2008 Promotion Progress Nominees
About PCA>Promotion Progress Awards

The Promotion Progress and Distinguished Partner awards honor individuals who exemplify a commitment of time and energy beyond regular responsibilities in order to achieve important promotional goals.

Employees of cement company members of PCA and CAC involved in promotion activities in 2006 and 2007 are eligible to receive a 2008 Promotion Progress Award. National and regional partners are eligible for the Distinguished Partner Award.

Award winners will be announced at the PCA Spring Committee Meetings in Chicago, April 28-30, 2008.

2008 Promotion Progress Nominees

• Michael Fletcher, Essex Cement Company LLC, a Titan America Business
• Allan Anderson, Buzzi Unicem
• Kirk McDonald, California Portland Cement Company
• Dan Richwine, Texas Industries, Inc
• Nicholas J. Popoff, St. Marys Cement Inc.
• Jim Render, Essroc
• Bruce Walker, Lafarge NA
• Danny Alford, Lafarge NA
• David Collins, Holcim (US), Inc.
• Lynn Rasco, Cemex, Inc.
• Frank Lennox, Buzzi Unicem USA, Inc.
• Roger Vaughn, Holcim (US), Inc.
• Sean Varner, Lafarge NA
• Scott Palmer, Salt River Materials
• Ed Cooper, Ash Grove Cement Company
• Jim Porter, Essroc Cement Corp.

2008 Distinguished Partner Nominees

• Jonathan Kuell, Northern New England Concrete Promotion Association
• Brad Reed, City of Lubbock, Texas
• Frank Koszeliski, Gallup Sand & Gravel
• Brian Bock, Dukane Precast
• Chuck Vance, IBHS Fortified for Safer Living Program
• Patrick Murphy, American Polysteel LLC
• Andrew E. Marks, Puget Sound Concrete Specification Council
• Vince Davis, American Red Cross of Greater Chicago

2008 Promotion Progress Nominees
Michael Fletcher
Essex Cement Company LLC, a Titan America Business
Michael Fletcher co-chairs the New York City Concrete Promotion Council’s (NYC CPC) Above Grade Residential Committee.  After working four years to convince them, Michael worked with New York City Habitat for Humanity (HFH) to initiate its first all-ICF project, a 9-unit condo complex in Brooklyn.  Mike searched relentlessly for ICF contractors, goods, services, and monies for this project.    The concrete donations alone yielded a very significant savings to HFH.  A LEED Accredited Professional, Mike has been building a relationship between the cement products industry and the green building community.  As a member of the U.S. Green Building Council New York City Chapter Board, he helped forge a partnership between the Chapter and the NYC CPC.  He also moderated the USGBC NYC Chapter Symposium, Concrete LEEDing the Future of NYC’s Skyline, which attracted more than 100 professionals from the region’s design and construction community. Mike has long participated in the NECSA College and University Program, efforts that earned him an award from Manhattan College.  He was also recognized as a finalist for the NECSA C&U Program Representative of the Year Award in 2006. 

Michael’s extraordinary promotion activity in the Habitat project drew media attention and promoted the benefits of ICF construction to a broad audience.  He has helped the cement interest build a sense of trust with the green building movement and shown how the industry can make a positive contribution to the environment. Michael’s work as the NECSA Representative to Manhattan College forged strong ties between the school’s civil engineering department and the cement industry.  Thanks to Michael’s efforts, the students have gained positive experiences with cement-based products will influence their future materials choices. 

Allan Anderson
Buzzi Unicem
Allan Anderson is a man of many talents. He works full-time as market manager for Buzzi Unicem, while continuing his work as an ICF distributor and a home energy rater. By combining all three professions, Allan is able to give back to the building community.  He served as captain for a Team Concrete project in rural Illinois: an ICF home for a large family whose son has limited mobility. By saving the family $70,000 on construction, his work allowed them to afford an elevator. This Team Concrete project was later featured in Builder magazine. Allan works tirelessly to advocate the benefits of insulated concrete home construction to both trade and consumer audiences. He has trained Habitat for Humanity volunteers as well as students from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, the National Association of Home Builders, and a central Illinois high school in how to build an ICF foundation. Allan also has donated his time to explain the benefits of ICFs to audiences at Illinois Emergency Management Association events. His presentation was filmed and later aired on a Peoria, Ill., public access channel.

