newsletterVirginia Ready-Mixed Concrete Association630 Country Green LaneCharlottesville, VA 22902-6478Phone: 434-977-3716 Fax: 434-979-2439

The

READY-MIXER

November 2004

Edmonds Wins 1st AnnualVRMCA Truck Roadeo, McNee 2nd

Twenty-three drivers from as far away asMartinsville, Winchester and VirginiaBeach competed in the 1st Annual

Mixer Truck Roadeo at the Richmond Racewayon November 10th.

Drivers were challenged by a written test onthe principles of concrete driver safety, as wellas a pretrip truck inspection under the eye ofVirginia State Police Motor Carrier officers.

Drivers were judged on the shortest timethrough the obstacle course with penalty points

added whenever they hit a traffic cone orwere a distance from stopping and turningmarkers. Though the results of the writtentest and particularly the pretrip inspectionwere important to a driver’s success, themain scoring emphasis was on the scorefrom the driving test.

Thomas Edmonds of Ready Mixed Con-crete in Richmond won the overallcompetion with a net score of six minutesand 43 seconds. He received a $500 cash

prize and will have anaward presented at the2005 Spring Ready-Mixed Concrete Con-vention in Williamsburg.

Second place and a$250 cash prize went toScott McNee of Supe-rior Concrete inHarrisonburg whoearned a net score ofseven minutes and 15seconds.

Several other drivers werein the seven to eight minuterange—and the poorestscores were 12 to 13 min-utes.

Special thanks toMcNeilus Truck & Manufac-turing, Inc. and Peterbilt ofRichmond who donatedtrucks for the obstaclecourse and the pretrip in-

spections.

See more Roadeo photos on pages 2 and 4-5!

2nd place winner Scott McNee of SuperiorConcrete, Inc. (left) and VRMCA President GusLorber (right) take a moment to chat after thecompetition.

Drivers strategically ‘thread the needle’ through the maze of traffic cones.

1st place winner Thomas Edmonds of Ready Mixed ConcreteCompany in Richmond (right) smiles proudly with VRMCAPresident Gus Lorber (left) after the awards presentation.

Thanks are also due to the Corporate

Sponsers:

Allied Concrete CompanyCrider & Shockey, Inc.Florida Rock IndustriesS.B. Cox Ready-Mix, Inc.Titan Virginia Ready-Mix LLCMaster Builders, Inc.VRMCA President Gus Lorber made the

awards presentation and served as judge, along

with:

Sean HurleyChas CapitanoTina HarveyNeil LoganTom JonesMorgan NelsonK.D. RamseyJim SimonsJim ProgarLynwood Butner (timer)Barrett Hardiman (timer)

Virginia Ready-Mixed Concrete Association2

Home Building Association of Richmond Executive Vice-PresidentAddresses Central Virginia Concrete Advisory Council

By J. Keith Beazley Director of Industry Services, Central Virginia and Hampton Roads

A meeting for the Central VirginiaConcrete Advisory Council was held inOctober with a special program by

David D. Reel, Executive Vice-President of theHome Building Association (HBA) of Richmond.

The program presented by Reel was centeredon the economic forecast for 2005 and on therecently completed Parade of Homes programfor 2004. The Greater Richmond area had 88homes as part of this 53rd consecutive scattered-

site home show HBA program opened to thepublic in October.

This parade of homes is widely publicized andis of great interest to the to the buildingcommunity and to the public seeking newinformation about new products and design ofnew construction.

The Concrete Advisory Council is planning forthe 2005 Parade of Homes with a program ofconcrete homes to be a part of the promotionalprogram for the year. The Council is seekingbuilders to construct a “concrete home” of ICFwalls, concrete driveways, and walksand patios. Concrete flooring,countertops, shingles and sidings arealso to be a part of the program.

The Council is planning for eachready-mixed producer to have a homethat is built by one of its buildingcustomers and special recognition willbe given to these special homes in theHBA program and newspapers.Because of the unique nature of thisconstruction, the houses will be of greatinterest to the public.

