Pictured, Top (L-R): Sean Ross, Lauren Dannen, Caden Riddle, Maflobio Lopez-Ortiz
Bottom (L-R): Judah Lasley, Robert Leerkes, Tyler Kleinsasser, Will Millette; not pictured, Jack Agler

Thanks to the strong participation at the April 2024 PDCA Pacific Coast Chapter Scholarship Shoot at Birds Landing, CA, the organization raised enough funds to award nine scholarships to students on the West Coast who are pursuing higher education in construction and/or engineering disciplines. Each of the following students receives a $2,000 scholarship available for the 2024 fall semester at their respective schools. 

Part of the application process for hopefuls who pursue this scholarship is to share information and documentation about their experiences and accomplishments, to date, and their plans for the future. Meet the 2024 Winners of the Pacific Coast Chapter Scholarship:

Caden Riddle is a first-year student at Sacramento State University pursuing his education in electrical engineering. The May 2024 graduate of Franklin High School in Elk Grove, CA was a four year leader in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program which offers participating students a unique curriculum for college and career preparation. Outside of the classroom, Riddle was active in the local Franklin Theatre Company as an actor and stagehand. There he earned impressive distinctions which included the Most Improved and Best Lead in One Act and the FAT CAT Award. Foundation Constructors Inc. sponsored Riddle's application

Jack Agler is a mechanical engineering major at Gonzaga University, a curriculum he contends, will equip him with 'the skills to enhance the efficiency, sustainability, and safety of pile driving operations, ultimately contributing to advancements in the industry.' In addition to his rigorous curriculum, he is also a D1 athlete as a member of the Zags' crew team. Prior to his pursuit of higher education, the Junipero Serra High School graduate (San Mateo, CA) attained Eagle Scout, performed in numerous ballet productions, competed in varsity crew where he was twice awarded, led high school retreats through the campus ministry, and served as a student ambassador. For a summer job, he was an instructor at a summer camp for the Boy Scouts organization.

Judah Lasley also aspires to be a mechanical engineer. His path through higher education began when he was a dual-enrolled student Heartwood Charter School in Petaluma, CA. He simultaneously took high school classes as well as at courses nearby Santa Rosa Junior College.When he completes SRJC, he intends to enroll at San Diego State University. In addition to his academic load, he has also held jobs as a bicycle mechanic and ranch hand. Still he found time to volunteer at his church and participate in a variety of extracurricular activities such as the 4-H Shooting Club and Odyssey of the Mind. His hobbies include biking, 3D printing, Dungeons & Dragons, and the Movie and Game Club.  

Lauren Dannen is a student at Oregon State University studying civil engineering, a profession she recognizes as having a unique influence on the prevalence in the building sector to use driven pile foundations. Outside of class, the 4.0 student plays intramural soccer, participates in the Environmental Science Club, and performs in swing dance productions. As a high schooler at in Lebanon, OR, she was in student government, a three-sport athlete, Junior Rotarian, NHS, youth athletics volunteer and summer school tutor. She is employed part-time as a pharmacy tech. In a recommendation letter, a former counselor said Lauren's "empathy, positivity, and humor will create a positive work environment." 

Maflolbio Lopez-Ortiz has begun his fourth year at San Jose State University in the civil engineering program. While he grew up contributing to his family's strawberry production operations, he gravitated to construction trades in high school where he was active and successful the welding and metal fabrication club. As a college student, he joined a civil engineering fraternity where he has served in leadership. One of his professors who submitted a recommendation letter on his behalf in his application for the Pacific Coast Scholarship remarked not only on his performance as a student, but on his dedication to academic achievement, as a student who is funding his own education and housing. Manson Construction is the sponsor of his application.