Allan has promoted two ICF homes in the Springfield, Ill., Home Builders’ Association Fall Tour of Homes. Using radio, TV and newspaper advertising, Allan attracted more than 900 people to the homes. As a result, one of the participating ICF contractors is in contract discussions with seven different families.

Kirk McDonald
California Portland Cement Company
Technical Services Manager Kirk McDonald is a major force in the California and Nevada markets, creating promotion opportunities and providing technical expertise that increases the credibility and respect of the entire cement industry. He is well known and trusted among state, county and local officials for the depth of his knowledge of cement and concrete. Kirk is devoted to the technical activities of the California Nevada Cement Association and has made remarkable efforts to obtain Caltrans approval for limestone in cement and acceptance of blended cements. These pivotal steps help to position the cement industry a leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as new regulations for the industry are being crafted. Kirk is involved in the PCA/CNCA ad hoc committee on the Caltrans Limestone Test Program. He also has worked for many years to protect and promote cement industry interests at the Caltrans Rock Products Committee. In addition, Kirk is a member of PCA’s Product Standards and Technology Committee, its Manufacturing Technical Committee, and the PS&T Limestone/Harmonization Task Group. He is Team Leader for the California State DOT Communications Team and co-chaired the ACI Spring 2008 Convention in Los Angeles.

Kirk has been instrumental in gaining Caltrans and Nevada DOT acceptance of ASTM C 150 with allowance of up to 5% limestone, as well as Caltrans acceptance of blended cement.   He has provided pivotal technical background used in the promotion of specific projects and was involved in the standard for pervious concrete approved in the Greenbook: Standard Specifications for Public Works Construction for Southern California.

Dan Richwine
Texas Industries, Inc
Dan Richwine has actively promoted cement-based products at both the local and national levels. During the past couple of years, he has worked with the City of Dallas to promote cement-treated base (CTB) and full-depth reclamation (FDR) to rehabilitate the city's deteriorating streets. The CTB material uses recycled asphalt pavement, while the FDR uses a slurry that eliminates potential dusting issues caused by spreading dry cement. The environmentally conscious City of Dallas, which encourages the use of sustainable products and construction methods, has embraced the use of cement-treated asphalt for pavement repair and cement slurry for full-depth reclamation of deteriorated residential streets. Dan is working with other municipalities in the area, including Fort Worth and Arlington, and with the DOTs of Denton, Collin, and Tarrant counties, urging them to convert to these techniques.  At the national level he serves on ASTM committee D18.15 on Soil and Rock, helping to maintain and update standard test methods and practices on soil-cement. In December 2007, he was instrumental in arranging a demonstration of the slurry placement methods in conjunction with a PCA-sponsored promoter's workshop. During that same period he worked with PCA, the City of Dallas, and the owners of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium to arrange filming of CTB and FDR construction operations for a PCA video.

Dan is currently working with the City of Arlington to develop a standard specification on soil-cement slurry placement. His has successfully worked with Texas DOT's Recycling Texas program and the foundry industry's FIRST program (Foundry Industry Recycling Starts Today) to find uses for foundry sand mixed with cement for cement-treated base.

Nicholas J. Popoff
St. Marys Cement Inc.
Nick Popoff has made exceptional contributions to PCA’s promotion programs as a member of the Product Standards and Technology Committee and others. His contributions include leadership of the Illinois and the Michigan DOT communication teams.  As chairman of the CAC Product Standards and Technology Committee, he represents it on PCA’s Product Standards and Technology Steering Committee. This is a key liaison role in the continuing effort to harmonize CSA and ASTM standards for cement and concrete. As a member of ASTM Committee C01, Nick actively supported revision of ASTM C 150 to permit the use of limestone in portland cement. When it became apparent that ASTM C 150 would adopt those modifications, he volunteered to serve as leader of the Michigan DOT Communications Team to help educate users on those changes. His effectiveness as an advocate was enhanced by his first-hand experience with a cement plant producing cement with limestone for Canadian markets and without limestone for U.S. markets. Nick compiled and shared plant test results that demonstrated equivalent performance characteristics for both products. He also works to promote the PS&T goal of establishing and gaining acceptance for consistent and realistic concrete durability criteria. This work includes participating in Great Lakes regional cement industry efforts to implement effective, workable criteria for ASR mitigation.