The program and collaboration withthe builders must be started a year inadvance for the planning of each of thehomes. Special promotionalopportunities will be available as aresult of this special program.

The HBA is endorsing this concretehomes project and feels that it will bring

David Reel, Executive Vice President ofthe HBA of Richmond, addresses theCentral Virginia Council on homebuilderactivities.

a great value and interest to the 2005 Parade.

VRMCA Advisory Council Chairman DiggsBishop addressed the Council and presentedhis vision of the marketing and promotionalefforts of the Advisory Councils. Diggs stressedgreater participation and attendance to activitiesand meetings. He promised continued supportof the activities of the Council as well.

Diggs is attending each of the AdvisoryCouncil meetings throughout the state as part ofhis newly elected position of VRMCA AdvisoryCouncil Chairman.

Competitors focus intensely on thewritten examination.

Officer J.E. Jones (left) observes asMichael Diehr (right) of Titan VirginiaReady-Mix LLC conducts a pretripinspection.

ROADEO PHOTOS(See more shots on pages 4-5!)

David McIlwain, of Creative Building Products (left)and Diggs Bishop, VRMCA Advisory CouncilChairman, (right) discuss ICF Building Market ingreater Richmond.

November 2004 3

The Great Falls Show Home was one of

the selected homes at the 7th AnnualNVBIA Custom Builders Council Parade

of Homes Tour on October9th and 10th, 2004.

This house was a greatsuccess, with over 500people in attendance. TheGreat Falls Show Home is a4,700 square-foot luxuryhome designed to showcaseinnovative building technolo-gies such as Insulating Con-crete Forms (ICF) and ad-vanced home electronics.

This French Provincialstyle home is built on a one-acre lot in Great Falls, Vir-ginia by CommonwealthHousing, located just out-side of Washington, DC.

As a VRMCA and NVCACrepresentative, I waspresent at the show home on Sunday, October10th, and between J.P. Brehony of Common-wealth Housing and I, we had the opportunity tospeak with many of the attendees who touredthis ICF home. People were very surprised tofind out that this house is built from concreteand ICF technology.

The educational value of this open housecreated enough interest for some people forthem to come back with friends. Many of themleft their contact information so they could re-ceive information about the upcoming ICF

Is This House Really Built of Concrete?The Great Falls ICF Show Home

By: Hessam Nabavi, R.A.

Director of Industry Services, Northern Virginia

homes and ICF open houses.

For additional information and to view the

process of building this beautiful house, pleasecheck www.vrmca.com and click on The GreatFalls Show Case Home.

Even though there are not very many qualifiedICF installers available, customer demand iswhat has been driving the ICF market. TheGreat Falls Show Home is a good example ofthat.

I agree with David Leslie of David Leslie Con-struction that as an organization, we should fo-cus on a strong advertisement campaignthrough mass media to increase the people’s

An outside view of the extraordinary Great Falls Show Home.

awareness, and ultimately the demand for ICFhomes.

This would force the custom home buildersand framers to seek the necessary knowledgefor building with ICF. I believe the opportunityfor building ICF residential in Northern Virginia istremendous, and with some diligent work it isjust a matter of time before there is an explosionin this niche market.

Guests view the interior frame-work of the home.

Two Generations of Ready-Mixed Promoters

At the recent Corporate Dayhosted by the Northern Virginia Ad-visory Council, two generations ofthe Newman family were present.

Mike Newman of Cardinal-VirginiaConcrete Company Inc. andNVCAC chairman and his father, AlNewman, both attended the meet-ing.

Al Newman was a key player inthe formation of the VRMCA Advi-sory Council from 1991-2000 andwas the preeminent industry leaderregarding marketing and promotionthroughout the entire easternUnited States.

Newman retired four years ago,from Lehigh Cement, but his com-mitment to the ready-mixed con-crete and cement industries will beevident well into the future.

Mike Newman (left) and father Al Newman (right)with VRMCA Executive Director, Peter Easter.(center).

