Date/Time:
5/16/19 - 5/18/19
All Day
Location:
Benson Hotel,
Portland, OR
Our 35th Annual Meeting in Portland was the West Coast Chapter’s first meeting in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and after the wonderful hospitality at the Benson Hotel, it will not be our last! The central downtown location was a nice alternative to our normal beach locations and the Portland weather cooperated enough to allow everyone to explore and enjoy my favorite city.
Golf Tournament and Welcome Reception
Heron Lakes is a challenging course but according to many of the golfers, a ton of fun to play. Thanks to Scott Laurance, Drilltools, Jeff Ohlson, Williams Form, and to all the companies who donated and sponsored to make this another successful golf tournament. A special thank you to Lisa Laurance for her help getting the golfers organized and underway.
The London Grill at the Benson Hotel has the feeling of an old-world wine cellar providing a cozy ambience for the exhibit and reception/break space. It was a great location for our Welcome Reception which is the perfect time to meet new members and reconnect with old friends, this year we welcomed many new faces along with our many long-time attendees. Exhibiting at Super Pile in Seattle just a few weeks before our meeting gave us the opportunity to recruit attendees from our current members while introducing the chapter to potential new members. There were also ADSC members who are not (yet) WCC – a hearty welcome to NW Soil Stabilization, PLI Systems, and Quanta Subsurface.
Education Session
The education and training of our current and future members is one of the main purposes of the West Coast Chapter. Friday’s presentations in the beautiful Crystal Ballroom, compiled by John Bickford, Hayward Baker, met that purpose and made for a highly informative and interesting session. The morning sessions ran a little short on time, so we were able to give Rick Kalson, Benesch Law, a bit more time that he used to somehow make reviewing contract terms and conditions entertaining. Matt Jannings, Pacific Foundation, and Craig Hamelund, Oregon OSHA, each brought the room to life with their passion and dedication to safety practices. And a very special thanks to Armin Stuedlein, Oregon State University, for assembling a panel session to discuss the use of high-strength bar and steel casing in drilled shaft construction. The panel comprised representatives from Oregon DOT, Washington DOT, University of Washington, and industry experts.
Education Session Speakers and Topics*
Brendan Harkins and Ty Jahn, Condon-Johnson & Assoc – Oak Harbor WWTP, Whidbey Island
Ryan Thody, DBM Contractors – Providence Park stadium expansion, Portland
Troy Edwards, DBM Contractors – OHSU School of Dentistry demolition, Portland
Rick Kalson, Benesch Law – Recent legal developments that will make you more profitable in 2019
Matt Jannings, Pacific Foundation – How applied safety practices lowered our EMR
Tait McCutchan, Malcolm Drilling Co – Lander Street grade separation, Seattle
Craig Hamelund, Oregon OSHA – Current state of practice
Armin Stuedlein, Oregon State University; Dawn Lehman, University of Washington; Susan Ortiz, Oregon DOT; Tanarat Potisuk, Oregon DOT; Amy Leland, Washington DOT; David Borger, Nucor Skyline; Tait McCutchan, Malcolm Drilling; John Kvinsland, Malcolm Drilling – Panel Session discussing use of high-strength steel bar and steel casing in drilled shaft construction
*(links to some presentations and video can be found at adscwest.org)
Auction and Dinner
What a fun-filled reception and dinner with more than 30 silent auction items, six incredible live auction items and great music! We raised close to $30,000 for the WCC Industry Advancement Fund and WCC. The auction donors were particularly creative and generous this year. We had several “Portland” themed items – a Searching for Bigfoot package, Trailblazers tickets, and a Helicopter tour of downtown Portland. Extra kudos to Mike Zeman with Pacific Foundation and his “Cooler full of cold-hard-cash”, it was the silent auction item receiving all the buzz, what a great idea, a very generous donation, and so much fun for everyone.
We are indebted to the amazing member companies who make these auctions so successful, from everyone who donates items to all of the happy auction bid winners. A special thanks to Jim Close, Con-Tech Systems (Sunriver, OR) and Joe Patterson, (Portland, OR) for their efforts gathering the auction items. Joe was extra busy this year, helping with the auction and joining the Pagan Jug Band on the fiddle for most of the evening.
Silent Auction Items Provided By:
ADSC, Blaze Equipment, Champion, Con-Tech, Condon-Johnson, CZM, DSI, Employers’ Advocate, Epiroc, Hammer & Steel, Hawaiian Dredging, Malcolm, Matrix, Nucor Skyline, Ougan Group, Pacific Foundation, PACO, PJ’s Rebar, SAS Stressteel, TEI Rock Drills, Watson, Western Equipment Solutions, Williams Form Engineering
The live auction was a fun-filled bidding battle headed up by our aggressively entertaining auctioneer John Kvinsland, Malcolm Drilling. John did a great job keeping everyone bidding, we hope he can be convinced to make a repeat appearance. Aaron and Melissa with Pacific Coast Drilling Company went on a bidding spree winning a helicopter tour of downtown Portland (donated by PLI Systems); a Core Ring (donated by Drilltools); and a pallet of Slurry Pro CDP (donated by Sinclair Products and Equipment). Speaking of slurry, Lance Rasband with Michels won a pallet of Shore Pac Slurry (donated by PACO and CETCO). Ray Hall with Epiroc will be going to another Oakland Raiders game (tickets donated by Case Pacific Company) and George Burroughs, Condon-Johnson & Assoc won Trailblazers tickets (donated by Case Pacific Company). Unfortunately, Aaron and Melissa were unable to take the helicopter ride but Manuel Castaneda with PLI Systems wanted to make sure they still got a tour of Portland, so he took them on a four-hour driving tour of PLI job sites.
President Gehrke had a few awards to hand out during Dinner:
Outgoing Board Member:
Jim Close, Con-Tech Systems
John Bickford, Hayward Baker
And, Chuck Danache, Hayward Baker, presented outgoing Will Gehrke, Case Pacific Company, with an Outgoing Board Member award.
President’s Awards for their in-kind contributions to CalTrans research project:
Condon-Johnson & Associates
Malcolm Drilling Company
Board Meeting
WCC Past Presidents in attendance Mike Kennedy, Hayward Baker; Ray Fassett, Condon-Johnson; Steve Williams, Condon-Johnson. The chapter remains strong and steady with the continued guidance and support of our previous leaders– thank you Past Presidents!
Bay Shore Systems, and Ougan Group, each gave 15-minute Associate product presentations at the board meeting and members elected three new members to the Board. There was much discussion about the NCCCO program and how best to provide the opportunity for certification to our members. A task force will tackle the challenge, focusing first on trying to schedule practical exams for those who have already taken the written beta exam and moving on to providing regular examination/certification to all our members.
2019 Board of Directors (from left) Tait McCutchan, Malcolm Drilling (Vice President); Josh Hilton, Condon-Johnson (Treasurer); George Burrough, Condon-Johnson & Assoc. (Director); Will Gehrke, Case Pacific Company (outgoing President); John Tuttle, Sinclair Products (Director); Chuck Danache, Hayward Baker (President); Jim Close, Con-Tech Systems (outgoing director); not pictured Michael Rourke, Watson Inc (Secretary); Jeff Veilleux, PJ’s Rebar (Associate Chair)