Due to his effective communications effort, Michigan DOT officials accepted the use of limestone in portland cement. That acceptance encouraged other states to permit its use. Results of the Illinois DOT trial tests confirmed equivalent performance of cements with and without limestone in mortars. These results were consistent with parallel tests conducted at CTLGroup, and in the fall of 2005, Illinois instituted changes to its DOT specifications to permit the use of up to 5% limestone in portland cement.

Jim Render
Essroc
For the last 10 years, Jim has been active in promotion committees of the Kentucky Ready Mix Concrete Association and the Kentucky Concrete Paving Association.  As KCPA Board Chairman these past two years, he has led the organization through some tough changes. In 2004, Jim helped launch the Louisville Kentucky ACI Chapter. He has been resourceful in attracting involvement from the ready mix industry as a partner in promoting roller-compacted concrete (RCC), concrete pavement and pervious concrete.  As part of the Southeast Cement Association (SCA) University program, Jim makes regular presentations to University of Louisville engineering classes. During 2007, Jim has supported SCA efforts to promote RCC in Tennessee and Kentucky.  Working with the Speed, Ind., Essroc Cement plant facilities, Jim arranged a product demo using a local concrete and asphalt contractor.  In September, with only seven weeks notice, he worked with SCA, PCA, Great Lakes Cement Shippers Association and many ready mix and paving associations to pull off the nation’s best attended RCC seminar and demonstration project. During the demonstration, 130 attendees including local consultants, testing labs, ready-mix producers, River Ports Authority personnel, county and city public works officials, DOT and more toured the active cement plant.

In the two months following the demo, personal follow-ups with attendees resulted in the two projects being constructed.  A county in Indiana built a stretch of county road with their own forces and a large warehouse developer in Indiana built an RCC dolly strip in a parking lot. Strong leads were gained with Ports and DOT in Kentucky.

Bruce Walker
Lafarge NA
Bruce Walker understands the importance of the beginning with the end in mind. When Clemson University considered dropping the Concrete Prestress Structures class because no professor was available, Bruce joined a team to organize the class curriculum and teach the materials portion. Tindall, a local PCI Carolinas/Georgia Chapter member, offered its design engineer to teach most of the class. Working through the Southeast Cement Association University Liaison program, Bruce helped garner the donated PCA books for the class. He also hosted the Clemson students on an annual cement plant tour. When post-graduate engineers begin working at the South Carolina DOT, Bruce works with them as part of the DOT STARS program, which gives them the experience to decide which area of engineering best suits them. Bruce sets up plant tours and presents the cement manufacturing story. For the local Home Builders Association chapter in Columbia, S. C., Bruce and his team created and delivered Concrete Overview and Flatwork Finishes courses as part of the Home Builders Institute (HBI) Field Superintendent Designation Course. He has become a vital educational link for the concrete industry, planting seeds in today’s college students because he knows they will one day be leaders in the industry.

As a result of Bruce’s efforts, he has a strong collaborative base of university and home builder contacts. Through these contacts, he is able to discover new opportunities for the industry to continue expanding.

Danny Alford
Lafarge NA
Danny Alford takes the industry’s integration with the sustainability movement very seriously.  After recognizing an opportunity to get involved with the local U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) chapter in Raleigh, N.C., Danny got elected to the Chapter Board and now co-chairs the membership committee. He is also active on the chapter’s new residential committee.  Danny’s participation on this committee is a great advantage to the industry, as he is an NAHB Concrete Homes Council Certified Trainer for Building with Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs). In 2007, he presented the session at the Raleigh Home Builders chapter and 45 people attended. He gave another class for the local home builders in Charleston and 50 people attended. Danny is building an influential contact base in North Carolina for the industry. He sees opportunities to reach out to fellow industry leaders and creates expanded opportunities for our products and messages in the process. As a team player within the association, he dedicates his time for the good of the industry and market development. Danny is bringing attention to more concrete options, and our products are starting to gain traction with new audiences.

As the most active member of the newly formed Southeast Cement Association’s U.S. Green Building Council Liaison Committee, Danny is leading his peers to uncover opportunities in the green building movement. It is a grassroots movement we can affect with new involvement.

