| In The Mix August 2010- Vol 2, Issue 7 |
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| Welcome New Member | |
Thank you
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| Officers / Directors | |
President
Gary Clements
Cement Products &
Supply Company
863-686-5141
Vice Presdient
Preston Sparkman
Quality Precast Co. Inc.
813-685-5615 ext 2228
Secretary
Brad Coolidge
A-1 Block Corporation
407-422-3768
Treasurer Steve Bishop Maschmeyer Concrete
Jeff Bishop
Maschmeyer Concrete
561-848-9112
Adam Freeman
A-1 Block
407-422-3768
Sherry Griswold
Griswold Ready Mix
904-751-3796
Freddie Jahna
Jahna Concrete
863-453-5155
Mark Smith, Past President
Bell Concrete, Inc.
352-463-6103
Executive Director Michele Stropoli 407-333-4694 email |
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 Greetings! |
 Well it hardly seems like it has been a month since we enjoyed a few days in paradise together at the Sandpearl Resort. Thanks again to all who took the time and incurred the expense to attend. It seems that during good times and bad our conventions continue to be second to none for networking, meeting new friends, and fun times. A special thanks to all of our sponsors who helped make this year's convention a success. It is not possible to stop with the thanks until I recognize Michele, Patty and Cali for all of their work and creative and personalized decorations at our banquet.
This promises to be another busy year at FICAP. At our next meeting we repopulate our all important Goal Groups. In addition, this is an election year, and a very important election year at that. In my opinion, the most important and daunting task we have is to defeat Amendment 4 at the polls in November. I can't remember when there has been an issue to be voted on that is more important to our industry. As the president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce put it, "if you like the recession you'll love Amendment 4."
We have to make this our top priority. The time to fight this is now. We have done a good job of trying to educate all our members on Amendment 4, and I think our active members are well educated on the perils that face our industry if this amendment is passed.
As important as the defeat of this amendment is to our industry and to our ability to remain in business, it amazes me how many people in the industry have no idea what Amendment 4 is. I talk to them everyday. One of our member companies has taken it upon themselves to educate their customer base with information enclosed in all correspondence to their customers and suppliers. We are doing the same at Cement Products. In addition, there is information on the Cement Products sales counter, and "Vote No on 4" bumper stickers on all company vehicles and on all entrance doors to the office.
Please make this a priority in your business. FICAP is purchasing materials for you to use in your efforts to fight this job-killing amendment and will have them available at the next meeting.
Gary Blair is created with saying, "What is the difference between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following? The extra mile." If there has ever been a time for us to go the extra mile for our industry - it is now.
Please make sure you attend this month's meeting as we have many giants of our industry who will be speaking to us about their experiences through the years. It promises to be a very exciting and informative meeting. I'll see you there.
Gary Clements
President, FICAP
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| FICAP Monthly Meeting - Giants of the Industry Social | |
The Future Leaders of Florida will host a Social in which respected leaders of the Florida Concrete Industry, both the past and present, have been invited to address those in attendance. A roundtable discussion has been scheduled with the opening topic: A Recession...If you knew then, what you know now, what would you do differently?" Confirmed invited guests include: Jimmy Keys, Frank Bronstein, Terry White, Jack Smith, Jim Perdue, and several other surprises.
(This event is for the Florida Concrete Industry and not just members of FICAP.)
A cocktail reception will begin at 5:30 pm, with a dinner to immediately follow at 6:30.
Date: Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Time: 5:30 pm
Dinner Cost: $ 45.00
RSVP: Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Additional meetings to be held the same day -
Goal Group 1 "Sharing of Ideas" - 2 to 3 pm
Goal Group 2 "Education" - 3 to 4 pm
Producer Board Meeting - 4 to 5 pm
All attendees must register for this event. |
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| Convention Sponsors | |
A special thank you to our
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Gifts, Talents and Abilities Michele Stropoli, Executive Director
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We are born with our own unique gifts and talents and there are no exceptions to this rule. The more you work on discovering, developing and using the gifts and talents you have, the more you find new ones. For example, we know that Mark Smith is gifted with the ability to spend countless hours on the river, without tiring. We know that Adam Freeman is a great traveler, as witnessed by his many trips out of the area. We know that Chuck Parliment can b.s. with the best of them, as witnessed, well, most days (he's also a treasure and a pleasure to talk with). So what's your unique gift or talent? Have you shared your expertise with FICAP? Now I'm not talking about the kind of talents mentioned above, those are just intended to be funny, but I am talking about your gifts and talents for moving projects forward, for assessing a situation and offering viable solutions. FICAP is moving forward and we need forward thinkers to keep the momentum going.
