The WCC held our Winter meeting January 9 in Cerritos, CA at Sinclair Products. Our thanks to Sinclair Products for sharing their facility with us, making us all feel welcome. Also, our thanks to Mother Nature, the rain that had been threatening all day did not manifest until well after the meeting. This Oregonian reminded the Californians that they need the water!
We welcomed three Past Presidents and a handful of first time attendees. The chapter membership continues to grow and we are financially strong.
Our WCC IAF is currently funding two research projects. The UC Irvine Lateral Loads Database project continues to assemble data. A big THANK YOU to those who have helped with the Oregon State University Behavior of Drilled Shafts study! With the assistance of both Contractor, and Associate members, this much-delayed project seems to be nearing its completion. PJ’s Rebar, Con-Tech Systems, and Williams Form have generously donated materials, while Malcolm Drilling installed the original shafts, and (new WCC member) Pacific Foundation will be installing the reaction test elements.
Here are a few highlights from our Committee Reports:
Employer’s Advocate and WCC renewed the long-standing Union Labor Relations Agreement and operations budget. Mike Walton is trying to coordinate a meeting with all the Union Labor Signatory members and the Union to review our current agreement.
Education Committee of Rick Walsh (Hayward Baker) and Tony Kraut (Watson, Inc.) continue planning a half-day student Education Session with possible equipment demo in Southern California this spring.
Tony Kraut resigned his position as our Training Committee Chair; Steve Wilson has volunteered to take over that position.
The WCC is still hoping to do have some sort of workshop or education session in Oahu this summer. The International ADSC schedule as currently proposed doesn’t leave us much time for island hopping; we will continue working to see if we can coordinate something for our Hawaiian members.
Renan Listi with Sinclair Products announced that they are now the distributor for CasaGrande on the West Coast. A representative from CasaGrande was on hand to provide an equipment demo and help answer any questions.
John Berry with Matrix Construction Products gave our Associate Presentation. Patrick Anderson and Eduardo Vazquez with Becho, Inc. gave our first Contractor Case Study. It was an excellent study of their work on a section of the High Speed Rail project, in fact, it was so well received that we’ve asked Patrick and Eduardo to expand the presentation and give it as part of our May Education Session.
Full meeting minutes will be available soon.
Our next meeting is May 19-21 at The Cliffs Resort in Pismo Beach. Online Registration is now available!