The Houston Social in September 2021 and determined it intends to form a local PDCA Chapter. PDCA has been in regular communication with the local members and is assisting them in Chapter formation efforts.
A recent development for the group was its naming of an executive committee to serve as the leadership. As first reported in A Pile of News on January 3rd, the following individual PDCA members have been named to the new executive committee in the Texas group:
Texas PDCA members organize, establish leadership. Meet the new slate of officers.
- President: Brandon Bicknell, Russell Marine LLC. Brandon is a veteran contractor in the Houston region who joined Russell Marine as VP in 2019. Effective December 2021, he was promoted to President of the company.
- Vice president: Condon Verble, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. Condon has spent 20 years in the pile driving industry where he has been a General Superintendent. He assumed this role at McCarthy in 2019 and works in very active pile driving operations.
- Treasurer: Arjin Dogan, JD Fields & Company, Inc. Arjin is a recently graduated engineer from the University of Texas at Tyler and began with J.D. Fields as Engineer in July 2021. The Houston Business Journal published the announcement of her hiring in a January '22 article.
- Secretary: Armando Guajardo, BRC International LLC
Please check back to this blog or other PDCA publications for the latest news from the PDCA-Texas. And if you are in Texas and would like to get involved, you are encouraged to do so!
(L-R) Condon Verble will serve as VP of the Houston PDCA group, Armando Guajardo is the Secretary on the executive committee.
A Pile of News - January 2022
January 3, 2022
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