Visitors have a chance to discuss thehome.

Got News?Send your

announcements and employeerecognition information to

VRMCA by email:amy@easterassociates.com or

fax: 434.979.2439

Virginia Ready-Mixed Concrete Association4

VRMCA Executive Director Peter Easter brieRoadeo course and of the day’s lineup.

1st VRMCA ANNUAL

(from left to right) Judges Peter Easter (VRMCA Executive Director),Tom Jones (Ready Mixed Concrete Company), Jim Simons (CapitalConcrete, Inc.), Morgan Nelson (S.B. Cox Ready-Mix, Inc.), and GusLorber (Allied Concrete Company and VRMCA President), tally up thescores.

Michael Diehr of Titan Virginia Reexamines a mixer truck.

Superior Concrete’s Scott McNee (left) and Gary Dove(right) taking the written examination.

November 2004 5

efing the judges on the layout of the

L ROADEO PHOTOS

eady-Mix LLC carefully

K.D. Ramsey of Boxley Concrete Products of Virginia (left), Don Gibson ofMcNeilus Truck & Manufacturing, Inc., (center) and Jim Progar of Titan Vir-ginia Ready-Mix LLC (right) prepare for another contestant to drive throughthe obstacle course.

Joseph Anderson of Capital Concrete, Inc.performs a pretrip inspection.

Virginia Ready-Mixed Concrete Association6

2004 Fall Promotional Workshop“Power Principles for Effective Promotion”

John Colby (NRMCA), Keith Beazley(VRMCA), Bob Nablo (VRMCA), Bob Long(ACPA NE Chapter), Phil Kresge (PCPC),Hessam Nabavi (VRMCA), Bud Lake (PennsySupply), Mike Newman (Cardinal-VirginiaConcrete Company Inc.), and Tom Evans(MRMCA) attended a meeting on June 16, 2004in Linthicum, Maryland to discuss the future ofprofessional promoters events such as thePromotion Plus and Promoters workshops.

We agreed that a Fall 2004 workshop wouldbe planned for October in the Baltimore,Maryland area. Tom Evans and I were assignedto develop an agenda by the end of July. Thepurpose of the workshop would be to addressthe professional promoters as well as the keypromotion volunteers in the areas of personaldevelopment, networking, and the latest industry“hot topics.”

Some of the suggested topics for theworkshop were time management, publicspeaking, PowerPoint presentations, resourcedevelopment, effective follow-up, LEED, andP2P. As Tom and I were developing the agenda,Bud Lake was in communication with variouscompanies for sponsoring the event.

Many thanks to the following companies fortheir commitment to excellence. Their generosityis what has made this event possible. Theprimary sponsors were: Master Builders, LehighCement Group, St. Lawrence Cement, Essroc,and Lafarge. Supporting sponsors wereCardinal-Virginia Concrete Company Inc. and

Pennsy Supply.

Over 30promoters wereassembled onWednesday,October 27th atDegussaAdmixtures,Master Builder’sstate of the artconference facility,to be part of a one-day “PowerPrinciples forEffectivePromotion” trainingevent.

The workshopstarted at 8:00 amwith energizingmusic, followed byTom Evan’swelcoming speech.Evans then invitedBud Lake to givean introduction andto talk aboutgeneral businessissues and themeeting agenda.

Session I: James

Manolakis of James Manolakis Associates, whohas 30 years of business experience coveringsales marketing, training and retail financeservices, delivered hispresentation. Manolakisis a consultant tobusinesses, as well as amotivational speaker,who has presented over1,500 seminars to120,000 attendees incorporations,universities, industries,and associations.

The first topic of hispresentation was“Moving to the NextLevel by Staying Positiveon a Daily Basis.”Manolakis talked about‘Commitment toExcellence,’ ‘A Mission,’and ‘Achieving the NextLevel of Efficiency.’Then he showed JoelBaker’s videopresentation, entitled“Paradigms.” Manolakiscontinued his discussionabout issues such aschange, recognizing fearof change, andovercoming resistance tochange.

