With the exception of its founding, organizational meeting in 2003 at the long-gone, T-Bonz Steakhouse in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, the PDCA South Carolina Chapter has regularly met each quarter (with the exception of the COVID year), at the Town and Country Inn & Suites hotel on Charleston's Savannah Highway, until now. The first 2024 Quarterly Dinner Meeting of the Chapter had been scheduled to take place the evening of February 8th at the standard venue, however, just hours before members were to gather for networking, Chapter business, and a program from Adam Jarrett of Assured Partners, a complication materialized with the reservation at Town and Country.

Expecting to preside over his first, formal meeting as Chapter President, Kent Parker acted swiftly, and within 30 minutes of learning about the scheduling snafu, he had arranged an entirely new venue and concept for the attendees, several of whom traveled from out of town for the event. And with an assist from Jason Moore, a past Chapter president and current board member who utilized all available communications tools to help spread the word about the last-minute meeting change, Pres. Parker convened members promptly at 6:00 PM for a Chapter happy hour at the nearby Freehouse Brewery. There, they enjoyed an evening of networking, beer, pizza, and even some competitive bar trivia. 

Among the attendees was Harry Robbins, the now-retired pile driving veteran from South Carolina's Lowcountry, who is also responsible for founding the Chapter 21 years ago. As a testament to Parker's lightning-fast improvisation and recovery of the scheduled event, Robbins complimented the change in venue and concept and eagerly engaged in opportunity to reconnect with old friends and develop new ones.


Though it wasn't the original plan, PDCA members and attendees of the South Carolina Chapter Happy Hour appreciated the opportunity to visit with friends and industry colleagues in the casual, welcoming environment. The Chapter leadership thanks event sponsors: Koppers, Nucor Skyline, Jinnings Equipment, Gerdau, Junttan USA, Palmetto Pile Driving, Inc. ICE - International Construction Equipment, Van-Smith Concrete, and Beacon Transportation, for making Chapter events possible.

The next event for the PDCA of South Carolina happens in March when it presents the biennial Driven Pile Technical Seminar. The one-day educational program features several technical presentations from deep foundations professionals, and it offers PDH credit. There is still time to register for this popular and enriching event which takes place March 14th at the Holliday Alumni Center at The Citadel. For more information and registration details, CLICK HERE.

The first installment of the PDCA Value Driven Webinar Series for 2024 brought together a diverse panel of seasoned professionals from deep foundations contracting companies to discuss one of the industry's top, and most shared challenges - workforce development. The segment, entitled Solutions to Your Labor Challenges; What We've Learned, was a virtual learning event developed through a collaboration of the PDCA Education Committee, Associate Member Council, and Communications Committee. The one-hour, live broadcast was presented to PDCA viewers on Thursday, February 8th; representatives of member companies receive virtual learning as a no-cost, member benefit, while non-member company personnel are welcome to participate for a nominal registration fee. 

Moderating the panel was veteran pile driving journalist Jill Harris of Lester Publications (top left) who publishes PileDriver magazine, among several other channels of PDCA media. Joining Jill were Scott Callaway of Cajun Industries, LLC in Baton Rouge, LA (top, middle), Brian Heck of Richard Goettle, Inc. in Cincinatti, OH (top, right), Brooke Chitwood of Bowen Engineering Corp. in Indianapolis, IN (bottom, left), Warren Baker of DFI Piling in Houston, TX, Edmonton, AB, and Australia (bottom middle), and Michael Wysockey of Chicago-based Thatcher Foundations (bottom, right). 

The format of the webinar allotted each panelist one question, specific to his or her function with their respective company. Several other prepared questions were tossed to the panel for them to answer at will, from their own varying experiences. Viewers also submitted questions which were addressed toward the end of the broadcast. The lively and entertaining discussion elicited valuable insights and ideas from the five industry professionals, information that can be useful to other employers who face challenges with workforce development. 

Construction trades, engineering, and other building sector professions have been vocal about staffing challenges for the better part of the last decade. PDCA works to establish educational and other resources, such as the February 8th webinar, that can provide information and guidance to the industry with an objective to help employers mitigate workforce challenges.

In case you missed it, the archived broadcast of the PDCA Value Driven Webinar Series - Solutions to Your Labor Challenges; What We've Learned segment will be available for download, in full, in The PDCA Store in coming weeks. Also, watch for a special feature in the next PileDriver magazine which will publish a transcription of the broadcast. You will also see social media posts and other media coverage of the insightful event.

PDCA thanks the moderator, panelists, attendees, and sponsors Lester Publications and Palmetto Pile Driving, for making this webinar possible.

(L-R) Jonathan Landesman, Esq., and Aislinn Sroczynski, Esq. of Cohen Seglias

A legal article from PDCA member law firm, Cohen Seglias, explores new protections available to women in the workforce and how those impact the construction industry. Legal authors Jonathan Landesman, Esq., a partner at the Philadelphia, PA firm, and his colleague Aislinn Sroczynski, Esq., an associate, contribute a legal perspective on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, now available in PileDriver magazine, Issue #1, 2024.