David Collins
Holcim (US), Inc.
David Collins has been an advocate for promoting new markets for soil cement stabilization and FDR using cement. David is involved personally, meeting with decision makers from Mississippi DOT and Alabama DOT, making calls and visits, and creating opportunities to be with them socially. He regularly participates in AASHTO meetings. David also has trained his sales staff on FDR and how to develop local projects. In 2003, David helped the industry regain a soil cement stabilization market with Mississippi DOT. Last year, he provided people and products for an FDR construction demo given for 80 public works directors, county engineers, and road superintendents from seven states at the Southeast Local Roads Conference, held in Baldwin County, Alabama. The conference was put on through the FHWA Local Transportation Assistant Program (LTAP) and Auburn University. Our objective was to jump start FDR promotion in Alabama and show it off to attendees from other states. The event was a great success.  David’s service has included terms as chairman of the Southeast Cement Association, Mississippi Committee; vice chairman of the Mississippi Concrete Paving Association; past president of the Mississippi Concrete Industries Association (2005); and board member of the American Concrete Pavement Association, Southeast Chapter – Alabama.

Following the spring 2007 FDR demonstration, his calls on Baldwin and Mobile counties have resulted in Mobile County letting their first 5-mile FDR project using cement. Inroads into the Alabama FDR market are progressing quickly since the demonstration, with several more projects now at the bidding stage.

Lynn Rasco
Cemex, Inc.
A true believer in industry promotion in the southeast, Lynn Rasco gets actively involved supporting the goals of the association. He leads by example, devotes his time, and has dedicated team members. Located in a state that has resisted our industry’s promotion of concrete pavements, Lynn has taken on the role of board chairman to involve more members and re-energize our efforts. Soil cement, CTB, RCC, and FDR are all part of Alabama’s pavement promotion efforts. In 2006, the Southeastern Transportation Geotechnical Engineering Conference (STGEC) came to Alabama, bringing with it a new audience we could influence to consider soil cement stabilization projects. At this regional conference, Lynn offered to fry fish for the attendees, not expecting to cook on an evening cruise in Huntsville when the temperature dropped to 40°F. Wearing big smiles, Lynn and his team presented the fried fish, and made sure everyone enjoyed themselves. Alabama DOT participants took pride in exhibiting this industry partnership before their peers from the surrounding states. Lynn leads by example, asking his employees to do only what he is willing to do himself.  Lynn and his team regularly give their time, talent, and money to build relationships with ALDOT.  Considering that PCA and ACPA went for more than 15 years in the 1980s and 1990s without contacting ALDOT, this relationship building has greatly benefited the industry and associations.  Alabama had not let a soil cement project for more than 25 years. In the spring of 2007, however, the cement industry was offered a chance to compete against aggregate base for a project in the ALDOT letting. We successfully gained the project and, true to form, Lynn Rasco’s team fried fish for an open house that fall. Thanks to Lynn’s leadership, many industry associations have increased recognition and credibility in their states.

ALDT’s first soil cement project in 25 years has been completed. Together we have gained increased attention for soil cement products, and RCC or FDR projects using cement are becoming monthly occurrences in Alabama.

Frank Lennox
Buzzi Unicem USA, Inc.
Frank Lennox is passionately engaged in the sustainability movement in the southeast, attending association meetings, getting exhibitors, speaking at conventions, and contacting public officials and industry members to promote FDR/RCC and pervious pavements. He has even met with the Georgia Senate Transportation Chairman to promote our concrete solutions.  Frank is known for enthusiastically participating and networking at event such as the Tennessee Transportation Assistance Program (TTAP), Southeast Cement Association seminars and demonstrations, ACI, AGC, and Georgia Concrete and Products Association meetings. When the Georgia ACI Chapter hosted the national convention in 2007, Frank chaired the exhibitors’ sub-committee. He made sure exhibitors remembered to emphasize the benefits of the various products (especially pervious) in their exhibits. Also last year, as Georgia ACI Chapter Vice-President, he sponsored a meeting on green codes, invited NRMCA to present, and got many local officials to attend. Recently, Frank spoke on the LEED program at a joint meeting of AGC, AIA, CSI and MAC, helping to make it a successful event for the concrete industry. He worked closely with the National Park Service representatives in Atlanta to persuade them to build their first pervious concrete pavement on a 1.5-mile walkway along the Chattahoochee River. When the placement began, he was there to supervise the process. Frank contacted Tennessee DOT’s Region 2 Maintenance Engineer to discuss doing more RCC paving in the western part of the state. Frank’s networking efforts have helped obtain many projects, including five pervious concrete projects and over 15,000 yards of RCC placed in Chattanooga in 2007. Frank has energized many people in the area of RCC, speaking or otherwise helping at several of the Southeast Cement Association’s workshops and events. In the last year alone, he devoted time to RCC events in Nashville, Louisville and Atlanta.