Sean Ross is a Junior at California Polytechnic State University where he has accumulated a 3.9 grade point average, been named to the President's List for two consecutive years, and maintained Dean's List status over eight quarters. A Business Administration major who minors in Construction Management and Real Property Development, he has engaged in activities that align with the building community, such as his voluntary role leading a team for a competition administered by the Cal Poly National Association of Home Builders. Other involvement outside his coursework includes volunteer service with the IAFF and MDA. One of his professors stated of Sean that he is a 'standout candidate' for this scholarship. Manson Construction hosted Ross as an intern last summer and sponsored his application

Tyler Kleinsasser carries a 4.0 GPA at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, has compiled 18 various engineering, construction, leadership, and other awards, and participates in six different engineering organizations. His other involvement includes service as past president of the Student Association Senate, intramural sports competitions, including championship teams, and volunteerism for a wide variety of community organizations and causes. Funding his own education, Tyler has also maintained part-time work to ensure he reaches his career goal of working 'as a construction manager or design engineer on large infrastructure projects.' Two different academic professionals endorsed the Silverdale, WA native for the scholarship, including one who noted  that Tyler's 'humility is one of his most impressive qualities.' 

Robert Leerkes is a repeat winner of the PDCA Pacific Coast Scholarship, having won last year in advance of his first year as a student at Northern Arizona University, majoring in Civil Engineering. Foundation Constructors, Inc. sponsored Leerkes' application for 2024.

Will Millette also won this scholarship in 2024. The Construction Management major at Colorado State University has finished two years at the school and maintains a high level of enthusiasm and dedication to the building industry. Reeve Trucking sponsored  Millette for the scholarship. 

PDCA congratulates the winners of the 2024 PDCA Pacific Coast Sholarship!

The 2024 PDCA Texas Chapter Golf Tournament was a successful event by every measure, according to organizers, attendees, and benefactors. Read more about the event, including a summary of all the Sept. 24th activities at Eagle Point Golf Club in Mont Belvieu, TX; you can find photos of the winning golfers, and a pictorial accounting of many of the scenes from the day at a previous blog post; Click here to READ 'Some Ringers Came, But All Golfers Were Good Installing Tees at Texas Chapter Tourney.'

As the Texas Chapter leadership clearly stated during event programming, the 2024 golf tournament received tremendous support from its Sponsors and Exhibitors. Thank you to the following companies for investing into this important PDCA function:

Sponsors McCarthy Building Cos. (Awards Lunch Sponsor) PVE Equipment USA (Gold Sponsor) Bauer Equipment (Title Sponsor) CPS Houston (Title Sponsor) Junttan (Prize Sponsor) Robishaw Engineering/Flexifloat (Gold Sponsor) Kingdom Pipe & Steel (Hole Sponsor) J.D Fields & Co. (Title Sponsor) Aggregate Technologies, Inc. (Breakfast Sponsor) Service Steel Warehouse (Silver Sponsor)

PACO Ventures (Gold, Awards Lunch, Photography Sponsor) Meever USA (Hole Sponsor) Pileco (Awards Lunch Sponsor) Orion Marine Group (Silver Sponsor) MKT Manufacturing, Inc. (Hole Sponsor) Otto Fabricators, LLC (Hole Sponsor) Mason Construction (Hole Sponsor) Edgen Murray Corporartion (Hole Sponsor) Callan Marine (Lunch, Prize Sponsor) Equipment Share (Photography Sponsor) Associated Steel Fabricators, Inc. (Prize Sponsor)

Another support option for the the Texas Chapter Golf Tournament was to host a company exhibit at one of the holes on the golf course. Here are the generous exhibitors:

Exhibitors Russell Marine  Pipe & Tube Supplies Kingdom Pipe & Steel THI Pipe & Piling Orion Marine Group

Bauer Equipment CPS Houston Service Steel Warehouse Lodge Lumber Company Bottom Line Equipment Gonzo Trucking

Several of the Exhibitors found themselves in front of our camera crew. Check out their displays, which offered golfers complimentary refreshments and prizes!  

The PDCA Texas Chapter drew a near capacity crowd for its Sept. 24, 2024 golf tournament, this time at Eagle Point Golf Club in Mont Belvieu, TX. It marked the second annual run for the popular event that benefits the Chapter's scholarship fund.

The morning began with registration and breakfast, then an shotgun start kicked off the competition. The event concluded with a luncheon feast and awards ceremony.

Chapter President Condon Verble opened the tournament by convening all golfers for announcements and rules. Then, teams fanned out around the course to their assigned, starting tee boxes. The competition escalated as they played through all 18 holes.

There were various individual competitions available. Those included a men's and women's 'longest drive' contest, as well as a men's and women's 'closest to the pin' challenge. Additionally, there were some opportunities for extra fun and fundraising, such as a competition on chipping accuracy and an opportunity to forego one playing hole by donating to the Chapter and firing your drive shot with a replica AR-15.

