Held May 18-22, the 2021 PCI Convention and this year's Thre Precast Show were conducted in New Orleans in a "hybrid" format. While over 500 members attended in person, 300+ attended committee meetings from the comfort of home offices via Zoom. Where this may be indicative of the new normal to conduct a hybrid version of tradeshows, PCI Chair Dennis Fink was happy for the reunion. “It felt good to reunite with my PCI family and attend the PCI Convention and The Precast Show,” says Fink in the official release. “We quickly put the last year in the rearview mirror and got back to running PCI business and programs. PCI staff did a remarkable job pulling everything together in spite of all the challenges.”
The 2022 PCI Convention at The Precast Show will take place March 1-5 in Kansas City, Mo.
As stated in early June 2021, the combined PCI Convention and The Precast Show announced that the event was "one of the first conventions and trade shows in the country held in person since the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020. It also was the first event held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans in more than a year."
Providing enhanced access to PCI members, all committee meetings were held in person with a virtual option.
Recognitions & Elections
The June announcement reported on the 2021 terms of the Board of Directors, board members, as well as those recognized for outstanding contributions.
- J. Matt DeVoss, of Jackson Precast Inc., was elected vice-chair
- Matt Ballain, Coreslab Structures (INDIANAPOLIS) was elected secretary-treasurer
- Nine people were elected as new board members: Dennis Cilley, American Steel & Precast Erectors; Daniel Eckenrode, PCI Gulf South; Lloyd Kennedy, Finfrock Industries; Brent Koch, Con-Fab California; Al Krick, Smith-Midland; Matt Mahonski, High Concrete Group; Jim Renda, Cresset Chemical Co.; Lenny Salvo, Coreslab Structures (ORLANDO); and Peter Simoneau, Dailey Precast
- Robert Bruce – Robert passed away in 2020, was honored posthumously with the PCI Medal of Honor, the Institue’s most prestigious award. Bruce was a pioneer in the field of prestressed concrete, and his work has had a profound impact on the industry.
- Edward Knowles received the Mario J. Bertolini Leadership and Innovation Award. The vice president of Walters & Wolf Precast has been an active PCI member since 1983, was heavily involved in developing and promoting glass-fiber-reinforced concrete (GFRC) panels, and, having served on many committees, has made many contributions in advancing precast concrete research.
- Seven people were honored as PCI Fellows: Sergio Breña is a professor and associate department head in civil and environmental engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; Todd Culp is general manager and vice president of Coreslab Structures (OMAHO) in Nebraska; Mary Ann Griggas-Smith is director of corporate engineering at Tindall Corporation in Spartanburg, S.C.; David Larsen is president of Unity Design in Buffalo Grove, Ill.; Alexander Mihaylov is a principal with Vector Structures LLC in Auburn, Wash.; Chris Mosley is president and CEO of CEG Group, the parent company of Consulting Engineers Group in Mt. Prospect, Ill.; Cheryl Rishcoff is a consultant and structural engineer with TRC Worldwide in Allentown, Pa.
Through the PCI fundraising division, PCI Cares, $5,000 was raised for The Roots of Music - a charity which empowers the youth of New Orleans through "music education, academic support, and mentorship, while preserving and promoting the city’s unique musical and cultural heritage." J. Seroki, president of the High Concrete Group, matched donations made to the group on the day.
The officers and new board members had already begun serving their terms before the PCI Convention convened