Session II: Joe Aissi, a registered architectand president of CSO Computer/NetworkSolutions Center, with many years of experiencein developing computer networks and computerapplications, conducted his “PowerPointWorking For You” presentation. Aissi talkedabout ways to enhance a PowerPointpresentation and demonstrated the process.

Session III: James Manolakis talked aboutpresenting with “confidence and power” andshowed a video of Zig Ziglar instructing onpublic speaking in his presentation.

Manolakis discussed skills which help you tocontrol yourself psychologically, control yourspeaking environment, control yourselfphysically, and control your subject. He alsogave tips on how to get audiences involved,such as using visual aids and dressing forsuccess. The final point Manolakis made in hispresentation was that “the key to ‘powerpresentation’ is practice.”

Session IV: The next session was conductedby Ed Herbert, Director of Environmental Affairs,for the National Ready Mixed Concrete Associationin Silver Spring, Maryland. In this position, Herbertis responsible for the development of NRMCAprograms and initiatives to support industryconcerns with environmental compliance issues,regulatory matters, advocacy, and public relations.

Prior to joining NRMCA, Herbert served as the

Senior Environmental Manager for theMontgomery County Maryland Department ofEnvironmental Protection for over 12 years. He

also maintains endorsement fromthe U.S. Green Building Council asa LEED™ Accredited Professional.

Herbert’s presentation topicwas “Identify How Ready MixedConcrete Promoters Can Help theDesigners Accomplish LEED™.”Herbert mentioned how more andmore organizations such as Wal-Mart, Ford, Turner Construction,U.S. General Service, Departmentof Defense, City of Chicago, Cityof Arlington, and State of Marylandare becoming interested inLEED™.

This creates more demand forthe design professional to learnabout LEED™ and to becomeLEED™ certified. Herbertsuggested that we as promotersshould start educating ourselvesby joining the local U.S. GreenBuilding Chapters and taking one-day classes about LEED™ andthe point system.

Session V: James Manolakisdelivered his “Maintaining aProfessional Image-How Not toSquander Success” presentation.He covered issues related to “total

customer satisfaction.” He said “quality is whatthe customer says it is.” Manolakis alsomentioned that customer service is equal tocustomer retention and we should strive for zeromistakes.

Manolakis emphasized that in this high-techworld, weshouldremain high-touch andgo beyondanycustomer’sexpectations.This sessionwasconcludedby theshowing ofa videopresentation,entitled“Words toLead By.”

By: Hessam Nabavi, R.A.

Director of Industry Services, Northern Virginia

James Manolakis gives usefultips and advice on presentingwith confidence.

Joe Aissi delivers his“PowerPoint WorkingFor You” presentation.

Bud Lake speaks aboutgeneral business issues atthe workshop.

November 2004 7

A slide presentation consisting ofNVCAC promotional activitieswelcomed members as they arrived at

the 3rd annual Corporate Day in NorthernVirginia, on November 4th, 2004.

Mike Newman of Cardinal-Virginia ConcreteCompany Inc. and NVCAC Chairman kicked offthe meeting bywelcoming everyone.Duane Laughlin ofCrider and Shockey,and Tilt-up/ PavingCommittee Chairman,invited everyone to startthe event with a word ofprayer.

After lunch, MikeNewman introduced theexecutive leadershipand committeeleadership, and theninvited AssociationExecutive Director,Peter Easter, to give areport.

Peter thanked allthose in attendance andproudly acknowledgedAl Newman’s presenceat the meeting. Peteralso complimented thecouncil for its accomplishments this year.

Peter then spoke of the difficulty in measuringsuccesses in our promotional efforts, but notedthat according to the Portland CementAssociation figures, Virginia, Kentucky, andTennessee consistently have the highest percapita cement usage, after removing highwayusage.

Peter said that there are several importantissues that the VRMCA is working on at thelegislative level.

