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Thank you, Gracias, Obrigado, Dank u, Merci, Grazie...

3/1/2007

It has been an honor to serve this past year as President of this great Institute. I thank you for this truly wonderful experience. I was consistently impressed with the great outpouring of technical and educational knowledge that flows out to the concrete industry from our staff, committees, and committee chairs that I had the privilege to work with and get to know during this past year.

The "theme" of my presidency was that it's not good enough to do things because "we've always done it that way" if we want to ensure that ACI continues as one of the best technical societies dealing with concrete. Together, we nudged the rudder slightly to steer this great ship of ours to "set a new course" for ACI's future in the changing tides of our global industry. In this, my final Memo, I would like to reflect on our progress:

1. Develop and implement a strategy to increase ACI membership and enhance the ACI website-In an unprecedented way, we thought "out of the box" to launch the New Member Benefits Program on January 1, 2007. Free Student E-Memberships are available to full-time students worldwide for up to 6 years. The online Concrete Knowledge Center provides access to references cited in ACI 318; in-depth design and detailing case studies; and answers to frequently asked questions related to the code. Members can download selected ACI committee documents and earn CEUs online for free. A new Membership Directory is available online and open to the public. The Concrete Repair Bulletin can be chosen as an option to one of the ACI Journals. A new Career Center assists employees and employers seeking to fill concrete industry opportunities. All of these initiatives deliver value to our members.

2. Strengthen ACI's international role-I discovered first hand how much ACI is respected around the world as a concrete industry leader. This past year, a number of us represented ACI at meetings in Brazil, Colombia, England, France, Italy, Mexico, and the Netherlands. In every country, significant progress was made for closer ties and greater knowledge transfer and sharing opportunities. Our list of International Partners continues to expand. I learned that, globally, we have much more in common than we have differences.

3. Expand the Student Fellowship Program-At the Fall 2006 Convention, the ACI Board of Direction approved a progressive scholarship funding program that will greatly enhance the Student Fellowship Program by soliciting more donor interest and involvement, and more and immediate fellowship grants. The goals of the new program are consistent with the Cornerstone for Leadership Endowment Campaign-that is, to assure the future of the concrete industry and that of ACI.

4. Reach out to the concrete industry and expand working relations with other technical societies-We continued to work closely with the American Society of Concrete Contractors and the International Concrete Repair Institute. We are entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with ICRI to develop a Concrete Repair Code. We are planning to formalize cooperative efforts with CRSI and TCA, and continue to work together with ASCE, ASTM International, PCA, PCI and others to give joint technical and educational seminars. This past year, we also had positive, top-level meetings with AGC, AIA, DBIA, FHWA, GBI, and USGBC. As we reach out "with open arms" to others, we, likewise, have been embraced.

Additionally, the Fall 2006 Convention in Denver set a new record for attendance. Membership is increasing, ACI chapters are expanding, and certification programs are in great demand worldwide. ConREF, renamed the ACI Foundation, has been reorganized to better respond to industry demands for talent and timely research and innovations, a revised 318 Code is being finalized, and a new 301 Specification is being developed.

Looking forward, I am extremely optimistic, as the stage is set for more new initiatives and programs that will continue to improve ACI, including a new Strategic Plan now being set in motion and the initiation of a reorganized and reformatted 318 Code.

In closing, I express my gratitude to everyone who helped make my year so enjoyable and productive, including the Board of Direction, the hardworking staff at ACI headquarters, and the dedicated ACI Committee Chairs and volunteer members who are the backbone of the Institute. And a special thank you goes out to the several Past Presidents who mentored me, the members of the Executive Committee who supported me, and my good friend, ACI Executive Vice President Bill Tolley, who carried all of us through another great year at home and abroad.

I wish the very best to our incoming President, Dr. David Darwin, and I hope his experience will be as rewarding as mine.

Thomas D. Verti, President
American Concrete Institute
tverti@pankow.com

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