The West Coast Chapter has held Annual Meetings at The Cliffs Resort in Pismo Beach periodically since 1996, it truly feels like our home away from home.  Our survey responses suggest that many members would be happy to go there every year!  Beautiful vistas, moderate weather with gentle coastal breezes, and then there is the picturesque resort and spectacular staff.  I don’t mean to sound like a travel review but I DO recommend a visit to The Cliffs!

Golf Tournament at Cypress Ridge and Welcome Reception

After five years as the golf tournament chairperson, let’s have a round of applause for Jeff Ohlson, Williams Form Engineering.  Jeff’s efforts always make this a profitable, fun event for the chapter.  Scott Laurance, Drilltools, worked closely with Jeff for this tournament and is ready to take on the next tournament in San Diego; thanks Scott.  Over 50 golfers enjoyed perfect weather on a fun, playable course.

Joe Patterson, TEI Rock Drills, hosted a wine tasting tour for the non-golfers during the tournament.  The small group enjoyed themselves so much they want to do it again next year and include all attendees who might not care to golf; look for details on the 2017 “non-golf” tour with your other Annual Meeting materials.

The opening reception is a great way to kick off our Annual Meeting with delicious food and an inviting atmosphere, it is great to see everyone and reconnect with old friends.  Jeff Ohlson and Scott Laurance handed out golf awards during the reception, followed by the raffle.  I don’t remember ever seeing such a wide variety, and number of golf raffle prizes.  The WCC is fortunate to have such generous members; many thanks to all who provided golf tournament raffle prizes.  The chapter provided WCC logo wine as gifts so no one left empty-handed.  It was great to see everyone turning in for the evening with their arms full of prizes and smiles on their faces.

Education Session

This annual education session helps fulfill our purpose as a chapter of the ADSC; to serve and educate the foundation drilling industry and its future.  Friday’s Education Session, compiled by Will Gehrke, Case Pacific Company, and Ray Fassett, Condon-Johnson & Associates, was another informative, educational session with outstanding attendance.  16 engineering students and professors from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UCLA, and UC Irvine joined the session with the support from the following contractor members:

Case Pacific Company, Condon-Johnson & Associates, DBM Contractors, Dees-Hennessey, Hayward BakerMalcolm Drilling Company

We were fortunate to have three guest speakers who are also ADSC Technical Affiliates:  Dan Brown, Rick Kalson, and Antonio Marinucci.  We were pleased to include a special presentation from Anne Lemnitzer, UC Irvine on the Find a Pile Database research program being funded, in part, by the WCC Industry Advancement Fund.

Education Session Speakers

• Dan Brown, Dan Brown Eng.
  
• Steven Lapsley, Malcolm Drilling Company
  
• Eduardo Vazquez, Becho, Inc.
  

  WCC Table Top Display 2016

• Rick Kalson, Benesch Law Group
  
• Mike Kennedy, Hayward Baker
  
• Keith Bizzack, Condon-Johnson & Assoc.
  
• Antonio Marinucci, Consultant
  
• Anne Lemnitzer, UC Irvine
• Joe Patterson, TEI Rock Drills

Six of our chapter Past Presidents enjoyed a leisurely lunch on Friday afternoon while discussing the long range goals of the WCC.  The attendees spanned 10 years of consecutive chapter Presidency with leadership covering more than 15 years of chapter history.  What an honor and privilege to have this level of commitment from our members.

2016 Auction and Dinner

I mentioned the generosity of members regarding the golf prizes?  Well, we had over 50 silent auction items and three tantalizing live auction packages!  More than $30,000 was raised to support the WCC education and research programs, we are indebted to the amazing member companies who make these auctions so successful.  Jim Close, CZM USA, and Joe Patterson are to be commended for their yearly fundraising efforts.

The local-grown Lauren Donahue Trio filled the room with an eclectic mix of blues standards and creative original music.  Amy Levinsohn, photographer, managed to wrangle the large group of Founding Associate Members into the lobby for a photo and back to the ballroom without missing dessert.

