April 18, 2023

Alexandria, VA – April 18 2023

The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association held its 2023 Annual Convention last month in Las Vegas just before the CONEXPO/CON-AGG Show and elected a new slate of officers for its 2023-2024 term while also presenting a number of awards for outstanding industry service.

Succeeding John Holliday as chairman of the Board of Directors is Adam Manatt of Manatt’s Inc., Brooklyn, IA. Elected vice chairman was Nathan McKean of BMC Enterprises, Inc., St. Louis and elected secretary/treasurer was Hall Chaney, Chaney Enterprises, Gambrills, MD.

Brief summaries of each award presented at the convention are listed below. Please click here to access more background on the recipients and the awards themselves.

Robert A. Garbini Chairman’s Award – There were two recipients this year who displayed uncommon engagement in Association activities while promoting the industry’s initiatives and helping to move the industry forward. The first, Melanie O’Regan, has worked in the ready mixed concrete industry for nearly 40 years, including for the CalPortland Company since 2006. She has served on several NRMCA committees, including the Business Administration (now the Business Advancement) Committee, Promotion Committee for Buildings and Sustainability, RES, SEO, Government Affairs and Membership Committees. Ms. O’Regan has held a seat on the NRMCA Board of Directors since 2013 and has served four terms on the Executive Committee since 2016. She is a strong supporter of CONCRETEPAC and the newly named Concrete Advancement Foundation (formerly the RMC Research & Education Foundation).

The second honoree was Alan Wessel, a 30-year veteran of the ready mixed concrete industry. Mr. Wessel has been with Thomas Concrete, Inc. since 2013. He has been actively involved with NRMCA as a member of several committees, including Workforce Development, RES, SEO, Government Affairs, Educational Activities and Vision Strategic Planning. He has acted as the Executive Committee liaison for the Workforce Development and the RES Committees. Mr. Wessel has held a seat on the NRMCA Board of Directors since 2014 and served on the Executive Committee three times since 2018. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Concrete Advancement Foundation. Mr. Wessel’s commitment to supporting Government Affairs and CONCRETEPAC earned him the 2021 Grassroots Activist of the Year award.

State Association of the Year Award – The Colorado Ready Mixed Concrete Association was honored for its achievements, including expanding its efforts under the statewide Build With Strength banner while also developing a strong social media campaign; helping to publish more than a dozen articles specific to BWS; enhanced its website with information about the concrete design center, concrete project tracker and more. Finally, CRMCA created a robust digital marketing campaign of a dozen ads which have been viewed over 200,000 times. CRMCA and its members have also been very active in partnership with NRMCA in its Habitat for Humanity program, donating materials and hundreds of man-hours in 2022 to the second round of ICF Habitat homes in the state, this time in Denver, which resulted in local news features and a nine-page spread in a state construction and design magazine.

Richard D. Gaynor Award – The NRMCA Research Engineering and Standards (RES) Committee recognized J. Bruce Blair, retired president and CEO of Consumers Concrete Corp. Mr. Blair has been involved in the cement and concrete industry for more than 40 years. Throughout his career, he has been active in industry organizations that develop standards, support promotion and other industry initiatives. His experience has developed proficiencies in quality control management, change implementation, project management and team leadership. He has authored articles on performance-based specifications for concrete and the use of blended and innovative cementitious materials.
Mr. Blair has been a member of the NRMCA Board of Directors and active on committees supporting NRMCA initiatives on paving and building promotion, operations and sustainability. On the RES Committee, he has chaired the Research Task Group and facilitated the development of research topics that support ready mixed concrete industry objectives. He has served on the Advisory Council of the Concrete Advancement Foundation.

William B. Allen Award – The Business Advancement Committee presented the William B. Allen Award to Annette Tyson in recognition of her outstanding leadership and commitment to high standards of business acumen. Ms. Tyson is a Certified Public Accountant and started with CalPortland Company in 1989, today serving as the vice president of strategic planning and internal services. She served as chair of the NRMCA Business Administration Committee from 2014 to 2016, was a founding member and inaugural chair of NRMCA’s Financial Performance Improvement Group and helped launch the FPI Group to pave the way for the establishment of the current Business Advancement Committee.

Promoter of the Year Award – Buildings – This year’s recipient is Zach Easley of Dolese Bros. Co. Zach started his career 7 ½ years ago with Dolese Bros. Co. as a masonry division sales representative and then added insulated concrete forms to his duties shortly afterward. Last year, Easley converted more than 15,000 ICF units, replacing products from the wood and steel market resulting in over 3,000 addition yards of concrete.

Promoter of the Year Award – Pavement – The award this year goes to Dave Gray of GCC of America. Gray has been in the cement and concrete industry for 31 years and with GCC of America since 2006. Over the past 10 years, Dave has become deeply involved in the promotion of concrete overlays of asphalt parking lots. His efforts have resulted in several successful concrete overlay projects, totaling over 4.3 million square feet of overlay pavement which equates to nearly 50,000 cubic yards of concrete. His largest successes include the highly-promoted, frequently referenced Pinehurst Country Club project (245,000 sq. ft.) and the Pikes Peak Shuttle Lot at Denver International Airport which, at 2.8 million sq. ft., is the largest single concrete overlay project in the U.S.

