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2010 Industry & STI/SPFA Events Calendar
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2010 INDUSTRY CALENDAR
The latest edition of the 2010 Calendar can be viewed and printed at any time.
As a courtesy to its members, STI/SPFA prepares this caledar of meetings, conventions, conferences, training classes and trade shows at which STI/SPFA will have a presence (presenting, hosting, attending, exhibiting, etc.). The calendar includes industry-wide events as well as events hosted or sponsored by STI/SPFA.
A separate list of STI/SPFA events for members and non-members is available at Education/ Events.
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STI/SPFA 2009 Summer Meeting - Napa Valley, CA
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Summer 2009 Membership Meeting – The Meritage Resort & Spa
Thinking back to the rolling hills of California wine Country, I am reminded of the brilliant blue, cloudless sky. Even though the air was brisk at breakfast on the Vineyard Terrace the first day (Saturday August 1), the covered patio was the perfect setting for a morning feast before the inaugural general session began.
Chuck Travelstead welcomed delegates, acknowledged Meeting Sponsors and gave an opening presentation on the economy. Chuck’s remarks were followed by brief, informative Affiliate Member presentations from Induron Protective Coatings, The Lincoln Electric Company, OPW Fueling Components, Phoenix Forging Company and The Sherwin-Williams Company. Later additional Affiliate Member presentations were given by Blastech Mobile LLC, Commercial Metal Forming and Morrison Bros. Company.
Jeremy Kmet, (www.salesforce.com) is working with a Member Company to implement a CRM (customer relationship management) system that has made tracking and monitoring business activities more efficient and seamless. His presentation was the first in a series on general business topics that a broad segment of the delegates rated highly.
A brief morning break followed, after which a Safety Session was conducted by Tim Racicot, Certified Safety Professional and Corporate Director of Safety for CIC Group, Inc. (Nooter Companies) based in St. Louis. Racicot focused his remarks on industrial hygiene planning by providing guidelines to assessing occupational exposures. Industrial hygiene is the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of environmental health hazards that arise out of the workplace or the community. A good corporate industrial hygiene program would include data collection and random sampling to help assess exposures.
The STICO Mutual Meeting followed and updates were provided by STICO Chairman Jim O’Day, President, Brian Donovan, and Committee Chairmen during which year-to-date financial and claims handling reports were provided. Afterwards, the group adjourned to the cool confines of the Estate Wine Cave on the grounds of the resort to a lunch hosted by STICO Mutual.
STI/SPFA Engineers, Lorri Grainawi and Dana Schmidt, were joined by Technical Committee Chair, Terry Cooper, as the Shop Fabricated Tank Section Technical Session was presented. Laura Fisher of the California State Water Resource Control Board gave an update of California UST Regulations. A lively question and answer session followed. Ms. Fisher’s presentation was just one of several topics of particular interest to the Shop Fabricated Tank Section.
On Sunday August 2, a number of member delegates began their morning slowly, while others gathered for meetings of the Member Services Committee, Safety & Health Committee, and Technical Committee began at 8 a.m.
By 12:30 p.m., more than 25 delegates and guests had gathered in the Meritage lobby in preparation for the afternoon bike tour and wine tasting led by Napa Valley Bike Tours. The hearty group enjoyed the 16-mile ride along the winding vineyard roadways and raised a glass or two at a pair of wineries on their route.
The delegates reconvened for a general session at 8:00 on Monday, August 3, and the day opened with a presentation from Don Cope, attorney at law, devoted to the Employee Free Choice Act that is pending in Congress. He began with the legal framework and provided an overview of current procedures and a summary of what the EFCA unionization process may look like. Cope encouraged delegates to evaluate their risks, train supervisors about EFCA and its ramifications, and take affirmative actions to improve hiring practices, evaluate and update employee policies and procedures, review compensation and benefits plans and communicate the company’s position on unions, The questions that followed Cope’s presentation made it clear that his presentation ‘hit pay dirt’ with many attendees.
Mark Greenspan, Viticulturist, followed Cope on the agenda with his presentation titled, “Water Use and Conservation in Vineyards.” Greenspan has his Ph.D. in Viticulture from the University of California, Davis. Greenspan has conducted extensive research in irrigation and is regarded as one of the leading experts in winegrape irrigation.
Following the morning break, Chuck Travelstead introduced Bill Roberts of Benefit Concepts, Inc. who spoke on Business Transition Strategies. He gave a Congressional Update and detailed the impact anticipated if HR 436 is passed. He went on to emphasize that there is good news for small business owners because of historically low interest rates, low enterprise valuations and high discounts. Thereafter, he detailed ten landmines in business succession and provided a roadmap to successfully navigating transition planning.