Recognizing the increased public interest in sustainability, Frank devoted his time to make sure pervious concrete and RCC were introduced to new audiences, and in 2007 and early 2008, many projects have been built thanks to his efforts.

Roger Vaughn
Holcim (US), Inc.
Staff resources can take an association only so far, and Roger Vaughn knows that it takes volunteer efforts to go the distance. Recognizing the needs of the Carolinas Ready Mixed Concrete Association (CRMCA), Roger has championed round robin testing events for the association’s Concrete Education Council. At round robin testing events, teams from various labs perform strength tests on the same load of concrete. The specimens are tested and results sent in for the compilation of a final report. The report is then distributed to let labs compare themselves to the whole. These events have given our industry new opportunities to interact with the labs and engineers, and to focus more attention on proper concrete testing. This spring, Roger’s collaboration with CRMCA’s Technical Committee, NCDOT, and NRMCA will lead to the launch of the first NRMCA Level II Technician Certification.  He gained NCDOT’s confidence through their acceptance of the NCDOT Batch Man Certification, then worked with NCDOT and NRMCA to develop a slightly customized class incorporating NCDOT administrative procedures and forms. As chair of this ad hoc committee, Roger also lined up speakers for the class (including himself).  This new certification in North Carolina will serve as a model to help the industry nationwide gain better partnerships with DOTs on certifications and reciprocity issues.

Roger has helped the association gain credibility for its technical capabilities. As a result, industry representatives have been invited to present luncheon programs to more engineering and geotechnical consultants. Designers are now asking for industry help on the use of new products such as pervious concrete for parking lot designs.

Sean Varner
Lafarge NA
Sean Varner is actively involved with the Carolinas Ready Mixed Concrete Association (CRMCA) Concrete Education Council (CEC) and is serving his fourth year as the Southeast Cement Association’s liaison to North Carolina A&T State University (NCA&T). In 2005, Sean garnered industry support to start an annual scholarship golf outing for the engineering department. In 2007, the Triad CEC Chapter gave $2500 in scholarships. Due to Sean’s work, NCA&T has shown increased interest in many new cement and concrete products. Recently, NCA&T’s Civil and Environmental Engineering College presented a forum on pervious concrete for more than 40 professors and students. The CEC Triad Chapter has nine meetings per year with ready mix producers, suppliers, and engineers. They develop and present programs for engineers and public works directors in the greater Greensboro area. Sean has made sure to include the university engineering professors and students in all these. As Chapter Coordinator in 2005, Sean arranged for coverage of events and products in the local media. Thanks to his leadership during an extraordinary year, the Triad Chapter received the CRMCA 2005 Chapter of the Year Award.

For years CRMCA offered financial assistance for students/professors to attend cement and concrete industry workshops with marginal success. Due to Sean’s hard work, we had a breakthrough with NCA&T in 2007. The university now offers thorough training on pervious concrete to 33 undergraduates, eight graduate students, plus professors.

Scott chairs the Residential Department, helped create the Smart Homes Alliance and Builder Incentive Program in Arizona, continues to work on developing PCA-NAHB relationship through the Concrete Home Building Council and Building Materials Subcommittee, and has done much to re-energize the residential program at PCA.

Ed Cooper
Ash Grove Cement Company
Ed Cooper, a long-time leader and co-founder of the ACPA Utah Chapter, passionately believes that concrete pavement is the best choice for Utah taxpayers.  In April 2007, the chapter set out to overturn the Utah DOT's practice of specifying asphalt pavements for almost all state highways.   The chapter was particularly upset at asphalt’s being specified for I-80 reconstruction through Salt Lake City.  The association decided to deploy a full court press and pursue a policy change at all levels of the DOT.

Ed volunteered to meet with the deputy director of the DOT, Carlos Braceras.  Ed told the beputy birector that the I-80 project needed to be concrete pavement, due to its heavy truck traffic.  Ed pointed out that, if I-15 through the city had been constructed with asphalt seven years earlier (it is a concrete pavement), it would already be due for its first major overlay.  He demanded that the DOT give the concrete industry a shot at the work by specifying alternate bids on the project. Other chapter members also applied pressure for an alternate bid at several levels, from the district engineer all the way to the DOT executive director. Within one week of these meetings, the governor asked the chairman of the Highway Commission to step down.  With the chairman out of the way, Braceras gave Tim Biel, Utah DOT materials engineer, the green light to develop a more balanced pavement selection policy, in response to Ed and the chapter's request.
 