1. There is good news and bad newsconcerning the hours of service legislation. Thegood news is that the current legislation is beingredeveloped. The bad news is that it is beingredeveloped because they were thrown out asnot strict enough. This legislation will have to behandled in Washington.

2. Interstate weight limits increases are notmoving forward at the present time.

3. Highway funding on the House side, “nonew taxes and no fuel taxes” is the cry. Weknow Governor Warner will present atransportation package, but that it will not be ata level needed by the highway constructionindustry.

Once again, he thanked everyone forattending the meeting and for their time andeffort throughout the year.

The following committee chairmen gave theirpresentations regarding their goals andaccomplishments for this year:

- David Snyder of Cardinal-Virginia ConcreteCompany Inc. and Building CommitteeChairman

- Duane Laughlin of Crider and Shockey,Paving/Tilt-Up Committee Chairman

- Gary Downey of Titan Virginia Ready-MixLLC and Technical Committee Chairman

Corporate Day Corporate Day Corporate Day Corporate Day Corporate Day —A Day to RememberA Day to RememberA Day to RememberA Day to RememberA Day to RememberBy: Hessam Nabavi, R.A.

Director of Industry Services, Northern Virginia

(from left to right) Mike Newman, Dave Snider, Kevin Terry, Hessam Nabavi,

Duane Laughlin and Mike Renzi take a moment to smile for the camera.

(Technical Committee presentation by DuaneLaughlin on behalf of Gary Downey)

- Kevin Terry of Cardinal-Virginia ConcreteCompany Inc. and Media Committee Chairman

- Mike Renzi of Newington Concrete andMembership Committee Chairman

- Bryan Young of Cardinal-Virginia ConcreteCompany Inc. and Golf/Educational Committee Chairman(Golf/Educational Committeepresentation by Mike Newman onbehalf of Bryan Young)

In closing, Mike Newmancommented that, “we appreciateand need your support to ensurerepresentatives from all membercompanies are present andinvolved in our monthly meetingsin order to make our promotionalefforts a success.” Similarcomments were made by allcommittee chairs.

According to the NVCACleadership, this year’s programand presentation has surpassedthe past two years. Corporate Daywas a great success. It wasexciting, effective, educational,and well received.

Hampton Roads ACI Certification and Homearama SuccessfulBecause of Volunteer Effort

By J. Keith Beazley Director of Industry Services, Central Virginia and Hampton Roads

The ACI Concrete Field TestingTechnician Certification held inNovember was very successful in

Hampton Roads, due to the volunteer efforts oflocal members. The performance examinationwas administered at the Titan Virginia Ready-Mix LLC plant in Hampton, which supplied thefly-ash concrete for the test.

The suppliers and ready mixed producersare operating at a very high level and theVRMCA is highly appreciative to the individualswho shared the time for the test.

The volunteers were Jack Kowalski(Branscome), Frank MacConochie (SchnabelEngineering), Jim Simons (Capital Concrete),Jim Pratt (TCS Materials), Bob Nablo(VRMCA), and Keith Beazley (VRMCA). Thistesting will benefit members as they providequalified individuals to test the concrete that issupplied.

The Tidewater Builders Association sponsorsthe Homearama each year in a different

location in Hampton Roads and this year’sshow was in Ocean View in Norfolk. Theprogram was the recreation of a 1940’sneighborhood with the development of threecity blocks with homes and landscaping. Thehomes featured the latest in building materials,design, and new innovations and 17 houseswere part of the judging.

The show was open three weekends andtwo weeks with over 100,000 attending. TheHampton Roads Advisory Council has beenresponsible for judging of concrete drivewayseach year for the TBA.

This year the driveways were smallcompared to the estate driveways that havebeen featured, but the judges made everyeffort to evaluate and to determine the winner.

The Advisory Council volunteer judges wereSammy Davis (W.R. Grace), Marie Derby(Essroc Cement), George Kuhn (SouthwestAdvisory Council Chairman), and KeithBeazley (VRMCA).

Virginia Ready-Mixed Concrete Association8