The STI/SPFA Biannual Business Meeting was the next session on the agenda, during which year-to-date Membership and Financial Reports were provided by Tim Woofter and Ron Houston. Terry Cooper, George Ruchti, Chip Stein, and Jon Ward, as Chairmen of each of the Membership Sections, summarized the STI/SPFA activities within each of their construction markets. Jim Rhudy provided an update on behalf of the Safety & Health Committee. Sonny Underwood reported that a Website Task Group was in place to update and redevelop the STI/SPFA website. Chuck Travelstead reported that the 2009 Strategic Plan was complete and would be approved by the Board at its meeting on August 4. The new plan will be presented to the Members in February 2010 at the Annual Meeting in Palm Springs.
Phil Myers of Chevron followed with his presentation, "Seismic Evaluations of Terminating Facilities." His remarks, anecdotes and photographs made clear the hazards created by earthquakes and their aftershocks.
After a short break, Zane Miller of Testing LLC in Atlanta devoted his presentation to the debris that has been found in tanks storing certain fuel blends. The STI/SPFA Technical Committee will be working with Miller and other members of the industry to address this issue.
The final morning, August 4, Catherine Dunwoody of the California Fuel Cell Partnership was the opening speaker. Ms. Dunwoody reported that today, about 300 fuel cell vehicles have been placed on California’s roads and fill at only 22 hydrogen stations in the state. The CaFCP Action Plan rolled out in February 2009 focuses on three areas:
· Developing early “hydrogen communities” for passenger vehicles;
· Expanding the transit program in the San Francisco Bay Area with new mixed-use stations that provide fuel for passenger vehicles and transit buses; and
· Developing codes, standards and regulations with a state-of-the-art hydrogen station in the Sacramento area that will enable regulatory agencies to validate new test procedures.
Richard Tanner of Ownership Advisors, Inc. in Cleveland made the final presentation devoted to Exit Planning. Tanner discussed blind spots and hazards that business owners face when planning exit strategy. He put great emphasis of exit planning being a process to preserve wealth and create legacy rather than a legal transaction. Tanner outlined a seven-step plan that comprises the program, “Exit on Purpose™” developed by his organization. His presentation was followed by a short panel interview with representatives from three Member Companies, Bernie Cooper (retired) of Acterra Group, Inc., Jim O’Day of O’Day Tank and Steel, and Tim Woofter of Stanwade Metal Products.
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Summer 2009 Membership Meeting – The Meritage Resort & Spa
Thinking back to the rolling hills of California wine Country, I am reminded of the brilliant blue, cloudless sky. Even though the air was brisk at breakfast on the Vineyard Terrace the first day (Saturday August 1), the covered patio was the perfect setting for a morning feast before the inaugural general session began.
Chuck Travelstead welcomed delegates, acknowledged Meeting Sponsors and gave an opening presentation on the economy. Chuck’s remarks were followed by brief, informative Affiliate Member presentations from Induron Protective Coatings, The Lincoln Electric Company, OPW Fueling Components, Phoenix Forging Company and The Sherwin-Williams Company. Later additional Affiliate Member presentations were given by Blastech Mobile LLC, Commercial Metal Forming and Morrison Bros. Company.
Jeremy Kmet, (www.salesforce.com) is working with a Member Company to implement a CRM (customer relationship management) system that has made tracking and monitoring business activities more efficient and seamless. His presentation was the first in a series on general business topics that a broad segment of the delegates rated highly.
A brief morning break followed, after which a Safety Session was conducted by Tim Racicot, Certified Safety Professional and Corporate Director of Safety for CIC Group, Inc. (Nooter Companies) based in St. Louis. Racicot focused his remarks on industrial hygiene planning by providing guidelines to assessing occupational exposures. Industrial hygiene is the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of environmental health hazards that arise out of the workplace or the community. A good corporate industrial hygiene program would include data collection and random sampling to help assess exposures.
The STICO Mutual Meeting followed and updates were provided by STICO Chairman Jim O’Day, President, Brian Donovan, and Committee Chairmen during which year-to-date financial and claims handling reports were provided. Afterwards, the group adjourned to the cool confines of the Estate Wine Cave on the grounds of the resort to a lunch hosted by STICO Mutual.