The I-80 project, which was the short-term goal of the chapter, was switched to concrete pavement, resulting in a 15,000-ton project.  We expect to see the market share of concrete pavement triple over the next five years due to the new pavement selection policy currently being implemented. 

Jim Porter
Essroc Cement Corp.
Jim Porter has been involved with the Carolinas Concrete Masonry Association (CCMA) Board of Directors since 1993 when he immediately became the liaison to the Cement Shippers for the Southeast Region, now known as the Southeast Cement Promotion Association.  As the chair of the Associate Members Committee, Jim has been strengthening the association year by year.  In that role, he has spearheaded continuing education efforts for more than ten years.  Noteworthy examples of these include a Block Dispatchers and Inside Sales Workshop, both of which are held annually to large numbers of attendees.    Jim Porter is a true “southern gentlemen,” a professional, and highly respected by all in the industry.  Jim has promoted more than 200 concrete masonry home in the Carolinas.  He is involved heavily with the Builders Forum and has increased participation in that group substantially.  Jim works with SkillsUSA vocational education programs in the Carolinas.  These two states lead the nation in number of masons trained.

Jim has been responsible for raising the quality of the education level of CCMA members from dispatchers to outside sales people.  As the liaison to the Cement Promotion Association, he has been able to communicate to those decision-makers a side of CCMA that goes beyond what one would view in a printed report.  Jim has been instrumental in increasing the funding level to CCMA particularly relative to the Concrete Masonry Framed Home Promotion.  CCMA now has more momentum than ever.  Jim is effective because he has been such an integral part of the CCMA Board of Directors and participates and supports all promotion and educational activities.

2008 Distinguished Partner Nominees
Jonathan Kuell
Northern New England Concrete Promotion Association
Jonathan Kuell, executive director of the Northern New England Concrete Promotion Association, successfully lobbied to have a pervious concrete parking lot installed at the University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center in Durham, N.H.  The Center, which studies stormwater-related water quality and quantity issues, is currently comparing more than 15 different stormwater management systems under strictly controlled conditions.  In addition to testing stormwater control measures, the Center disseminates its results to governmental agencies, consulting firms, owners and other decision makers in New England and throughout the United States.  A porous asphalt parking lot was installed at the Center in 2004, and observations on the pavement’s performance have been widely disseminated.  Jonathan believed that the Center should also have a pervious concrete parking lot as part of its applied stormwater research.  He met with Dr. Robert Roseen, director of the Center, and let him know that the concrete industry wanted the opportunity to study pervious concrete. Jon also encouraged the Center to study phosphorous levels in stormwater treated by passing through the pervious concrete and the recharge layer beneath, something that was not done on the pervious asphalt demonstration lot. 
Jon also sought and received industry support for the project: Ciment Quebec donated the cement for the pervious concrete;  Seacoast Redi Mix donated the aggregates and the batch plant for the pervious concrete production;  BASF donated the admixtures; and NECSA invested more than $50,000 to help defray installation and related costs.

Jon saw his vision become a reality when a 21,000-square foot pervious concrete parking lot was installed on the UNH Campus in August of 2007.  The UNH parking lot will be a model for the entire Northeast and far beyond.  The UNH Stormwater Center will evaluate the pervious concrete’s performance with regard to treating water quality, reducing the volume of runoff, and minimizing the need for salting and sanding in winter. They also will track how well it stands up to freeze-thaw and wear and tear under traffic.  Several projects already have resulted from this demonstration parking lot, and many more are to come. It has influenced the selection of pervious concrete for a number of parking lots scheduled for placement in 2008, including a 35,000-square foot lot in Randolph, Vt., and a 600-car parking lot in Williston, Vt.

As a result of this program, 100 ICF homes have been built in Lubbock, and 17 local contractors have been trained in the use of ICFs.  The cities of San Angelo and Abilene will also be implementing ICF construction in their own affordable housing programs.

