March 2009 Header
In The Mix 
November 2009 - Vol 1, Issue 8
In This Issue
Associate of the Month
Roving Meeting - Parliment
Christmas Dinner
FICAP PAC
FI-CAP-tion
Around the Industry
Director's Corner
Our Sponsors
      
Quick Links
 
 
Officers / Directors
President
    Gary Clements
    Cement Products & 
    Supply Company
    863-686-5141
    email
 
Vice Presdient
    Preston Sparkman
    Quality Precast Co. Inc.
    813-685-5615 ext 2228
    email
 
Secretary
    Brad Coolidge 
    A-1 Block Corporation
    407-422-3768
    email  
 
Treasurer
   Steve Bishop
   Maschmeyer Concrete 
   561-848-9112
   email 
 
Board of Directors
  Jeff Bishop
  Maschmeyer Concrete
  561-848-9112
  email 
 
  Adam Freeman
  A-1 Block
  407-422-3768
  email 

  Sherry Griswold
  Griswold Ready Mix  
  904-751-3796
  email 
 
  Tony Segree
  Hicks Concrete Services
  863-425-4155
 
  Mark Smith, Past President
  Bell Concrete, Inc.
  352-463-6103
  email 
 
  Executive Director
  Michele Stropoli
  407-333-4694
  email
Join Our Mailing List!
TopGreetings!                                  
 
Gary's profile FICAP is receiving national attention.  That's right.  In the coming months we have a great lineup of speakers from national organizations who will share valuable information to assist us in our business plans and forecasting.  Your association is working hard to bring you cutting-edge educational topics as we work together to succeed during these difficult times.  This is your association.  If you have any ideas on topics that would be beneficial to us please give us a call.
 
FICAP is indeed a wonderful organization that works hard to serve its members and the industry as a whole.  I am thankful for an association like FICAP.  Not just for what it can do for our businesses, but more importantly for the friendships and relationships that have been formed there. We have much to be thankful for: all the FICAP producers are still producing, our associates are still with us, and we have our family, friends, and our health.  Robert Quillen is credited with saying, "If we count all our assets, we always show a profit."
 
As we take a few days off next week to enjoy time with family and friends, we should truly take time to be thankful for what we have.  "Thankfulness consists of being more aware of what we have than what we don't". - unknown.
 
I hope all of you get to enjoy a nice long weekend, and I wish you a happy and memorable Thanksgiving.
 
 
Gary's Signature 
               
Gary Clements
President, FICAP
Associate of the Month
 
Chris McCoun of Cemex was the winner of the Associate of the Month drawing.  Chris has been a loyal FICAP member and a constant at each of the monthly meetings.  Chris may be reached...
 
Chris McCoun, Sales Manager
East Region, Cement Division
1616 S. 14th Street
Leesburg, FL 34748
800-767-0608
 
Roving Meeting at Parliment Building Products
  
For those of you fortunate enough to join FICAP at the monthly meeting in November, Parliment indeed provided fine food and atmosphere.  Some had not Jack's plateeaten in a few days, as witnessed by those sitting near Jack Smith.  By the time he finished his third plate, plus Pat's dessert, he was full. Sort of.
 
With close to 80 in attendance, two birthday celebrations, and new friends to meet and greet, fun was had by all.
 
Thank you Chuck, Jim, Sigrun, and all the fine folks at Parliment for hosting this event.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Cornucopia 
 
 We hope you have a restful and most enjoyable Thanksgiving celebration!
Annual Christmas Dinner - December 17, 2009
 
Deck the Halls
   Join us for a celebration.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
 
  Location: Lone Palm Golf Club in Lakeland, Florida
 
RSVP Deadline: 12/8/09
 

FICAP PAC - The Legislative Corner                                    Wade Mullins, Chairman
 
Revised 2009 Header
 You won't see the story below on your local evening news. It doesn't 
 draw ratings or sell newspapers like the controversial story of House  Speaker Ray Sansom, which has been a cloud over Florida's
 Legislature for nearly the entire year.

We have all heard the statement that, "all politicians are crooks." That extreme statement just is not accurate. Thanks to term limits and some pretty stringent rules regarding campaign contributions by Florida Ethics & Election Commission.
 
I actually believe the story of Ed Homan is the norm. It might just change your opinion of your own State Senator or House Member, and I hope will spur to get more involved with the state political process.

