DCA Sets Attendance, Auction Records In Cancún

Attendance set a record as more than 420 delegates attended the Distribution Contractors Association's 53rd annual convention at the Ritz Carlton in Cancún, Mexico. Many delegates were attending their first-ever DCA convention.

The convention was presided over by outgoing President Tim Bell of Midwestern Contractors in Elbum, IL.

This year's auction set a record, raising $681,000. In addition, another $73,000 was raised to support the local Oklahoma chapter of the Special Forces Association in which Butch and Bonnie Graham of Ritchie Bros, are very active. Butch hoped to raise $2,500-3,000 to donate to the wives of disabled veterans for Christmas and was shocked by the generosity of DCA members. A third of the money will now go to the national association to help families across the country.

Executive Vice President Rob Darden touted the association's growth over the past several months. The annual equipment survey of DCA regular members shows them buying and leasing more than $909 million in equipment in 2013, an increase of $180 million from the previous year. Fifty-seven percent of contractor members participated in the survey. Man hours worked also were up more than 10%. Membership passed the 200 mark for the first time ever last year and stands at 203.

Through DCA's sophisticated committee structure, members are engaged and educated in areas such as government relations and legislation, advancements in HDD, safety and risk management. The membership and education committees look for ways to add value to new and existing members. Additionally, the labor committee is tasked with negotiating collective bargaining on behalf of its unionized members.

2014 Officers And Directors

New officers elected for 2014 are: President: H. Grady Bell, Vice President of Business Development, Laney Directional Drilling Co., Spring, TX; Vice President: Frank Patterson, Primoris Services Corporation, Pelham, AL; Treasurer: Dale Anderson, Executive Vice President, Miller Pipeline, Indianapolis, IN; Immediate Past President: Tim Bell, President, Midwestern Contractors, Elbum, IL; and Executive Vice President: Rob Darden, DCA, Richardson, TX.

Directors for 2014 are: Ben Nelson, Vice President - Western Operations, Michels Corporation, Kirkland, WA; Jay Osborn, President, Q3 Contracting, Inc., Little Canada, MN; Michael J. Hickey, Executive Vice President, Construction Operations, The Hallen Construction Co., Inc., Island Park, NY; Larry Ernst, President, Midwest Underground, Inc.; Dale Mykyte, CEO, Pe Ben USA, Inc., Houston; Jim Lagios, General Manager - Business Development, OA Directional Drilling LLC, Scottsdale, AZ and Director at Large: Tom Clapper, Vice President, Tekrock Trenching, LLC, Georgetown, TX. Past President Director is Shepard Poole, President & CEO, The Hallen Construction Company, Inc., Island Park, NY. Associate Member Directors are: Bob Darby, President, Darby Equipment Company, Tulsa, OK and Pat Hunt, Case Construction Equipment, Inc., Park Ridge, NJ.

Scholarships

For the 2014-15 school year, Ruth Michels announced that the Dale R. Michels Scholarship Fund would distribute $67,000. The Curtis Allen Scholarship Fund is distributing $ 18,000 for scholarships.

Safety Awards

The safety awards were again very competitive. The 2013 Arthur T. Everham Safety Award winners by category were:

Under 350,000 hours - H&H Enterprises, Andover, OH.

351,000-899,000 hours - Underground Construction Company, Inc., Benicia, CA.

More than 900,000 hours - Q3 Contracting, Inc., Little Canada, MN.

Upcoming events for 2014 include: Safety Congress - April 14-16, Bellagio, Las Vegas, NV; Mid-Year Meeting - July 23-27, Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, NC; Fall Meeting and Professional Development Conference - Oct. 26-29, The Worthington Renaissance, Fort Worth, TX and the 54th Annual Convention, Feb. 7-12, 2015, The Roosevelt, New Orleans, LA. P&GJ

By Oliver Klinger, Publisher