News Detail

A Decade of Progress…and Still Advancing

6/1/2015

I have just returned from The Concrete Convention and Exposition – Spring 2015 in Kansas City, MO. The city had certainly changed since our last convention there in the fall of 2005. From my hotel room, I had a wonderful view of the new cable-stayed bridge, known as the New Paseo Bridge, over the Missouri River and I thoroughly enjoyed running along the Riverfront Heritage Trail. And yet as always, ACI convention attendees were still able to enjoy the many fountains and the outstanding barbeque for which Kansas City is known.

In many ways, Kansas City provides a good analogy for ACI. ACI is known internationally for disseminating consensus-based knowledge, yet it is also changing. The change may not be evident when evaluated from convention to convention, but the differences between the two conventions in Kansas City were striking.

Examples of the key new programs, initiatives, and activities underway since our previous convention in Kansas City 10 years ago include the following:

• The Educational Activities Committee recently launched a new concept for delivering education: the ACI University (www.ACIUniversity.com), which provides easy, on-demand access to all online learning resources.
• The International Advisory Committee has just established its Ambassador Speaker Program, with plans for ACI members to attend international conferences to promote ACI technical expertise globally and strengthen relations with international partners.
• Also in the area of international cooperation, Bernard A. Pekor was appointed Director, International Business Development. A new staff position has been created to manage and coordinate translations of ACI documents into the many languages needed by ACI members and its customers, under the direction of Aimee Gurski, Translation Coordinator.
• The Membership Committee is investigating entirely new models of membership that will provide benefits targeted to the changing needs of our members.
• A new staff position dedicated to supporting and communicating more effectively with ACI chapters around the world was approved by the ACI Board of Direction at its meeting in Kansas City.
• A completely reorganized building code and the newly developed repair code were published, both of which will have revised support documents. The technical excellence, dedication, and consensus necessary to produce "Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI 318-14) and Commentary (ACI 318R-14)" and "Code Requirements for Evaluation, Repair, and Rehabilitation of Concrete Buildings (ACI 562-13) and Commentary" represent the core values of ACI’s mission.
• Ann Daugherty was appointed as full-time Director for the ACI Foundation. For updates on the work of the ACI Foundation and its three councils—Concrete Research Council, Scholarship Council, and the Strategic Development Council—see the new feature "Knowledge to Practice," debuting this month on p. 21.
• In support of mentoring the future generations of active ACI members, ACI Foundation Fellowships have increased from three to 11 during the past 10 years and an additional Scholarship was added for a total of eight available awards.
• A new certification program for adhesive anchor installers was developed in response to a request from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The program is offered throughout the United States and Taiwan and was recently introduced in South America.

During The Concrete Convention, I was very pleased by all the discussions related to how ACI can serve its members and provide meaningful opportunities—and that is perhaps the most important takeaway from our time in Kansas City. Board Committee Chairs are now routinely meeting as a group at convention to determine how ACI Board Committees can work synergistically to accomplish the objectives of ACI’s Strategic Plan. In the last 10 years, that is a quite significant—and needed—change to the way we approach the business of ACI.

Working together, we are making progress and advancing the ACI Strategic Plan while at the same time advancing concrete knowledge globally. I look forward to joining you on this journey and also to riding the streetcar along Main Street the next time that we hold a convention in Kansas City.

Sharon L. Wood