NRMCA Holds 2024 Annual Convention Names Officers, Presents Awards for Outstanding Industry Service
Alexandria, VA – April 9, 2024
The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association held its 2024 Annual Convention last month in Tampa, FL, and elected a new slate of officers for its 2024 – 2025 term while also presenting a number of awards for outstanding industry service.
Succeeding Adam Manatt as chairman of the Board of Directors is Nathan McKean of BMC Enterprises, Inc., St. Louis. Elected vice chairman was Hall Chaney, Chaney Enterprises, Gambrills, MD and elected secretary/treasurer was G. Carlton Golden, Jr., president of Builders Supply Company, Inc.
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 honorees, Allen Hamblen and Boo Twohy. Mr. Hamblen is president and CEO of CalPortland Company. He has served on numerous NRMCA committees and has been a strong supporter of CONCRETEPAC. Mr. Hamblen was elected to the Board of Directors in 2008, elected NRMCA chairman in 2015 and received the William B. Allen award in 2019 in recognition of his lifetime commitment to outstanding leadership in promoting the ready mixed concrete industry.
Before retiring last year, Ms. Twohy worked in the ready mixed concrete industry for nearly 50 years, ending her career as president of Capital Concrete, Inc. She was involved with and chaired many committees at NRMCA; has supported NRMCA educational activities and would consistently send her key employees to NRMCA technical and operational education courses. She has always been a strong supporter of CONCRETEPAC and the Concrete Advancement Foundation. After several years serving on the Board of Directors, Ms. Twohy was elected to serve on the NRMCA Executive Committee and in 2007 she became the first and, so far, only woman to serve as Board chairman.
State Association of the Year Award – The 2023 winner was the Aggregate & Ready Mix Association of Minnesota which was honored for, among other accomplishments, its “Let’s Rock” public outreach campaign that took a critical look at the career interests of young Minnesota residents and the industry perceptions that have resulted in limited candidates exploring careers in the aggregate and ready mixed concrete industries.
ARM also placed a strong emphasis on technology, innovation and advancement. Projects included working with the National Road Research Alliance to place 14 sections of concrete pavement constructed with optimized traditional materials mixes as well as alternative cementitious materials which are showing excellent early results, demonstrating the industry’s immediate ability to deliver mixtures with lower embodied carbon.
Richard D. Gaynor Award – The 2024 award was presented to John Cook, vice president technical services for Thomas Concrete, Inc. Mr. Cook has been involved in the concrete industry for over 40 years, 38 of them with Thomas Concrete in leadership roles in technical services. He has been a member of the RES Committee for more than 15 years and served as chairman between 2020 and 2022. Mr. Cook has supported many initiatives of the Research, Engineering and Standards Committee, including the P2P initiative, quality initiatives and the development of technical publications. Mr. Cook has been involved in ACI for several years and his representation of the industry has helped focus the direction of ACI’s guides and standards to be relevant and used by the ready mixed concrete industry.
The award is named for Richard D. Gaynor who served NRMCA for more than 40 years until he retired in 1997 as the executive vice president of the Engineering Division.
William B. Allen Award – Bob Capasso of Concrete Financial Insights was the 2024 winner of the William B. Allen Award. Mr. Capasso was honored for his outstanding leadership and commitment to upholding the highest standards of the industry. He has decades of experience in leading financially successful operations, including as vice president of finance for Rinker Materials and CFO for CEMEX. Over the years, Bob’s engagement with NRMCA included participation in the former Business Administration Committee and its successors. He was instrumental in advocating for and supporting the establishment of the Financial Performance Improvement Group as well as the Business Advancement Committee. Mr. Capasso is also the architect and primary instructor for NRMCA’s Think Like an Owner course.
This award is named after one of the ready mixed concrete industry’s most distinguished and accomplished figures, Bill Allen, who served the concrete and aggregates industries for more than 50 years.
Promoter of the Year Award – Buildings – Ryan Cialdella of Ozinga. In his role as vice president of research and development, Mr. Cialdella oversees the Customer Development and Technical Services teams at Ozinga. He is a featured speaker at numerous industry-related events, including NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks, AIA Annual Convention, IRMCA Annual Meeting, Carbon Capture Summit, Carbon Leadership Forum, IMPACT Regional Green Conference and several others. Mr. Cialdella has been a member, Board member and previous
president of the Board of the Illinois Ready Mix Concrete Association from 2016 through 2018 as well as an active member of NRMCA.
Promoter of the Year Award – Pavement – Renee Williams of Maschmeyer Concrete Company. Ms. Williams has been with the Florida-based company for 22 years. During this time, she has extensively promoted concrete pavements in the West Palm Beach area. She is active with the Florida Concrete & Products Association (FC&PA), having served as Region Six chairperson and has been a vital part of the Paving Committee for approximately 20 years. Currently, she serves as FC&PA Region Six Paving Committee Champion. Ms. Williams consistently leads the region in paving Design Assistance Programs (DAP) and Project Profile submittals. She has received several awards for her efforts, including FC&PA Project Profile Champion Award and FC&PA Top Promoter Award. She has twice received the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) Sustainability Award for projects in Singer Island and Delray Beach.