If you're a member of FICAP, then you have a place on one of the goal groups. Take a look at what FICAP offers and see where you might plug in and make a difference. The goal groups are populated with both producers and associate members, which means you have a captive audience of producers who pay attention to the active members and those supporting their association. What better way to get to know a producer member than through working with one on a project.
Goal Group 1 - Sharing of Ideas and Experiences
This group oversees and plans the annual convention, fall golf tournament, spring clay shoot, and Christmas Banquet. On August 24, plans will be made to overhaul the annual convention. If you've not completed the convention survey, please do so immediately, as the results of this survey will be used at this meeting.
Goal Group 2 - Education
This group added a new committee, the Environmental Awareness Committee (Read more about it in an article below - Patrick Lear's article) and is in charge of planning the educational programs offered by FICAP, which involves the monthly speakers and the quarterly educational events.
Goal Group 3 - Promotion
This group promotes the association and the independent producers to the industry. The successful eNewsletter is one of their accomplishments. A new initiative is the overhaul of the website. (Read more about plans for this group below - Ron Paffords article)
Goal Group 4 - Leadership
Even though this group is closed and only available to officers and directors of the association, it needs mentioning that this group accomplished the task of overhauling and updating the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and created three new policies required by IRS.
Goal Group 5 - Future Leaders
This group intends to bring guidance and help to the group we call the Future of the Florida Concrete Industry. A mentor program is underway, along with plans for educational opportunities specific to our future leaders. What this group is lacking are active members.
If you're not already a member of one of these groups, what are you waiting for? We're looking for fresh and new ideas. Bring yours to the table on August 24th and sign up for at least one of the groups listed above.
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TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have
today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
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I hope you have a great week!
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| FICAP PAC News Wade Mullins, Chairman |
 Are you as overwhelmed as I am with having to sort out real mail from all the political advertisements that seem to show up in our mailboxes every day or at least once a week? I certainly am. What's worse is getting the same ads over and over again. If I didn't read your ad with the picture of the wife, kids and family dog on it the first time, do you actually think I will look at the fourth that you stuff in my mailbox?
I know, just throw enough of anything against the wall and it eventually stick somewhere. There is a lot of truth to that statement, but does that rule of thumb apply when it comes to negative campaign ads?
The races that are the hardest for me to decide upon are the judges. Most of us have never heard of any of them. What do you do, check your local newspaper editorial to see who they endorse? Of course I've done that. But for the judges, let me suggest that you ask your attorney who either practices in front of a specific judge you want to know about, or is familiar the reputation certain judges have among the members of the Bar.
Another time saving suggestion I have for everyone is to cast your ballot in the early voting process or vote by mail. My preference is mail. You don't have to rush your decision, nor stand in a long line.
The good news is the Primary is at hand and we will have vastly reduced the number of candidates down on August 24th. Hallelujah!
We will have much more to say in the next few months about the election and what the FICAP-PAC is doing to help some good business minded candidates to get elected. Speaking of our Political Action Committee, have you joined yet? You can become a member for as little as $100.00 per year.
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| FICAP News |
 FICAP GOAL GROUP III by Ron Pafford As always...moving along and getting things done in Goal Group #3. I can't go any further without stopping and mentioning how critical participation and feedback has been to our group and getting initiatives addressed. Many, many thanks to our committee members and Co-Chair for so much support and commitment. We manage to keep old business cleaned-up and constantly move onto new efforts. Speaking of newer efforts; we went ahead and presented last month to the Board our work and research on the creation of a FICAP Annual Yearbook. It was presented in a proposal format detailing suggested content, publication costs, format, etc. Overall, the decision was to wait until economic times improved for all of us in general before embarking on such a cost and labor intensive project. Funding was obviously a key issue, and our wise and savvy Board Members had the best financial interest of our members and associates in mind when this decision was made.