WM
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Looking For Cheap Labor- Try the Florida Legislature

After 30 years of fixing broken bones, Ed Homan grew convinced that the Florida Legislature could use a doctor to help repair the state's healthcare problems. So in 2002, the orthopedic surgeon from Tampa ran for, and won, a seat in the House of Representatives.
 
During his first year in office, Homan, a Republican, emerged as a key player on such critical issues as medical malpractice reform.
 
But while Homan was in Tallahassee, his solo orthopedic surgery practice suffered a setback. The five special sessions that the Florida Legislature convened in 2003 to tackle medical malpractice reform left little time for Homan to tend to his patients. "Referring doctors quit referring me patients," Homan says. "They said, 'We never know when you're going to be in town.' " As his patient base dwindled, so did revenue. His House salary - about $29,000 a year - provided little cushion. Eventually, he says, he was only drawing enough money to pay for the overhead costs of maintaining his office. Read More




FI-CAP-tion 
Handshake 
The FICAP Strategic Plan Corner 
                                        Pat McLaughlin, Strategic Plan Coordinator 
Your Strategic Plan is alive and well!
 
The new chair(persons) have been installed for each of the goal groups for '09-'10.  They are:
Goal Group #1 - "Sharing ideas and experiences...."
                  Co-Chairs: Todd Amerson and Todd Brown.  We call this group the Todd group!
 - Christmas Dinner is set for December 17th at the Lone Palm Country Club in Lakeland.
 - 2010 Clay Shoot is set for March 27th at the Sarasota Trap and Skeet Club in Nokomis
 - 2010 convention is set for July 14-18th at the Sand Pearl, Clearwater Beach.
 
Goal Group #2 - "Provide education ..."
                Co-Chairs: Bob Thomas and Bobbi Griswold.  We call this the Bob(i) group!
Had a very successful educational event last month (Credit Management 101) with 28 evaluations returned.  All scored 4 or 5; the top evaluation!  Excellent.  Thank you needs to go to Wade Mullins for organizing this "Free" event. A big thank you to Wade, our 2009 associate of the year!
 
A major industry event is being planned for April 27th, 2010.  The group is organizing an Economic Forum inviting both National and Florida economists to discuss the state of the economy and Florida's construction industry.
 
The Bob(i) group asks for suggestions on dinner topics or educational events you would like to hear about.  Please let Bob, me (Pat) or Michele know of your suggestions.
 
Goal Group #3 - "Promote the association ..."
            Co-Chairs: Ron Pafford and Preston Sparkman.  We call this group the "big wig" 
            group.  Will be having their first meeting this month in Jacksonville
 
Goal Group #4 - "Identify, nurture and provide leadership..."
                           Chaired by Chuck Parliment. 
We call this group the "stay healthy and don't fall off the horse" group! Will be having their first meeting this month in Jacksonville. 
 
Goal Group #5 - "Identify and nurture future industry leaders"
                           Co-Chairs: Ted Caviglia and Tiffany Duffy. 
Go to the FICAP web site to see the activities of this group.  It is quite impressive!  Good job.
 
As you can see there are a lot of activities being organized and run by the many people involved in FICAP through the Goal Groups.  Just for giggles, I counted 101 people involved and signed up for the five goal groups.  Granted, there are some singed up for 2 or more groups (these people are animals) and some I counted like Michele and Gary that are on all groups; however, even if you halved the number, there are over 50 "volunteers" working for the good of FICAP and all the members in it.  Fantastic!  And thank you.
 
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Graduation Cap
 
2010 Scholarship Information
The R.C. Martin Memorial Scholarship program is open to any dependent child of any Florida resident employee working full time for a producer or associate member company of FICAP. Complete information including a scholarship application and deadline submittal date is available at www.ficap.org/scholarships.pdf
  
Around The Industry

RMC Research & Education Foundation - Legacy
                                                                                               by Julie Garbini, Director
 
Just over a month ago, the RMC Research & Education Foundation entered into a new era
of commitment to the sustainability of concrete. On October 5, 2009, we signed an
agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to establish a Concrete
Sustainability Hub (CSH) at the university. The CSH, which is being co-funded by the Foundation and Portland Cement Association, will take our industry's dedication to environmental stewardship to new heights and will make it absolutely clear that concrete is the most sustainable construction material there is. Read More 

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Local industry touts concrete for road-building
                                                                                  By Anthony Clark, Business editor

NEWBERRY -- With house and building construction in the tank, the Florida concrete industry is trying to get a share of the asphalt industry's state highway business -- and is seeking legislators' help to get it.
 
