The PDCA South Carolina Chapter realigned its schedule for member dinner meetings; the first of such events for 2026 took place on May 14 at the Town and Country Inn & Suites in Charleston and offered attendees a full plate of industry content, as well as a full plate (if they chose to fill it) of buffet-style, southern home cookin'. Following the customary, networking social hour with an open bar, Chapter President Jason Moore opened the formal meeting. He recapped the two successful Chapter events that have already taken place in 2026, the January Oyster Roast and the March Driven Pile Technical Seminar. He also discussed some new initiatives the Chapter will be offering the regional industry in coming months. He thanked the dinner meeting sponsors, which include: Palmetto Pile Driving, Inc., ICE, Inc., and Valiant Steel and Equipment, Inc. And before dinner began, he welcomed back Chapter Past President and industry retiree Scott Nigels to bless the food.
A Case Study in Pile Driving
The evening's technical program featured a case study on a local pile driving construction project. Sean Vandedrinck who leads East Coast operations for Russell Marine LLC presented an in-depth review of the Pier November project, where the contractor modernized a portion of a U.S. Coast Guard waterfront installation in Charleston. He detailed his team's work which included pile extraction and installation, bulkhead replacement, concrete work, and more. Vandedrinck also credited other PDCA members which contributed to the project, including equipment suppliers ICE, Inc., and PILECO, Inc., and PSC piling producer Standard Concrete Products. Following his presentation, he fielded several questions from the audience, and continued taking one-on-one questions for the remainder of the evening.
A special Chapter Honor
Also taking place during the South Carolina dinner meeting was the special recognition of Van Hogan, an industry retiree who significantly contributed to the growth of both PDCA and the S.C. Chapter during his years of active employment as a piling contractor. The longtime representative of pile driving company Ed Waters & Sons, Inc. received a formal introduction from colleague and friend Harry Robbins, founder of the South Carolina Chapter. Mr. Robbins detailed Hogan's career which included service as PDCA President, a committee chair, as well as an eventual employee of the organization where he directly contributed to its growth. Following his heartfelt remarks of appreciation to the audience, Hogan was presented the Harry Robbins Chapter Award from Moore and Robbins.
Welcome!
Among the new faces in attendance at the Chapter dinner meeting, was recently-onboarded assistant plant manager at Palmetto Pile Driving, Inc., Gabe Lucas (pictured). He is involved in the company's PSC manufacturing operations.
The PDCA South Carolina Chapter thanks all who attended the dinner event on May 14, and encourages you to watch your inbox and other PDCA announcements about an upcoming August networking reception, as well as the November Nigels Scholarship Award Night, in conjunction with The Citadel.
Scenes from the May South Carolina Chapter Dinner Meeting
Oops!
Even the most serious, organized, and thorough Chapter President can commit a faux pas. After doing so, all Pres. Jason Moore could say was 'how embarrassing!'
In the introductory slide he used to invite Harry Robbins to the podium, the slide projection on the screen showed his name as 'Harry Nigels,' likely confusing Robbins with his longtime colleague Scott Nigels, who happened to be named on another slide. We can all admit to a miscue in a simple copy/paste function in word processing. Fortuitously, the two gentlemen were sitting next to one another in the audience and apparently did not find the error as humorous as many others in attendance did.
We share this moment because A) Jason is a good sport, and B) Chapter leaders are volunteers in those positions. Of course, it's better that they make mistakes in a PDCA event rather than on a jobsite. Thanks for all you do Jason Moore, and the other members of the PDCA South Carolina Chapter Board!
