2017 Annual Meeting Recap
Kona Kai is a beautiful resort described as a “creation of fresh, fun elegance punctuated by casual luxury”, how appropriate because fresh, fun and casual are all great words to describe our latest Annual Meeting. The marina views and outdoor spaces were great for our lunches and receptions although they may have been a bit distracting during the education session. More than anything, the food and service is outstanding at Kona Kai.
Golf Tournament and Welcome Reception
Scott Laurance, Drilltools
The golf tournament, held this year at Coronado Golf Course, was a fun, casual way to begin the Annual Meeting. Golfers enjoyed the course and especially the perfect San Diego weather. Our thanks to tournament chairperson Scott Laurance, Drilltools and to all who donated items and sponsored to make this a great golf outing.
Pete Speier, Williams Form Engineering
Those marina views provided the backdrop for the Welcome Reception and, as I may have mentioned, the food was outstanding. Lobster rolls, Rueben sliders and assorted flatbreads as well as a bartender who remembered everyone’s drinks and names – we were impressed.
Champion Equipment at Welcome Reception
Mike Hagy, PACO and George Dugan, CETCO
Scott Laurance, Drilltools; Jim Close, Con-Tech Systems; Chris Jackson, AVAR
Look to the annual meeting page for lots more photos!
Education Session
Ryan Gammons, Condon-Johnson & Assoc.
The education and training of our current and future members is one of the main purposes of the West Coast Chapter. Friday’s Education Session, assembled by Will Gehrke, Case Pacific and Ray Fassett, Condon-Johnson & Assoc. was another informative and useful session. The exhibit room was spacious, it was nice that there was enough room for all 19 displays – and enough room to circulate. Engineering students and Professors from UC Irvine and San Diego State University attended sponsored in-part by Case Pacific, Hayward Baker, and PJ’s Rebar. An extra special thanks to Rick Walsh, Hayward Baker, for continuing to invite/encourage students and faculty to attend WCC annual meetings.
Two guest speakers contributed to the session: Ryan Gammons, Condon-Johnson & Assoc. brought in Guest speaker Mike Murphy with Capital Safety/3M, Murphy demonstrated and discussed the latest products in Fall Protection. Armin Stuedlein, Oregon State University, provided a report on the joint ODOT-WCC IAF research project investigating “Full Scale Axial and Lateral Response of Drilled Shafts with High Strength Steel and Steel Casing”. This has been an interesting project that prompted a lot of discussion with the potential for further studies.
Education Session Speakers
- Rick Walsh, Hayward Baker
- Chris Jackson, AVAR
- Will Gehrke, Case Pacific
- Ray Fassett, Condon-Johnson & Assoc.
- Ryan Gammons, Condon-Johnson & Assoc.
- Mike Murphy, Capital Safety/3M
- Armin Stuedlein, Oregon State University
2017 Auction and Dinner
Aditya Bajaj, UC Irvine
A meeting in San Diego means an opportunity to hire our friend, Nate Jarrell. Nate and his group have previously played for ADSC, as well as for the WCC; it was great to see, and hear, the Nate Jarrell jazz trio again. Steve Williams, Condon-Johnson & Assoc. presented the special awards for 2016 and then there was a surprise moment when Aditya Bajaj from UC Irvine, stood up to thank us for inviting them to attend; Bajaj explained how the education session was interesting, informative, and how much he appreciated the opportunity.
Silent Auction
Yet another auction where I am amazed by the generosity of our members, from items donated to the frantic bidding, wow! Over 40 silent auction items and several valuable live auction packages. More than $23,000 was raised to support the WCC and the WCC IAF. Joe Patterson, TEI Rock Drills is a persuasive auction chairperson and auctioneer – thanks Joe for all your help fundraising for the WCC.
We took the opportunity to recognize a few Membership Milestones. 15 years of WCC Membership – Hillside Drilling, Kulchin Foundation, Ron Myers Drilling, Sacramento Drilling, Terra Firma, and TEI Rock Drills. 10 years of WCC Membership – Hammer and Steel. 6 years of WCC Membership – PJ’s Rebar (sorry we missed #5!)