Industry officials touted the benefits of concrete roads to local legislators in a tour Thursday at Vulcan Materials' Florida Rock cement plant and limestone mine, saying concrete would provide more local jobs, safer and longer-lasting roads, and be more cost-effective over the roads' life.  Read More 
 
 
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"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong." ~~ Charles Wadsworth

 

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ASTM WK26071 - Revision of C94/C94M-09 Standard Specification for Ready-Mixed
                                                                                               Date Initiated:10-20-2009
                                                                                        Technical Contact: Chris Slate
 
Concrete Several years ago it was decided by this committee to delete a reference to the NIST Handbook 44 from C94 because of a change to the handbook. However as a reult of this deletion we are finding that the scales at the ready mix plants are being checked to the weight limit. For this reason we need to put the reference to NIST Handbook 44 back into the specification. Read More
 
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More Companies Plan to Hire Than Layoff
                                                                                 By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY
An economic survey out Monday provides fresh evidence that a recovery is underway as customer demand grows in the third quarter for the first time in more than a year and the jobs outlook brightens a bit.
For the first time since the recession began, the portion of companies planning to add employees in the next six months outnumbered those expecting to cut jobs, according to this month's quarterly survey of economists at 78 firms by the National Association for Business Economics.

Twenty-four percent plan to grow their workforce, 20% say they'll trim staff and 57% expect no change. In July, 18% expected to add workers, while 28% said they would scale back.
 
 
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 "When it is dark enough, you can see the stars."
                                    ~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
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Democrats Go After Crist on Transportation
                                                                                                   By: Michael Falcone 
 
When Florida Gov. Charlie Crist stood by President Barack Obama in support of the $787 billion stimulus plan, he expected to get fire from the right.  What he probably didn't anticipate was the incoming from his left.

And now, as he runs for the U.S. Senate, Crist is facing both a Republican primary challenger accusing him of caving to Big Government spending and a potential general election Democratic challenger accusing him of not spending the money fast enough.

But what started out as an intra-party squabble took on new dimensions after a U.S. House Transportation Committee report last month ranked Florida dead last - behind even Alaska and South Carolina - in spending stimulus money for highway improvements. Read More
 
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CAN WE GROW IN TODAY'S ECONOMY?
                                                                 By Jim Bleech of Parliment Building Products
 
Not only can a company grow in times like this but companies can also thrive. Our business segment is getting hit with more business failures than any other segment. This "culling out of the weak" leaves tremendous opportunities for the strong. Not only can we gain immediate market share, but that market share growth today will result in exponential growth in the future as the market continues to recover. What does it take to gain market share today? First and foremost, you can never lose a sale. Following close behind would be to broaden your product penetration into your accounts. Make sure you have every product your customer could need. Improve your customer responsiveness. Finally,
start to measure your success in terms of market share gain. Additional customers and additional products should be your strategic focus. Read More from Parliment Pages

Thirst for Knowledge 
                                                                          Michele Stropoli, Executive Director 
                          
Michele
Do you ever get a thirst for knowledge? You begin reading about one subject or topic and soon you're pursuing several. I know in some cases this is considered ADD, but stay with me here. 
 
Sometimes it just takes one small initiative, pursue the thought that crossed your mind or the comment you overheard, and your world starts expanding.  We have so much information at our fingertips, such easy access, that our instant generation tendencies are satisfied, and our minds as well.  So many have extra time on their hands while we wait for things to turn around, why not pursue those interests. 
 
When my children were younger, they always asked me the difficult questions while we were in the car.  I started carrying a small notepad with me everywhere and I would jot down their question and we would pursue the answer later.  (Without the notepad we would forget the question until the next time we were in the car.)  Our phones make the notepad unnessary, but the principle remains the same.  Jot down those thoughts and follow through with finding the answers.  Your research may lead to some amazing discoveries.  One of ours was whether or not mosquitos sleep...ok, maybe not so amazing, but interesting.
 
While you are pursing your new knowledge, check out the FICAP events page for the incredible lineup of spring meetings. 
 
Next week is a time to rest and enjoy our family and friends and while we're lazing from
tryptophan & carbohydrate overdose, let's pursue a little knowledge...besides the football scores.  Happy Thanksgiving!
                             
Sincerely, 
Micheles Signature