State Affiliate Promoter of the Year Award – Melissa Wilkerson, executive director of the Oklahoma Ready Mixed Concrete Association. Ms. Wilkerson has spearheaded initiatives that have significantly contributed to ORMCA’s success in advancing the Association’s primary objectives encompassing promotion, education, advocacy and engagement. Her impact extends to the growth of the Association, with a remarkable 33% increase in membership over the past three years. Ms. Wilkerson’s dedication and contributions have been truly instrumental in steering the Association toward success and growth.
John W. Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award for Promotion – Tom Evans, past executive director of the Maryland Ready Mixed Concrete Association. Mr. Evans joined MRMCA in 1996 as promotion director and was named executive director in 2013. His career has been characterized by a profound commitment to promoting the awareness and understanding of concrete and its vital role in infrastructure. Throughout his tenure, Mr. Evans has been a staunch advocate for education and professional development within our industry.
His dedication to fostering a culture of continuous learning has left an indelible mark on countless professionals young and old and has elevated the overall caliber of the industry.
This award was named in honor of former NRMCA Chairman John Watts Roberts, who over a 76-year career was a leader in both the industry and his community.
Concrete Cares Award – There were three NRMCA Producer member companies that were honored for their community service in 2023; Dolese Bros. Co. and Holliday Rock Company were named runners-up; the winner was the L. Suzio Concrete Company.
The L. Suzio Company was recognized for its many charitable contributions, including the Meridian Lion’s Club food drive, monetary donations to a local soup kitchen, the donation of concrete to the Yale Architecture Graduate Student Program which was used to build a home for preschool teachers at a children’s center and Special Olympics Connecticut. The company also donated concrete to help with building an assisted aquatic pool for the family of a local fallen police officer.
Shydlowski-Turner Materials Leadership Award – G. Terry Harris, senior director of technical services, Ductilcrete Slab Systems – North America for CHRYSO and GCP. Mr. Harris began his career in the concrete industry in 1979 and has more than four decades of experience with ready mixed concrete, precast, masonry and admixtures. He is longtime participant in NRMCA activities along with ACI, ASTM, NPCA, ACPA, the ACI Concrete Innovation Council and the Concrete Advancement Foundation.
The award is named in honor of L. Michael Shydlowski and Robert P. Turner who both served as past chairman of the NRMCA Materials Division. L. Michael Shydlowski spent 35 years in the concrete industry and retired in 2007 after serving as president of Master Builders/BASF Admixtures for over 11 years. Robert P. Turner spent his 34-year career with W.R. Grace and retired as vice president/general manager of W.R. Grace’s Global Construction Chemicals business in 1999. Both were very active with and supportive of the NRMCA, the RMC 2000 initiative and RMC Research & Education Foundation, now known as the Concrete Advancement Foundation.
Bruno Benna Advocacy Award – G. Carlton Golden, Jr., president of Builders Supply Company, Inc. Mr. Golden was honored for being a steadfast supporter of NRMCA’s government affairs and political programs along with building and maintaining relationships with Members of Congress. His engagement, both in Washington and in his home state of Louisiana, has yielded important policy achievements for the ready mixed concrete industry.
This award is named for Bruno Benna who was known during his 60 years of service to NRMCA for his steadfast support of CONCRETEPAC.
Joseph E. Carpenter Award – Byron Hunt of Beck Industrial was recognized for his longtime service to the industry, NRMCA and the Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau. He began his career in the early 1980’s with McNeilus in Dallas. Throughout his career he held leadership positions with three members of TMMB, including his most recent tenure at Beck Industrial. Mr. Hunt is a longtime member of NRMCA’s SEO Committee, a past chairman of TMMB and has served on dozens of state and national Boards of Directors as an advocate for the ready mixed concrete industry.
Carpenter Award recipients are singled out for their outstanding lifetime contribution to the ready mixed concrete industry in the field of operations, safety or environmental. The award is named for the late Joseph E. Carpenter of Rinker Materials, West Palm Beach, FL, who was instrumental in the formation and early operation of the NRMCA Committee on Maintenance.
Driver of the Year Award – Richard Fulda, Dickinson Ready Mix in Dickinson, ND. Mr. Fulda took first place for his career achievements, outstanding safety record, professionalism, driving competency and customer service skills. He has not had an on-the-job accident or an at-fault rejected load in his 36-year career. Mr. Fulda was also recently named the North Dakota Ready Mix and Concrete Products 2023 Driver of the Year.
Raymond J. Barrera from Superior Materials, VCNA, in Detroit was named a runner-up for the award. In 28 years as a mixer truck driver, Mr. Barrera has not had an on-the-job vehicle accident nor rejected load and has averaged nearly 12,000 cubic yards of concrete delivered for the past three years. The other runner-up was Carlos Palacios of Chaney Enterprises in Spotsylvania, VA. Mr. Palacios also has a stellar safety record with 11 years of accident-free driving. He has also finished in the top three of state and company driving rodeos.
Click here to access photos of award winners.
For more information, contact Jessica Walgenbach