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The week prior to the "Mixer," the PDCA Texas Chapter was one of several partners with JD Fields & Company, Inc., which held The Houston Ports Seminar: Design & Construction of High Modulus Port Marine Geostructures on July 19th at the Fields' local offices. The half-day seminar featuring seven technical presentations from various stakeholders in the industry enabled attendees to earn up to 3.5 PDH's.

Several PDCA members were among the seminar presenters, including Dean Abbondanza and Alwyn McDowall of JD Fields, Temi Kusemiju of Lloyd Engineering, Inc. Adeel Malik and Kyle Plaisance of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. and Chris Lowe and Garrett Hogancamp of GeoQuip, Inc.

Scenes from the July 19th seminar:

Be like Jordan Pile Driving; use #PDCADriven on social media and win PDCA Bucks good for logo merch and education resources.

The monthly newsletter from PDCA, A Pile of News, announces one winner each month, of an ongoing contest for members who use social media. If you post to your company LinkedIn or Facebook sites, and your company is a member of PDCA, make sure to include the following hashtag at the end of each post you develop:  #PDCADriven. Even if you are not posting for your PDCA member company, rather posting on your personal page, you can still use that same hashtag to be eligible in this contest.

We have established that this is a monthly contest, but what do you win? The winner each month is announced in A Pile of News and is provided with instructions to contact the PDCA offices to retrieve your prize. It is a coupon for $50 in PDCA Bucks, good for logo merchandise or other materials available in The PDCA Store.

The nature of the post that contains #PDCADriven does not factor into determination of winners; this is a random drawing on a monthly basis. Jordan Pile Driving was the winner announced in the May 2022; they correctly used the hashtag in a post about OSHA. See below:

Other winners of the hashtag contest in 2022 include Foundation Constructors, GeoQuip, Tim Dutton from Junttan, Equipment Corporation of America, Jason Moore of Palmetto Pile Driving, and Phong Saphon of Fugro. See the following collection of winning hashtag announcements, as originally announced in A Pile of News. (Subscribe to A Pile of News by entering your email in the prompt at the bottom of www.PileDrivers.org.)

Here is a collection of the winning announcements of 2022 #PDCADriven winners:

 

 

PDCA thanks all registrants to-date, who plan to attend "Networking in Norfolk," a FREE event coming August 11th. If you haven't registered for the happy hour-style, PDCA program taking place at Benchtop Brewing Company from 5:00-7:00 PM EDT in Norfolk, VA, you still have time to secure your spot. Space is extremely limited thanks to significant interest in this informational and social event. To register, CLICK HERE.

"Networking in Norfolk" has also garnered strong support from the sponsor community. Two levels of sponsorship are offered, and most available spots have been filled. Leading the way is GeoQuip which secured the 'Drive 'Em Deep' sponsorship early in the planning stages. And to top that off, the company will provide all attendees with a parting gift, appropriate for any beer drinker. PDCA truly values the support from GeoQuip.

A second level of sponsorship has also brought forth significant support for the pile driving industry. Those who have secured 'Sure, I'll Pitch In' sponsorships are; American Equipment & Fabricating Corp., Atlantic Metrocast, Inc., ECS Mid-Atlantic, LLC, Equipment Corporation of America, Fay Southeast, ICE® - International Construction Equipment, Inc., Liebherr, and M.T. Kaye Steel LLC. Thanks to the generous support of all of these members of the pile driving community, "Networking in Norfolk" will be a great opportunity for all attendees to meet with industry peers in a relaxed atmosphere.

During the FREE event, PDCA will deliver attendees a short presentation with an update on the association business, future events and membership and Chapter development opportunities. Once again, there is still time to register, but this event is filling up quickly. CLICK HERE to ensure your spot.

(Left to right: The Equipment Corporation of America team included David Sciortino, Anthony Sciortino and Patrick Mix)

PDCA was proud to be a hole sponsor and dinner guest at the Foundation & Marine Contractors Association of New England, Inc., Eighty Seventh Annual Outing, a golf and banquet event held July 18, 2022 at the Framingham Country Club in Framingham, Mass. Festivities began with check-for golfers who wanted to warm up at the driving range. All golfers were provided with a PDCA-logo, draw-string bag to carry golf balls, tees and other necessities for a day on the links. A hamburger and hot dog lunch was also available underneath the big tent near the golf cart line-up. Players teed-off promptly at 12:30 PM EDT; the capacity attendance required two foursomes for each of the 18 holes. Once the best-ball tournament was underway, each team encountered various 'challenges' throughout the course such as Closest to the Pin and Longest Drive. Following completion of the round, teams gathered back under the big tent for a cocktail party and gift distribution. Then at 7:00 PM golfers and dinner registrants gathered in a nearby banquet hall for a surf and turf dinner, the installation of new FMCA officers and awards.

