Convention Wrap Up
KANSAS CITY, HERE WE COME
What’s the phrase they use in the movies – “It’s a wrap?” That phrase certainly applies to the 2010 Annual Convention completed this past October in Irvine, California. The convention theme was “Building for Disaster Protection.” The program opened with the unveiling of the Tilt-Up Blast testing video. You can view the video on our U-Tube educational channel and it is quite impressive. Many of the presenters wove the theme into their presentations throughout the two days of education. Other topics included ‘Marketing in a Down Economy,’ ‘Tilt-Up Panels as Shear Walls,’ ‘Erection Strategies,’ ‘Small Buildings,’ and ‘Converting to Tilt-Up.’
For this year’s Convention sustainability was a subtheme. Presentations on supplementary cementitious materials, insulation systems and thermal mass, among others addressed this issue. Sustainability will be present in our programs for the foreseeable future as it still a “hot topic” with architects and designers. Concrete building systems, in particular Tilt-Up, have a great story to tell regarding sustainability and we will continue to tout the benefits.
Attendance was up nearly 40% from last year’s event in spite of the economy. One of the most popular sessions was ‘Top 10 Tips and Tricks’. Several people who attended this session stated that they learned enough from this presentation to pay for their trip several times over. That, after all, is why we have the event. We want to provide an environment to learn and exchange information.
A big change this year was the move of the annual Achievement Awards program from the World of Concrete to the Annual Convention. Since it was a short cycle (9 months versus 12 months between submittal deadlines) there were fewer entries but, as usual, the quality of submittals continues to improve. We are already accepting entries for the next competition. The individual awards and student competition winners will be presented at the World of Concrete. Suppliers and vendors were well represented at the trade show event, which allowed attendees to see what’s new in the world of Tilt-Up. There were numerous opportunities to network with peers and friends – just one of the reasons so many people come back year after year. The golf tournament, while small, was again a very popular event with those who participated. You need not be a good golfer as evidenced by certain individuals who participated. Give it a shot next year.
We are now turning our thoughts to Kansas City, Missouri for 2011. Next year’s convention will be headquartered at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center near downtown Kansas City. Our spring board meeting was held there last year and we were impressed. We’re certain you will be also. Since we aren’t in the same environment as we were in the Los Angeles area we hope to expand our program offerings to include a buildings tour (hopefully one under construction) and possibly even a demonstration. Make your plans now to join us September 28-30, 2011 for our next “can’t miss” event. We always have room in our program for some new topics so if you have something you want to learn about, or want to present, give Jim, Mitch, or Ed a call or email.
