News Detail

Plans and Priorities, 1997-98

6/1/1997

Last month's presidential memo ended with the suggestion that you take a second look at ACI's Strategic Plan — 1996, published in the January 1997 issue of Concrete International. This important planning document was formulated to put ACI into the strongest possible position as we enter the 21st Century. Thus, it is not a surprise that the four goals and six initiatives defined in the plan provide the basis for essentially all of my own personal plans and priorities for my next 11 months as ACI president. Working closely with First Vice President Jim Libby, I want to promote the timely implementation of the plan initiatives which are aimed at producing and making available the knowledge, technology, codes and standards, and construction know-how which will lead to BETTER CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES.

My specific goals are to help ACI make strong progress in the following areas:

• ACI's membership base must be stabilized to stop the decline we've experienced in recent years. We must make membership in ACI sufficiently attractive to better retain current members and, at the same time, attract new members—younger members just now coming into the world of concrete, as well as more experienced individuals. A major new study on membership issues and directions is now underway after receiving authorization at the Board meeting in April in Seattle, Wash.
• We are committed to publish a larger number of practical documents aimed directly at constructors and designers who are in the "front lines" of the constructed facility business. Frank S. Kurtz at ACI headquarters is responsible for coordinating the publication of this class of documents, which include the "Tool Box" series for use by concrete construction workers in the field. Readers with suggestions for new practical publications are encouraged to contact either Frank or me.
• We need to make a continuous special outreach to contractors to get many more involved in the national activities of ACI, particularly in technical and educational committee activities leading to ACI publications. There is simply no substitute for getting the right practical perspective embedded in every publication issued by ACI.
• Our certification program has been highly successful since its inception not too many years ago. In addition to strengthening and extending the many types of certification of individuals, we've begun exploration of certification of firms. We want to make ACI certification the "gold standard" for excellence in construction.
• ACI now has 87 chapters with 53 in the United States and 34 in other countries, plus five Affiliated International Societies. Local chapter members are, in many ways, the most visible part of ACI to the public. We need to strengthen ties and joint activities between these many local chapters and ACI International. We need more local chapter members belonging to ACI International and more ACI International members belonging to local chapters.
• ACI has a strong and wide-ranging international presence. I'm a firm believer in cultivating even stronger ties with our international colleagues and fellow technical groups and societies, a goal I'll stress in this year's international travel. In addition to the fact that we have much to learn from each other, international cooperative activities provide us with unique opportunities for personal growth and understanding. I speak from long experience in this area, having greatly enjoyed the privilege of spending nearly four decades working closely with graduate students, engineers, and faculty members from around the world. I believe that ACI should give special emphasis to cultivating closer ties with our neighbors in Central and South America, eventually reaching the same closeness we enjoy with our colleagues in Canada.
• Technology transfer is a popular topic, and rightly so. There is an urgent need to take better advantage of those new methods, products, and processes with solid potential for improving the quality and durability of concrete construction. ACI is now involved in several exciting new ventures that need considerable time and attention during the coming year—getting our new Strategic Development Council off to a strong start, reaching a consensus position on a proposed ACI evaluation or assessment service, and strengthening the innovative task group activities within the TAC Technology Transfer Committee. I'll devote a full memo to these topics in an upcoming issue of Concrete International.
• The last two topics on my agenda—activities on internationalization of codes and seeking innovations to improve the value and attractiveness of national conventions—will be treated in future memos.

In closing, I want to mention that ACI past presidents agree that the one-year term of office goes by far too quickly, without enough time to accomplish the many goals each new president sets. I'll be facing this same issue, but as the hockey player Wayne Gretsky puts it: "One misses 100 percent of the shots not taken." Fortunately, "getting things done" relies so much on others—ACI member volunteers, ACI officers, and, in particular, ACI staff. A good case in point is the remarkable progress made by ACI in the past year in the area of electronic communications. We are blessed with a great group of talented, committed, and hard-working individuals.

I welcome your concerns, reactions, questions, and suggestions. Address: Hollister Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., 14853; e-mail: RNW3@Cornell.edu; FAX: (607) 255-4828; telephone: (607) 255-6497.

Richard N. White
President
American Concrete Institute

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