Draw-string bags provided to FMCA outing participants

While numerous employees of PDCA-member companies participated in the annual event, Brad Roberts of GZA GeoEnvironmental was recognized for his 16 years of service to the FMCA as Secretary and Drew Floyd of Keller was saluted for completing his role as Treasurer for the same period of time. The two graciously embraced their retirements from FMCA. From everyone at PDCA, we congratulate Brad and Drew on a successful tenure and selfless industry advocacy. Also notable, Bob Tonning of Phoenix Foundation assumed the organization Presidency as Angelo Colesante of East Coast Slurry stepped away. 

(Brad Roberts stands at the FMCA officer's table as he departs his long tenure as Secretary)

 PDCA sends a special 'thanks' to Dario DiBona, Outing Committee Chairman, for coordinating our sponsorship and draw-string bag distribution. Also, PDCA appreciates Anthony Sciortino of Equipment Corporation of America (ECA) for finding an opening in his foursome to enable staff to play golf. Finally, PDCA enjoyed the opportunity to join the table with American Equipment & Fabrication, including Charlie Booth, Ben Peel, Bill Wilbur, Joe Gelardi and Pat Griffin during dinner and awards.  

(The team from American Equipment and Fabricating, Corp.)


(The banquet portion of the FMCA 87th Outing appeared to be a standing-room only event!)

A summer blockbuster at movie theaters this year has been the long-awaited sequel to 1980's classic "Top Gun." Lead actor in the original flick, Tom Cruise, co-produces and stars in the action-packed, continuation of the story about an outspoken fighter pilot. Titled Top Gun: Maverick, moviegoers have been flocking to theaters this summer to see what, to date, is the top grossing motion picture of 2022.

So, what does any of this have to do with pile driving??? With the help of the gentleman pictured above, actor Jay Ellis, the tried-and-true method of effective and reliable deep foundation construction gets significant, international exposure on cable television. He is Lt. Reuben 'Payback' Fitch in Top Gun: Maverick, but he is also the host of "How Did They Build That?," a popular program on the Smithsonian Channel. The first episode of the second season of that program gives viewers an in-depth analysis of a remarkable, driven pile project. 

PDCA member Weeks Marine was among a long list of construction professionals who had a role in the urban marvel known as Little Island Park, and "How Did They Build That?" spends considerable time discussing project components, particularly the pile driving installation. Viewers will see Weeks' machinery and crews in-action during the build. But that's not all! Other PDCA members Trevcon Construction and Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers (MRCE) were among those also on the construction roster for what is dubbed the 'floating park' off Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The project brings an innovative and rare greenspace to the largest city in the U.S., and it has deservedly earned considerable recognition throughout the engineering and construction communities, the Big Apple, and now thanks to a cable TV hit, a worldwide audience of curious viewers. PDCA congratulates all members who were involved in the development of Little Island Park.

Click here to watch the "How Did They Build That?" feature on a driven pile project, from the Smithsonian Channel.

Don't miss the newest issue of PileDriver magazine which includes an article marking the 50th anniversary of Pile Dynamics, Inc. (PDI), a Cleveland-based developer and manufacturer of instrumentation that has revolutionized the deep foundations industry over five decades. Two of the company's three founders co-author the chronicle of PDI history, starting with the vision of the late George Goble, who, with his research team of Frank Rausche and Garland Likins, developed a prototype of a Pile Driving Analyzer in the early 1970's. From there, Rausche and Likins take the reader through the years which brought the company international marketability, a product line ever-increasing in sophistication, a division which has matured into a full service geotechnical engineering firm, and significant growth in both personnel and facilities. The story of PDI represents true success in entrepreneurship, collaboration, dedication, creativity, innovation and savvy. PDCA congratulates PDI on a half century of excellence.

Click here to read Pile Dynamics, Inc. Driving Half a Century in Remarkable Progress in Deep Foundation Quality Assurance in the digital edition of PileDriver magazine.

Are you a recreational, or even competitive shooter? Coming July 22, 2022 to Coplay, PA is the 7th Annual Sporting Clays shooting event from the PDCA Northeast Chapter. Contactors, suppliers, civil engineers and other stakeholders in the pile driving industry throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and surrounding areas gather each year for this event featuring networking, fellowship and fun.

Registration is now open for the event which begins promptly at 8:00 AM EDT at Lehigh Valley Sporting Clays (2750 Limestone Street, Coplay, PA 18037) and lasts through 3:00 PM. Shooters will descend into the scenic course featuring shooting stations for competitors of varying abilities. The event concludes with a lunch for all participants, during which awards will be presented for exciting challenges they encountered throughout the course. 

PDCA members are encouraged to attend this exciting event; click the button below to reserve your spot at the PDCA Northeast Chapter: 7th Annual Sporting Clays:

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