Most of the holes that the golf teams encountered featured generous exhibitors, many of whom provided the players with a variety of refreshments to suit all their needs. Thanks to the outpouring of events sponsorship, you can see photos and coverage of all sponsors and exhibitors on a standalone blog post. Click here to be redirected, now.

When the golf finished, players made their way inside to some welcome air conditioning, a lunch buffet, a bar, and plenty of time to tell 'lies' about their conquests on the course during the preceding hours. It was also an ideal time for visiting with friends and colleagues and even conduct a little business networking. 

During lunch, Texas Chapter Vice President Mickey Thatcher called attention to those assembled for brief announcements, an awards ceremony, and raffle prizes. But first, he introduced PDCA Executive Director Frank Peters who provided the audience with an announcements from PDCA, including updates on upcoming events taking place throughout the country, encouragement to members to visit their new member accounts in The PDCA Connection, and a warm salute to the Texas Chapter for the important work it is doing in the driven pile marketplace in the Lone Star State.

Leadership of the Texas Chapter, including President Verble, VP Thatcher, Secretary Mike Leal, and Treasurer Derek Brodnax stressed that this successful event would not have been possible without the tireless work of the PDCA Texas Chapter Planning and Events Committee, along with a handful of volunteers. Those included Shiri Foster from Lodge Lumber, Erica Ferens from J.D. Fields & Co., Kyrsten Garcia from Russell Marine LLC, and Hanny Verble.

Enjoy the following photo gallery of the golf award winners:

First Place went to a team sponsored by Associated Steel Fabricators which brought four 'ringers' from Russell Marine LLC to play the tournament: Emcee Mickey Thatcher awards Russell Marine colleagues Brandon Bicknell, Cameron Toups, David Taylor. Josh Drachman (middle) is from the sponsor.

 

2nd Place was CPS Houston and included Andy Badeaux, Jenny Ellis, Tony Glynn, and Jack Mott. Emcee Thatcher and event coordinator Shiri Foster are also pictured.	3rd place finishers were Frank and Tina Peters from PDCA, and Nathan Stocktan and Colby Blackman from Sutherland Pipe & Supply
Emcee Thatcher also awarded men's and women's, closest to the pin. (Far right) Hannah Schorr from Pipe & Tube Supplies, Inc.	And with no women entries, Chad Kresta of McCarthy Building Cos. won men's longest drive.

See who was SPOTTED at the PDCA Texas Chapter Golf Tournament and luncheon:

On September 17, 2024, members and guests of the PDCA Northeast Chapter gathered at the Lehigh Valley Sporting Clays campus near Coplay, PA for a fun, competitive shooting competition to benefit the Chapter's annual scholarship fund. The event attracted shooters from a variety of neighboring states to a former quarry which maintained remnants of old country outbuildings and has since evolved into a unique, hilly, and plush landscape that on Tuesday 9/18 was beginning to show the first signs of autumn.  


Past Chapter president Erich Kremer, advertising & promotions coordinator Matt Scerbak, and secretary Matt Eastburn were on-site early to manage event set-up and registration. As shooters began arriving, they were provided a continental breakfast and plenty of time for networking. 

As the start time for the competition approached, Kremer served as event emcee where he made introductions of event sponsors George Harms Construction Company, ICE-International Construction Equipment, and M.T. Kaye Steel, which was the exclusive (and popular) cigar sponsor.  He then welcomed PDCA executive director Frank Peters who expressed the importance to the industry that participation in the Sporting Clays, or any Chapter activities, brings to the driven pile industry. He also updated attendees on news and information from the organization. Following his remarks, those assembled heard a brief, however highly important safety presentation from the venue operators.

 
And they were off!

Enjoy the following images of the various shooting groups taking their turns at the many, challenging stations that were sponsored by the generous event donors: Triad Metals, Junttan, R. Kremer & Son Marine, Edgen Murray, Heron Wolf, Sherwin Williams.