STI/SPFA Engineers, Lorri Grainawi and Dana Schmidt, were joined by Technical Committee Chair, Terry Cooper, as the Shop Fabricated Tank Section Technical Session was presented. Laura Fisher of the California State Water Resource Control Board gave an update of California UST Regulations. A lively question and answer session followed. Ms. Fisher’s presentation was just one of several topics of particular interest to the Shop Fabricated Tank Section.
On Sunday August 2, a number of member delegates began their morning slowly, while others gathered for meetings of the Member Services Committee, Safety & Health Committee, and Technical Committee began at 8 a.m.
By 12:30 p.m., more than 25 delegates and guests had gathered in the Meritage lobby in preparation for the afternoon bike tour and wine tasting led by Napa Valley Bike Tours. The hearty group enjoyed the 16-mile ride along the winding vineyard roadways and raised a glass or two at a pair of wineries on their route.
The delegates reconvened for a general session at 8:00 on Monday, August 3, and the day opened with a presentation from Don Cope, attorney at law, devoted to the Employee Free Choice Act that is pending in Congress. He began with the legal framework and provided an overview of current procedures and a summary of what the EFCA unionization process may look like. Cope encouraged delegates to evaluate their risks, train supervisors about EFCA and its ramifications, and take affirmative actions to improve hiring practices, evaluate and update employee policies and procedures, review compensation and benefits plans and communicate the company’s position on unions, The questions that followed Cope’s presentation made it clear that his presentation ‘hit pay dirt’ with many attendees.
Mark Greenspan, Viticulturist, followed Cope on the agenda with his presentation titled, “Water Use and Conservation in Vineyards.” Greenspan has his Ph.D. in Viticulture from the University of California, Davis. Greenspan has conducted extensive research in irrigation and is regarded as one of the leading experts in winegrape irrigation.
Following the morning break, Chuck Travelstead introduced Bill Roberts of Benefit Concepts, Inc. who spoke on Business Transition Strategies. He gave a Congressional Update and detailed the impact anticipated if HR 436 is passed. He went on to emphasize that there is good news for small business owners because of historically low interest rates, low enterprise valuations and high discounts. Thereafter, he detailed ten landmines in business succession and provided a roadmap to successfully navigating transition planning.
The STI/SPFA Biannual Business Meeting was the next session on the agenda, during which year-to-date Membership and Financial Reports were provided by Tim Woofter and Ron Houston. Terry Cooper, George Ruchti, Chip Stein, and Jon Ward, as Chairmen of each of the Membership Sections, summarized the STI/SPFA activities within each of their construction markets. Jim Rhudy provided an update on behalf of the Safety & Health Committee. Sonny Underwood reported that a Website Task Group was in place to update and redevelop the STI/SPFA website. Chuck Travelstead reported that the 2009 Strategic Plan was complete and would be approved by the Board at its meeting on August 4. The new plan will be presented to the Members in February 2010 at the Annual Meeting in Palm Springs.
Phil Myers of Chevron followed with his presentation, "Seismic Evaluations of Terminating Facilities." His remarks, anecdotes and photographs made clear the hazards created by earthquakes and their aftershocks.
After a short break, Zane Miller of Testing LLC in Atlanta devoted his presentation to the debris that has been found in tanks storing certain fuel blends. The STI/SPFA Technical Committee will be working with Miller and other members of the industry to address this issue.
The final morning, August 4, Catherine Dunwoody of the California Fuel Cell Partnership was the opening speaker. Ms. Dunwoody reported that today, about 300 fuel cell vehicles have been placed on California’s roads and fill at only 22 hydrogen stations in the state. The CaFCP Action Plan rolled out in February 2009 focuses on three areas:
· Developing early “hydrogen communities” for passenger vehicles;
· Expanding the transit program in the San Francisco Bay Area with new mixed-use stations that provide fuel for passenger vehicles and transit buses; and
· Developing codes, standards and regulations with a state-of-the-art hydrogen station in the Sacramento area that will enable regulatory agencies to validate new test procedures.
Richard Tanner of Ownership Advisors, Inc. in Cleveland made the final presentation devoted to Exit Planning. Tanner discussed blind spots and hazards that business owners face when planning exit strategy. He put great emphasis of exit planning being a process to preserve wealth and create legacy rather than a legal transaction. Tanner outlined a seven-step plan that comprises the program, “Exit on Purpose™” developed by his organization. His presentation was followed by a short panel interview with representatives from three Member Companies, Bernie Cooper (retired) of Acterra Group, Inc., Jim O’Day of O’Day Tank and Steel, and Tim Woofter of Stanwade Metal Products.
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