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A Pile of News - September 2022
September 1, 2022Did You Win? Project of the Year Awards Winner, REVEALED!
August 24, 2022PDCA is finally revealing the winners of the PDCA 2022 Project of the Year Awards with the latest issue of PileDriver magazine!
Did your company take home a top prize? After a record-setting year of project submissions, competition was fierce. The judge's panel has issued it's verdicts in the several, contested categories and we extend a sincere CONGRATULATIONS to the 2022 winning companies. Make sure to read the newest PileDriver magazine which includes descriptive narratives about each project, as well as striking photography chronicling various stages of the progress. The pile driving industry celebrates these projects which demonstrate innovation, problem-solving, work capacity and resilience of your fellow PDCA members.
Entries for next year's Project of the Year Awards program for projects completed by December 31, 2022, will open in January. Start planning your submissions now!
Pile Driving Industry Retirees Honored in South Carolina
August 23, 2022
(Left to right: Michael McCormick, Don Surrency, John King, Sonny DuPre, John Skinner)
A 2022 objective of the South Carolina Chapter of PDCA and current president John King is to recognize the contributions of some of the region's important figures who spent impactful careers serving the Charleston market and helped shape the driven pile industry into what it is today. During its third quarter dinner meeting on August 18th, President King arranged for four retirees to receive The Harry Robbins Chapter Award. Three contractors and one supplier were introduced by a family member or close colleague and presented with a unique pile driving rig trophy to signify their contributions to the industry. Those recognized in August included Sonny DuPre who followed his father at the helm of Cape Romain Contractors, Michael McCormick who was a co-founder of Pile Drivers, Inc., John Skinner who retired after a long career at Parker Marine Contracting in 2021, and Don Surrency who was a leading representative at Koppers, Inc. for more than 30 years. PDCA thanks the four gentlemen for helping shape the modern, driven pile industry into what it is today.
In addition to the special recognitions, Chapter members and friends gathered at the Town & Country Inn & Suites in Charleston for a networking reception, buffet dinner featuring various southern cuisine favorites, a Chapter business update and a feature presentation from Kathy Harper of the PDCA national office in Orange Park, Florida. There, Kathy is the Manager of Education and Events; she provided dinner attendees with a 'behind the scenes' look at the evolution of such industry staples as the PDCA Annual Conference, DICEP, the PDCA Value Driven Webinar Series and Contractors Foundation Institute: Driven Pile Academy, among others. Members from the South Carolina Chapter are active in national level PDCA events and enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about their origin.
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![]() The capacity event attracted more than 60 attendees.
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![]() Kathy Harper from PDCA |
![]() A popular networking reception preceded the meeting. |
PDCA South Carolina Chapter thanks the sponsors for the Quarterly Dinner Meeting!
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Experts Present Program on PS Concrete Pilings to Gulf Coast Chapter
August 19, 2022
The Gulf Coast Chapter of PDCA met for its Third Quarter Dinner event at the Golden Nugget Casino in Biloxi, MS on Thursday (8/18). In addition to a networking reception, attendees dined on a variety meal options and participated in a Chapter business agenda. Later, they heard a technical presentation on Prestressed Concrete Piles by David Tomley, PE of event co-sponsor Gulf Coast Pre-stress and Mohammad Mulla, PE of ECS Limited.
![]() David Tomley, PE |
![]() Mohammad Mulla, PE |
Chapter President Gerard Chenevert of GROUP Contractors conducted other business throughout the evening which included calling on members to submit nominations for the 2023 Chapter leadership and a recognition of the extended service that John Matthews of DeSoto Treated Materials gave to the Board. Also co-sponsoring the event was ICE-International Construction Equipment. Here are scenes from the August 18th event:
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First On-Location Webinar Broadcast is from Virginia Member Office
August 18, 2022
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If you read the blog post about it on this website earlier this month, you might recall that PDCA announced that it would be going 'LIVE and on-location' from a member office to originate a webinar for the first time in the history of PDCA virtual learning. As it turns out, hosts Bill and Brooks Crossman at Atlantic Metrocast, Inc. who hosted the PDCA's Frank Peters and Kathy Harper to conduct the August installment of the PDCA 2022 Value Driven Webinar Series, are close business associates of Dr. John Ryan, P.E. (pictured), the subject-matter expert who presented the virtual program. The assistant professor of civil engineering at The Citadel gave a one-hour presentation entitled Case Study of Prestress Concrete Piles as a Value Engineered Seismic Solution to PDCA members who registered for the webinar which took place during the afternoon of August 11th. Attendees earn 1 hour PDH. |
The PDCA 2022 Value Driven Webinar Series continues on September 8th when attendees will hear a one-hour program at 2:00 PM EDT entitled The Use of Fiberglass Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites in Piling Applications. Interested members can register for this FREE program and earn 1 hour PDH; non-members too, can attend for the nominal charge of $50. PDCA thanks the THE 2022 Series sponsors Hammer & Steel and Pat DiCerbo/Northwestern Mutual for the underwriting and the hundreds of people who have participated in this ongoing virtual education program to date. REGISTER HERE.