When all shooters finished showing off their marksmanship abilities on the 17 shooting stations, it was judgement day. Each group brought their score sheets to representatives of Lehigh Valley Sporting Clays who tallied up results. Chapter president David Price delivered the results and brought the winning teams and individuals to the front to be recognized for their accomplishment and to take their pick from a table full of PDCA giveaways. All attendees enjoyed a BBQ lunch during the closing program.

(L-R) Chapter VP Jordan Houston, Bill Thomas, Brian Land, Candi Stegall, Pres. Kent Parker, Kali Shaefer

During the first three months of 2024, the PDCA South Carolina Chapter delivered members a full slate of events that provideded a variety of opportunities for member engagement; among them were educational enrichment through the Driven Pile Technical Seminar, fellowship and trivia during an impromptu happy hour, and extension of a longstanding Chapter tradition with the annual Oyster Roast. On Thursday, May 16, 2024, the Chapter convened for its first formal dinner meeting of the year, and the first chance for president Kent Parker to conduct official Chapter business. 

After the networking happy hour that precedes every Chapter dinner, Parker called the meeting to order and delivered opening remarks. The new president began: "Wow! I want to thank John King for his dedicated service as past president, but I have to tell you - I feel like Ronald Reagan taking over for Jimmy Carter** up here. The bar was set, but not too high..." The good-natured remark drew laughter from King, and those in the crowd who understood that it was a well-intended, ice-breaking quip to highlight King's propensity for discussing politics.

(L-R) Pres. Carter*, John King

*PDCA credits the Atlanta Braves organization which posted the photo of Pres. Carter on X

**(Parker's invocation of two former, American presidents references politically motivated recollections of their two very different, but no less distinguished, public service careers. PDCA does not endorse political ideologies, but in this case, recognizes the words as nothing more than harmless, playful rhetoric, rooted in 40-year-old political party-line narratives. May former President Reagan rest in peace, and may former President Carter receive the best care available in his fragile state. Both highly-accomplished men led remarkable American lives.)

Following the short, general business meeting that recapped the various events to date in 2024, Parker recognized two Chapter Board members who won 2023 PDCA Association Awards, recently announced during a special awards ceremony in Dallas, TX. Jason Moore, a former Chapter and PDCA president, and presently the Chairman of the PDCA Communications Committee, was presented the Presidential Award for Distinguished Service. Also, Greg Canivan, a past Chapter president and current PDCA Board of Directors member, received the John T. Parker Industry Ambassador Award, a special honor that singles out a South Carolina Chapter member for demonstrating a commitment to advocating the driven pile on both local and global platforms.
Parker introduced the informational program while attendees enjoyed a buffet-style dinner. Adam Jarrett and Kali Shaefer are insurance professionals with Assured Partners, who specialize in management of a heavy construction clientele. Jarrett delivered a presentation entitled 'The State of the Insurance Market,' which discussed the conditions, sometimes negative, that commercial customers are facing, but also pinpointed signs for optimism in some of the industry forecasting. At the same time, he articulated the mounting challenges that carriers face due to ongoing changes in the regulatory environment. His presentation prompted a series of questions at the conclusion of the program.

Before the meeting ended, Parker held a raffle for attendees through a random drawing of business cards. Chapter member Taylor Kelso  was the lucky winner of a $75 gift card to Outback Steakhouse. The next meeting of the PDCA South Carolina Chapter is scheduled for August 8th at the Town and Country Inn & Suites in Charleston, SC.

See who was SPOTTED at the 2024 second quarterly meeting of the South Carolina Chapter:

Past Winners of the PDCA Pacific Coast Chapter Scholarship

A longstanding tradition at the PDCA Pacific Coast Chapter is the annual scholarship program which encourages high school seniors and college students to consider careers related to the pile driving industry; construction management, engineering, business, among them. The program contributes to regional workforce development, broadens relations between the pile driving industry and the public, and provides deserving students some financial relief as they pursue higher education.

This program is limited to students in the western United States. If you are the parent of a young adult or have connection with one who qualifies for this scholarship, you are invited to share this opportunity with them. Applicants must complete and return the application form, which contains guidance on all program procedures and deliverables, by July 1, 2024. To access the application form, please click the button below:

(L-R) Doug Ollis, Dermot Fallon, Tommy Haupt, Darren Riddle, Jeff Arkin, Mark Weisz, Ryan Turner. Not pictured, Matt Lehmann