March 2014, Vol. 69 No. 3
Features
DCA Sets Attendance, Auction Records in Cancun
Attendance set a record as over 420 delegates attended the Distribution Contractors Association 53rd Annual Convention at the Ritz Carlton in Cancun, Mexico. Many of those delegates were attending their first ever DCA convention.
The convention was presided over by outgoing president Tim Bell of Midwestern Contractors, Elburn, IL.
This year’s auction set a new record by raising $681,000. In addition, another $73,000 was raised to support the local Oklahoma chapter of the Special Forces Association in which Butch and Bonnie Graham of Ritchie Bros. are very active. Butch hoped to raise $2,500 – $3,000 to donate to the wives of disabled veterans for Christmas and was shocked by the generosity of DCA members. A third of the money will now go to the national association to help families across the country.
Executive Vice President Rob Darden boasted about the association’s growth over the past several months. The annual equipment survey of DCA regular members shows them buying and leasing over $909 million in equipment in 2013 which was an increase of $180 million from the previous year. Fifty-seven percent of contractor members participated in the survey. Man hours worked increased by over 10 percent. Membership passed the 200 mark for the first time ever in 2013 and now stands at 203.
Through DCA’s sophisticated committee structure, members are engaged and educated in areas such as government relations and legislation, advancements in HDD, safety and risk management. The membership and education committees look for ways to add value to new and existing members. Additionally, the labor committee is tasked with negotiating collective bargaining on behalf of its unionized members.
Officers & directors
New officers elected for 2014 are: President H. Grady Bell, vice president of business development, Laney Directional Drilling Co., Spring, TX; Vice President Frank Patterson, Primoris Services Corporation, Pelham, AL; Treasurer Dale Anderson, executive vice president, Miller Pipeline, Indianapolis, IN; Immediate Past President Tim Bell, president, Midwestern Contractors, Elburn, IL; and Executive Vice President Rob Darden, DCA, Richardson, TX.
DCA President Tim Bell presents the Arthur T. Everham Safety Award to the winner in the over 900,000 man hours worked category to Jay Osborn of Q3 Contracting Inc.
Directors for 2014 are: Ben Nelson, vice president – Western Operations, Michels Corporation, Kirkland, WA; Jay Osborn, president, Q3 Contracting, Inc., Little Canada, MN; Michael J. Hickey, executive vice president, Construction Operations, The Hallen Construction Co., Inc., Island Park, NY; Larry Ernst, president, Midwest Underground, Inc.; Dale Mykyte, chief executive officer, Pe Ben USA, Inc., Houston, TX; Jim Lagios, general manager – business development, OA Directional Drilling LLC, Scottsdale, AZ; and Director at Large Tom Clapper, vice president, Tekrock Trenching LLC, Georgetown, TX. Past President Director is Shepard Poole, president & chief executive officer, The Hallen Construction Company, Inc., Island Park, NY. The Associate Member Directors are Bob Darby, president, Darby Equipment Company, Tulsa, OK,and Pat Hunt, Case Construction Equipment Inc., Park Ridge, NJ.
Scholarships and safety
For the 2014-15 school year, Ruth Michels announced that the Dale R. Michels Scholarship Fund would distribute $67,000. The Curtis Allen Scholarship Fund is distributing $18,000 for scholarships.
The safety awards were again very competitive. The 2013 Arthur T. Everham Safety Award winners by category were:
Under 350,000 hours – H & H Enterprises, Andover, OH.
351,000 to 899,000 hours – Underground Construction Company Inc., Benicia, CA.
Over 900,000 hours – Q3 Contracting Inc., Little Canada, MN.
Upcoming DCA events for 2014 include: annual Safety Congress, April 14-16, Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, NV; Mid-Year Meeting, July 23 – 27, Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, NC; Contractor’s Reception/Fall Meeting – Oct. 26 – 29, The Worthington Renaissance, Ft. Worth, TX; and the 54th Annual Convention, Feb. 7 – 12, 2015, The Roosevelt, New Orleans, LA.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
DCA, (972) 680-0261, www.dca-online.org
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