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They Came to Norfolk and They Networked!
August 12, 2022![]() |
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PDCA enjoyed visiting with the dozens of pile driving contractors, equipment manufacturers, industry suppliers and civil engineers in and around the coastal Virginia region. They gathered Thursday, August 11th for a happy hour event entitled "Networking in Norfolk.." This event was held at Benchtop Brewing where PDCA members and non-members filled both the tap room and patio for FREE beverages and BBQ. "Networking in Norfolk" would not have been possible without PDCA's valued sponsors: GeoQuip, American Piledriving Equipment, Atlantic Metrocast, Inc., American Equipment and Fabricating Corp., ECS MidAtlantic, Equipment Corporation of America, ICE-International Construction Equipment, Inc. Liebherr, M.T. Kaye Steel, and Fay Southeast.
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Gulf Coast, South Carolina Chapters Both Host 8/18 Meetings
August 10, 2022![]() (L-R) Kathy Harper, PDCA and Dylan Andre, VP Gulf Coast Chapter |
The pile driving industry will make a strong showing in the Southeastern U.S. on Thursday, August 18th as both the Gulf Coast and South Carolina Chapters of PDCA are hosting quarterly dinner meetings.First, the Gulf Coast Chapter continues the tradition of offering its third quarter member gathering in the eastern reaches of the expansive territory. Chapter leadership and numerous members will convene at the Gold Nugget Biloxi Hotel & Casino beginning at 5:45 PM through 8:00 PM. During the course of the event, attendees will meet for a networking reception, dinner and a program on the manufacturing of pre-stress piles by Gulf Coast Prestress Partners, who along with ICE-International Construction Equipment, are sponsors of the evening. We don't know if any unofficial, 'after meeting' activity will be taking place at the rousing destination! Same time, different place, the South Carolina Chapter will gather at the familiar Town & Country Inn & Suites on Savannah Highway in historic Charleston, SC. In addition to a special presentation from Chapter President John King who will acknowledge some of PDCA legends who have impacted the industry in the region, he will also introduce Kathy Harper from the PDCA national offices in Florida. Kathy will speak about the live and virtual meeting and educational activity at PDCA. She wasn't deterred by 2020's pandemic, rather quickly pivoted to administer a successful webinar series that continues, near-monthly. Kathy works at the direction of the PDCA Education Committee and Associate Member Council to deliver programming. If you are a member of one of these Chapters, make sure to join your colleagues on August 18th. If you are a member of both Chapters...well, make the best decision you can while facing this difficult choice! |
PDCA Goes On-Location to Member Office for August Webinar Series
August 3, 2022
The Portsmouth, VA staff at Atlantic Metrocast, Inc. stands for a promotional photo in advance of hosting the August, PDCA webinar.
Have you registered to attend the August installment of the PDCA 2022 Value Driven Webinar Series happening on Thursday the 11th? You still have time to secure your spot for the presentation 'Case Study of Prestress Concrete Piles as a Value Engineered Seismic Solution,' by Dr. John Ryan of Ryan Structural Engineers, LLC. The one-hour program is FREE to PDCA members and $50 for non-members. It begins at 2:00 PM EDT and will be delivered through the Zoom platform. CLICK HERE to register for this program.
The Value Driven Webinar Series historically originates from the PDCA, Florida-based offices, however the August 2022 program will be the first remote broadcast from a PDCA member office. Atlantic Metrocast, Inc. in Portsmouth, VA is lending its conference room to PDCA for the afternoon to set up the necessary equipment for the webinar and broadcast it to registrants. This is the first, LIVE and on-location webinar from PDCA. Attendees will not experience any difference in the audio or video during the program but might be interested to know that the subject matter being presented about prestress concrete pile, coincidentally is being delivered from a prestress concrete piling production facility.
The PDCA team is in the coastal Virginia region during the week of August 8th to hold "Networking in Norfolk" for the regional pile driving industry; this is a FREE, happy hour-style event for area contractors, suppliers, manufacturers and civil engineers. That event takes place from 5-7 PM EDT on August 11th, shortly after completion of the webinar. Atlantic Metrocast, Inc., which is very generous to lend PDCA the needed space and ensure Value Driven Webinar Series attendees receive the August program uninterrupted, is among the sponsors of "Networking in Norfolk.." Other sponsors include GeoQuip, American Piledriving Equipment, American Equipment and Fabricating Corp., ECS MidAtlantic, Equipment Corporation of America, ICE-International Construction Equipment, Inc. Liebherr, M.T. Kaye Steel, and Fay Southeast.
A Pile of News - August 2022
August 1, 2022
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