State Affiliate Promoter of the Year Award – This award was presented to Christy Martin of the Concrete Promotional Group, Inc. of the Kansas and Missouri region. Ms. Martin was praised for her consistent and effective promotion of quality concrete construction in the Greater Kansas City area, including Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF) site tours, site cast tilt-up concrete panel site tour, concrete silo/batch plant tour, concrete pavements, parking lots and flatwork conference, Concrete Technology Course, “Go To Work” scholarship program for high school seniors, career fairs, Missouri School Board Conference presentation on ICF schools, flatwork certification programs, NRMCA Plant Managers Certification course, webinars with other Upper Midwest state ready mixed concrete associations, NRMCA webinar promotion, young professionals meetings, member networking events and support of the Concrete Cares Children’s Cancer Initiative.

Concrete Cares Award – NRMCA’s Manufacturers, Products & Services (MPS) Division presented one of the two Concrete Cares Awards to Callanan Industries for its contributions of community service and philanthropic initiatives. Through its Callanan Cares program, the company has become highly recognized for its fundraisers, donations and volunteer efforts. One of Callanan’s initiatives is its Certified Wildlife Habitat and Pollinator Garden where employees perform spring and fall cleanup, consisting of weeding, mulching and pruning. Callanan also made a significant impact through its fundraising efforts. The company presented the NYOH Community Cancer Foundation with a $12,000 check from its annual Ride With Mike fundraiser and participated in a fundraiser for the Rett Syndrome Research Trust which raised over $320,000 for research. Employees take part in a variety of events and initiatives throughout the year, including the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, hosting a blood drive, and cooking and serving meals at a local outreach center.

Ozinga was the other recipient of this year’s Concrete Cares Award. Two of the company’s service initiatives in 2022 centered on what the company called the Pink Truck and The Merry Mixer. In May, Ozinga debuted its Pink Truck, a bold symbol of support for breast cancer awareness. It quickly became a staple of the Ozinga fleet, delivering concrete daily to customers while raising awareness for the cause. During October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the truck visited two Making Strides Against Breast Cancer events hosted by the American Cancer Society. Ozinga also donated 25% of the truck’s 416-yard October revenue to the American Cancer Society and the Cancer Support Center in Mokena, IL. In addition to the Pink Truck, Ozinga’s Merry Mixer was a festive display of holiday cheer. Decked out in 32,000 LED lights synced to classic Christmas music, the Merry Mixer brought joy to 32 events, including 10 parades, six assisted living/support homes and three children’s hospitals. During these visits, Ozinga employees, along with their friends and family, walked in parades and handed out candy. The company also donated over 1,600 items for children at these support homes and hospitals.

Shydlowski-Turner Materials Leadership Award – Was awarded to Mike Krauss who began his career in the construction industry in 1978. His first position was as a sales representative with Master Builders and, beginning in 1998, Mr. Krauss continued his career with The Euclid Chemical Company. Mr. Krauss has always had an active relationship with NRMCA. He worked with the NRMCA Workforce Development Committee and the Materials Division. He fully utilized the tools and programs that NRMCA offered, helping him to become an excellent trainer and concrete expert.

Bruno Benna Advocacy Award – This year’s honoree was Laurence J. Silvi, II, of Silvi Materials. Over many years, Mr. Silvi has been a stalwart advocate for electing pro-business, pro-ready mixed concrete candidates to Congress. Mr. Silvi worked hard developing relationships with sitting Members of Congress and supporting industry friendly candidates. During the 2022 election, he served as the chairman of CONCRETEPAC, helping direct the PAC’s activities and support for pro-business, pro-ready mixed concrete candidates.

Joseph E. Carpenter Award – This year’s Carpenter Award winner is Dale Kotzea, retired safety director of GCC, Aberdeen, SD. Mr. Kotzea was recognized for a life of service aimed toward improving the safety and well-being of others, whether in the military, public sector or private sector. He is a longtime SEO Committee member with outstanding service to the committee and NRMCA. He has served as the SEO Safety Task Group vice chairman and chairman. He has also distinguished himself as an NRMCA SEO Committee vice chairman along with a nearly three-year term as SEO Committee chairman. Over the last 15 years, Mr. Kotzea has played a key role in raising the bar for safety at GCC and across the ready mixed concrete industry.

Driver of the Year Award – Please note that a separate press release was issued earlier this year announcing the winners. The 2023 winner was Robert Hackney of Ernst Concrete Inc. whose home plant is in Troy, OH. There were also three runners-up: Bill Gerber of Silvi Concrete in Fairless Hills, PA; Jason Giard of CS-MA, LLC dba Construction Service of Wilbraham, MA and Dewayne Gootee, Dolese Bros. Co., Moore, OK.