By: Ben Saltzman, TCA Member Services

TCA Members don’t have to look very far to find valuable benefits that enable them to continue to grow and become more profitable in the market- place. Throughout 2004, we hosted successful events and added numerous new benefits to make the association more accessible to the membership.

Here are some of the major achievements of 2004:

• The Annual Meeting and Awards Breakfast, which recognized the outstanding achievements of our Tilt-Up professionals across the country;

• The Symposium, where Tilt-Up members and new-comers attended informative Tilt-Up seminars and valuable networking events;

• The staffing of 9 committees with participation from 38 member firms, who are charged with working in the interest of and improving the benefits for all TCA members;

• The release of the Tilt-Up Construction and Engineering Manual, 6th Edition, which has been the most comprehensive and beneficial tool for Tilt-Up professionals to-date;

• The transformation of the Tilt-Up TODAY from a newsletter to a professional magazine;

• The kick-off of the new, highly interactive and user-friendly TCA website;

• Public Relations efforts that have placed articles about Tilt-Up in national and international publications, reaching a total circulation of nearly 2 million people.

While 2004 was a very successful year, we have no intention of stopping there.

Here are some of the new benefits that we are implementing in 2005:

• Release of The Architecture of Tilt-Up, which will offer TCA members new ideas for their future buildings and promote the innovative uses of Tilt-Up to help grow the industry;

• The Tilt-Up Construction and Engineering Manual, Spanish Edition, which will make our most popular resource available to the large Spanish- speaking audience;

• A revitalized Field-Tips program, dedicated to educating field crews in all facets of panel construction;

• An expansion of both the printed and on-line TCA Membership Directory, which will provide TCA members with greater exposure to potential customers;

• A new software program that identifies the energy performance of Tilt-Up walls;

• An update to the Wind Bracing Guidelines to reflect current building code requirements (such as IBC and ASCE);

• Expansion of TCA full-time staff to increase our interaction with TCA members;

• The first annual TCA Annual Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, which will allow TCA members greater networking, educational, and marketing opportunities.

If you are not yet a member of TCA, there has been no better time to join. With the sheer number of benefits that we offer at its highest level, your company will be able to leverage your membership and make TCA work for you. If you are already a member, then stick with us – this is only the beginning.