Frank Koszeliski
Gallup Sand & Gravel
Frank Koszeliski, P.E. is a consultant and materials engineer for Gallup Sand & Gravel LLC, who recently retired as president after more than 31 years with the family-owned company. An ACI Fellow, he has been active in many of the technical and educational committees, as well as ACI's New Mexico Chapter since its inception. He serves on the Board of Directors for the New Mexico Ready Mix Concrete and Aggregate Association and provides consulting and promotion services for the Rocky Mountain Cement Council. Frank’s passions include education and experimenting with new ideas. He loves speaking with students on the merits of concrete and financially supports the RMC Research & Education Foundation. He has written numerous technical articles and lectures frequently on a variety of cement and concrete-related subjects. It's not unusual to see various test strips scattered around the Gallup yard as Frank seeks to demonstrate the value of new types of "Kozcrete."  He is an engineer who wants to expand the bounds of concrete beyond the conventional 4000-psi mix. He loves promoting concrete and the concrete industry through education and training.

Frank has been instrumental in promoting the first use of drainable cement-treated base material in Albuquerque. He has successfully promoted concrete parking lots and pervious concrete throughout New Mexico. He promoted several whitetopping projects for the Navajo Housing Authority, designing the pavement layout and mix design.  His love of teaching and experimenting with new ideas has encouraged others to look at concrete in a new and exciting way.

Brian's efforts have resulted in local and national media for the Safe Home Illinois/Fortified Home program.  News of this program has reached tens of thousands of builders through the media relations efforts of PCA, IBHS, PCI, and others. Brian's other efforts have undoubtedly influenced thousands of other builders, specifiers and owners.

Chuck Vance
IBHS Fortified for Safer Living Program
The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is a consortium of major U.S. property and casualty insurance companies.  The IBHS mission is to increase the disaster-resistance of homes and buildings across the United States.  Their Fortified... for Safer Living program lays out a set of guidelines for builders to follow that increase the disaster resistance of structures against the natural hazards in any given area.   These hazards could include not only wind damage from hurricanes and tornados, but also seismic movement and hail damage.  Of course, a home with concrete wall systems goes a long way towards meeting the criteria, although other components such as the roof-to-wall connections, doors, windows and roof cladding also are critical.  IBHS assists builders that meet the Fortified criteria with publicity, by holding events, issuing press releases and listing information about the homes or developments on its Web site The IBHS Fortified program staff have worked extensively with PCA and our local and regional allies for the last several years to spread the message that concrete products can help save lives and damage during natural disasters.  Concrete homes across the country have earned the Fortified status, and IBHS and its member companies have worked with PCA in a number of concrete home demonstration projects, most notably with precast homes in the Chicago suburbs. PCA has presented at the IBHS National Meeting, and IHBS staff members have spoken at PCA functions.  IBHS and the Fortified program have been the best way for PCA to communicate directly with the insurance industry.

Thanks to IBHS and their Fortified program, a number of builders, code officials, architects, the general public, and most notably the insurance industry have come to realize the disaster-resistant benefits of concrete walls, roof tiles and cementitious claddings.

Polysteel’s achievement of C2C designation for Polysteel better positions ICF products within the green building community by successfully refuting claimed environmental hazards for plastic foams, which has been a huge barrier for wider acceptance.  It will force other ICF manufacturers to examine all environmental and socioeconomic aspects of their businesses as well, furthering the positive contribution Insulating Concrete Forms can make within the green marketplace.

Andrew E. Marks
Puget Sound Concrete Specification Council
A concrete pavement engineer with long experience in the northwest, Andy operates a one-person promotional organization dedicated to expanding demand for concrete pavements in the Seattle metropolitan area. Supported by a handful of local ready-mix companies (and with aid from the RPG), Andy calls mostly on engineers & public works staff. He was instrumental in getting concrete specified for the South 228th Street extension and grade separation project in the city of Kent, Wash. This extension completes a five-lane arterial roadway to Interstate 5 and provides a key freight mobility link through this industrial center. Funded by the federal government and an additional $15.7 million private sector investment via a Local Improvement District, the project was the city’s first capital improvement project approved for concrete construction in more than a decade. The extension itself required 7500 cu yd of concrete; related pavement projects used another 1650 cu yd. The South 228th Street extension now serves as a model of cost-effective infrastructure for other Seattle area communities.

Andy’s frequent, knowledgeable promotion calls went a long way toward persuading officials in Kent to approve concrete for the 228th Street Extension project in concrete in summer and fall of 2006.

Hundreds of people within and outside of the building industry have been reached directly through seminars, while thousands more have heard our message as a result of media publicity generated by Safe Home Illinois.  The program also has had a direct effect on municipalities, particularly in Bolingbrook and Aurora.

 
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