News Detail

Better Education is the Goal

5/1/2001

It is truly an honor to be able to serve as your President for the upcoming year. I would like to thank the Institute for this privilege and for everything else it has done for me over the past 30 years.

Isaac Newton once said, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." I am certainly riding in on the shoulders of giants: giants of vision, purpose, mission, and work ethic. My predecessors in this office have all been giant role models who have laid a strong foundation for ACI’s future. This Institute has been blessed with many bright and energetic people who have worked hard and given of their time and talents to improve ACI and the industry as a whole. My goal in the year ahead is to continue to capitalize on our strengths and resources to improve our Institute, our industry, and ourselves.

As we begin this year together, I would like to share with you a little about my personal background and history in concrete construction. I was born in 1948 near Cincinnati, Ohio. The oldest of three boys and three girls, I learned from a very early age the value of hard work and dedication to purpose. This is the "Baker family work ethic" that is the basis for everything I believe in.

We made our living selling produce from our small farm, which provided neither financial stability nor opportunity for growth. The minute I was able to get a job with a real paycheck, I did— I went to work with my grandfather, Elmer Baker, in concrete and masonry construction.

My grandfather taught me to mix mortar for stonework and to remove and replace curbs, gutters, and sidewalks. Eventually, I learned the basics of concrete finishing. But more importantly, I learned the value of quality, hard work, and customer service. By 1967 my grandfather had turned 76, and was no longer able to handle manual tool work.

It was time to make a career decision. I enrolled at Miami University of Ohio for a degree in Industrial Engineering, and took a job with a local residential concrete construction company to pay for my tuition. It did not take me long to realize that concrete construction was going to be my path for the future.

During the summer, business picked up and the company needed more help. I recruited my two younger brothers, Jim and Ken Baker, to come on board. We continued to work between classes and on weekends during the fall, but when winter came, to our disappointment, our hourly rates were cut. That’s when we decided to break away and form our own flatwork company. Our main assets at that point consisted of a pickup truck, our hand tools, and the Baker family work ethic.

We poured our lives into concrete construction those first few years. By 1970, our "sweat equity" began to pay off and we were able to expand into light commercial and industrial construction. Then in 1972, a local ready-mix supplier and his friend, an admixture manufacturer’s rep, literally dragged us to our first local ACI Chapter meeting. This was our first exposure to topics such as hot and cold weather concrete, curing, strength, and tolerance methods.

ACI introduced us to a whole new world. It changed the way we viewed our business, and ultimately the way we conducted our business. We were awakened to the value of quality, while sharpening the skills we needed to achieve it. ACI helped us raise our knowledge and expertise to a more professional level, and by the 1980s, we were capable of taking on complete concrete construction projects.

In 1986, ACI members Carl Bimel and Chuck Ayers invited me to my first convention. I was awed by the talent and knowledge represented within this organization. I began sitting in on ACI committees like 302 (Construction of Concrete Floors), 360 (Design of Slabs on Ground) and Membership. I soon became involved with the Construction Liaison, Certification, and Finance Committees and the Concrete Research and Education Foundation (ConREF). Before I knew it, I had been elected to the ACI Board of Direction. As we learn more, we are able to contribute more, and not only did I learn more as my involvement with ACI grew, but I also made many great friends.

Now, as I begin my term as ACI President, I feel grateful for the immense personal and professional growth I have experienced through ACI, and especially appreciate the many “giants” who invested in my life. I also recognize firsthand the importance of education, and my main goal during the coming year is to be your “Education” President.

Most of you are aware of the manpower shortage that faces our industry. I want to maximize the opportunities offered by ACI to students, and will push for programs that will recruit, inspire, and retain bright, motivated professionals. This is in line with one of ACI’s five strategic goals, which is to help build and maintain a professional workforce of sufficient size and skill to meet the needs of the industry. Then we have to keep that new talent active with us throughout their careers in both engineering and construction. The lifelong learning process offered by ACI is needed by us all just to keep pace with the enormity of information.

I also believe ACI needs to place more emphasis on educating contractors, and provide opportunities for them, in turn, to educate ACI. I’ll be asking my brethren, the contractors, to become involved with the ACI committees concerned with better constructibility. It is only through consistent involvement of the construction community in the work of ACI that will we be able to design and build better concrete facilities.

Maybe, like me, you became involved in ACI because someone took you under their wing and showed you the ropes, so to speak. Now I ask you in turn to consider becoming a mentor –– to help a new recruit become as actively involved in ACI as you are. I am asking you to help me help us!

My basic role during the year ahead is to be your servant leader. Like those who have gone before me and those who will come after me, I will do my very best to represent you and our Institute, and to make sure the valuable knowledge ACI offers is even more broadly shared. I look forward to the year ahead, and I thank you for this great opportunity. Let’s go to work.

Daniel L. Baker,
President,
American Concrete Institute

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