Will Gehrke, Case Pacific; Steve Williams, Condon-Johnson & Assoc.
President’s Awards:
Will Gehrke, Case Pacific Company
Bill Mobley, Bull’s Eye Drilling
Jason Malcolm, Malcolm Drilling
Outgoing Board Members:
Jason Malcolm, Malcolm Drilling
Bill Mobley, Bull’s Eye Drilling
Live Auction Items Provided By:
CETCO and PACO – pallet of Shore Pac Slurry; Case Pacific Company – Oakland Raiders Tickets; Sinclair – pallet of Slurry CDP Pro; and Sinclair – Mud Test Kit
Silent Auction Items Provided By:
ADSC, Atlas Copco, BAUER-Pileco, Bull’s eye Drilling, Casagrande, Champion Equipment, Con-Tech Systems, DBM Contractors, Drilltools, Dywidag Systems, Employers’ Advocate, Hawaiian Dredging, Hayward Baker, Jeffrey Machine, Liebherr, Malcolm Drilling, PACO, PJ’s Rebar, Skyline Steel, Soilmec, Stressteel, TEI Rock Drills, Williams Form Engineering
Horst Aschenbroich, Con-Tech Systems; Mike Walton, Employers’ Advocate
Jim Close, Con-Tech Systems; Vanessa Lucido, ROC Equipment
WCC Board of Directors 2017 – Secretary Josh Hilton, Condon-Johnson & Assoc.; President Will Gehrke, Case Pacific Company; Director Michael Rourke, Champion Equipment; Treasurer Jim Close, Con-Tech Systems; Vice President John Bickford, DBM Contractors; Director Steve Williams, Condon-Johnson & Assoc.; not pictured Associate Chairperson Jeff Veilleux, PJ’s Rebar
33rd Annual Board Meeting
Hammer and Steel, and TEI Rock Drills, gave 15-minute Associate product presentations at the board meeting and members elected two new members to the Board. The chapter continues to pursue opportunities to educate – including proposed training with Local 701 in Oregon, upcoming training with Local 302 in November, as well as a one-day training session whose planning is just beginning to coalesce.
The Board chose to survey the members to select our meeting location for 2019. I proposed Portland (of course), Huntington Beach, and Sacramento. I’m happy to report that as of today, Portland is the favored choice, time will tell; but right now, I’m hoping that the Portland weather that has been so beautiful this May will repeat itself in 2019!
It was my pleasure to have BD Smith, ADSC, attend the meeting – all of his help and his sunny disposition made the meeting all that more enjoyable. Also, thanks to Sydney Willis, my sidekick from Portland OR, for her photography and assistance. And as always, thanks to everyone at ADSC for all your help.
Next WCC meeting is the Fall E-meeting on October 5, 2pm. Winter board meeting is February 3rd, 2018 at Hammer & Steel in Benicia, CA. And then, we return to Pismo Beach, CA for our Annual Meeting May 17-20, 2018.
And, Many Thanks to our Event Sponsors:
Platinum Level Sponsors
Champion Equipment
PJ’s Rebar
Gold Level Sponsors
Atlas Copco
BAUER-Pileco
Condon-Johnson & Associates
CZM, USA
TEI Rock Drills
Silver Level Sponsors
Blaze Equipment
Kelly Tractor
Construction Drilling Equipment
Watson, Inc.
Bronze Level Sponsors
Case Pacific Company
DRILLTOOLS
Hayward Baker
PACO Equipment
Western Equipment Solutions
Golf Sponsors
Atlas Copco
BAUER-Pileco
Belltec, Inc.
Blaze Equipment
Champion Equipment
Con-Tech Systems
Condon-Johnson & Associates
CZM, USA
DRILLTOOLS
Dywidag Systems
Foundation Technologies
Jeffrey Machine
Kelly Tractor
PACO Equipment
Pengo Attachments
PJ’s Rebar