The live auction got a little frantic with heated bidding between Condon-Johnson and Malcolm Drilling over a pallet of slurry.  Malcolm ended up winning the pallet from Sinclair, while Becho, Inc. won the pallet donated by PACO/CETCO.  Jeff Veilleux will be enjoying a week in Florida after winning the Time Share donated by Williams Form Engineering to the live auction.  John Kvinsland, Malcolm Drilling (Kent, WA), enjoyed the auction so much he volunteered to be the WCC auctioneer next year in San Diego.  Thanks to Joe Patterson for being the passionate, if pushy, auctioneer for 2016 and a big welcome to the enthusiastic John Kvinsland for San Diego in 2017!

We had a number of awards to hand out during Dinner:

President’s Awards:

Rick Walsh, Hayward Baker

Jeff Ohlson, Williams Form Engineering

Special Recognition Awards were given to WCC members involved with the OSU Behavior of Drilled Shafts/WCC IAF research project:

Con-Tech Systems

Malcolm Drilling Company

Pacific Foundation

PJ’s Rebar

Skyline Steel

Williams Form Engineering

WCC Associate Founding Members:

Associate Committee chair, Jeff Veilleux, PJ’s Rebar  wanted to recognize the Associate member companies who have been WCC members since our founding in 1984.  The hours of volunteer efforts, not to mention thousands of dollars given in support.  We would not be the strong chapter we are without the continuing support of our dedicated membership.

A.P.E., Inc.,     Ashbaugh Beal,     Atlas-Copco,     BAUER-Pileco,     Bay Shore Systems,     C & M Manufacturing,     CETCO,     Champion Equipment Company,     Con-Tech Systems,     Dywidag Systems,     Employers’ Advocate,     Klemm CDE,     PACO,     Pengo Corporation,     Seaport Steel,     Sinclair Services,     Skyline Steel,     Williams Form Engineering

32nd Annual Board Meeting

We started the day at 8am hoping to finish in time for an early lunch, we surprised ourselves by finishing before 11am.  We breezed through committee reports and the chapter business.  Minutes will be out to membership soon.  Associate members CZM USA and Stressteel gave presentations.

Two board members were re-elected to their positions and the new board is the same as the previous board – Steve Williams (President), Condon-Johnson & Associates, San Diego, CA; Will Gehrke (Vice President), Case Pacific Company, Paso Robles, CA; John Bickford (Secretary), DBM Contractors, Federal Way, WA; Jim Close (Treasurer), CZM USA, Sunriver, OR; Bill Mobley (Director), Bull’s Eye Drilling, Pleasant Hill, CA; Jason Malcolm (Director), Malcolm Drilling, Hayward, CA; Jeff Veilleux (Associate’s Chair), PJ’s Rebar, Fremont, CA.

And, Many Thanks to our Event Sponsors:

Platinum Level Sponsors

Atlas Copco

Champion Equipment

Kelly Tractor

PJ’s Rebar

Gold Level Sponsors

BAUER-Pileco

CZM, USA

TEI Rock Drills

Watson, Inc.

Silver Level Sponsors

Hayward Baker

PACO Ventures

Bronze Level Sponsors

Case Pacific Company

Condon-Johnson & Associates

DBM Contractors

Dees-Hennessey

Malcolm Drilling Company

Golf Sponsors

Aldridge Group

Atlas Copco (2)

BAUER-Pileco

Bay Shore Systems

Casagrande Equipment

Champion Equipment Sales (2)

Condon-Johnson & Associates

CZM, USA

Dywidag Systems, Inc.

GeoStructural Engineering

Jeffrey Machine

MATRIX Construction Products

PACO Ventures (pin flags)

PJ’s Rebar (golf bar)

Sinclair Products

Skyline Steel

Western Pacific Crane

Next Annual Meeting will be in San Diego at the Kona Kai Resort May 11-13, 2017