 What does an Environmental Awareness Committee mean to FICAP?
by Patrick Lear
Everywhere you look these days you see a reference to being "Green". It seems to dominate everything we do from the governmental incentive programs for alternative energy to the food we eat. Those of us that make a living working in the industrial sector have many challenges to overcome with respect to the environmental movement and our respective industries past performance. We have to be particularly diligent on how we are perceived and on how we project our principles. For years the word "industrial" has invoked many detrimental images when the focus was on the environment. I have seen many changes through out my career and have always been involved in the development of industrial sites which have not always been viewed as particularly "Green". In the short time I have been involved with FICAP I have become aware of a missed opportunity that I believe can be addressed. I have volunteered as part of the Environmental Awareness Committee to provide my twenty years of experience in the design and development of concrete ready-mix and block plants to help FICAP and its members promote environmental awareness and hopefully increase public perception of this industry.
Read More
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| Around The Industry |
Parliment Pages - THE DATE - JULY 1, 2008
Let's go back two years. At that time, under the leadership of President George W. Bush, the United States was accumulating the largest budget deficit in history. It was estimated to be somewhere north of $300 billion for that fiscal year. Many economists were stating that this was sure to cause dollar devaluation, inflation and increasing interest rates. Read More
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You Can Deal with a Problem Employee by Dr. Jerry Osteryoung
"The tougher the job, the greater the reward." ~George Allen
Problem employees are the bane of every manager's existence. By "problem employee" I mean an individual whose behavior negatively affects the morale and operations of the entire business in a significant way. For some reason, every organization seems to have at least one of these. Examples of some problem behaviors I commonly see are as follows: Read More
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Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.
~William James
An Independent Voice
If a Rooster Can Pull a Boxcar
by Don Magruder
When I was a young boy, the highlight on Saturday afternoons in North Mississippi was watching wrestling on WHBQ out of Memphis. Part of this show included the managers mouthing off for the wrestlers who couldn't say their lines. One of the more flamboyant managers would say, "If I tell you a rooster can pull a boxcar, then you better hook him up!" That's been a mantra I've used many times in the last 30 years, because my word and doing what I say I will do is very important to me. Read More
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Home building in Southwest Florida is on the mend by Michael Braga
After the worst year in the home building business since the Great Depression, Southwest Florida builders and their subcontractors are getting busy again. Read More
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Sign on the back of a Septic Tank Truck:
"Caution - This Truck is full of Political Promises"
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Slow Recovery, double-dip or worse? by Jeff Harrington
There's no question this is a summer of economic discontent.
Florida's double-digit unemployment is expected to creep higher again as part-time U.S. Census jobs dry up. Realtors and retailers alike anticipate a pull-back in spending from the first half of the year. And then there's the daily havoc on tourism, fishing and other industries wrought by the still-uncontrolled massive oil leak in the gulf.
But where are we exactly in terms of the economy? Read more
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The best way to get something done is to begin. ~Author Unknown
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What is "Drillers Mud?"
Learn how the oil industry used Class H portland cement during drilling operations.
For the past couple of months, national news has featured up-to-the-minute coverage of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Reports often referred to the use of "drillers mud" in the oil drilling process, and at one point the media described an attempt to seal the well with it in order to stop the flow of oil into the sea. Do you know about drillers mud? Concrete Construction didn't, so we decided to find out. Read More
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NRMCA Testifies Before House Subcommittee on Fly Ash Disposal Issue
Association President Discusses Adverse Impace of EPA Proposed Rule
SilverSpring, MD - July 22, 2010 - National Ready Mixed Concrete Association PresidentRobert Garbini testified today before Congress on what he called the negativeimpact of a proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule on the use anddisposal of fly ash. Garbini made his remarks before the House Small BusinessSubcommittee on Rural Development, Entrepreneurship and Trade, asserting that anEPA plan to classify fly ash as a hazardous waste material and create acomprehensive federal management and disposal system would have a significanteconomic impact on ready mixed concrete producers, especially small businesses,across the U.S. in addition to making the use of fly ash in the production ofconcrete much more onerous. Read More
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It is an undoubted truth, that the less one has to do, the less time one finds to do it in.
~Earl of Chesterfield
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Foundation Releases Self-Consolidating Concrete Formwork Pressure Study
Silver Spring, MD - July 14, 2010: The RMC Research & Education Foundation is proud to announce the release of a self-consolidating concrete (SCC) formwork pressure study, titled "Evaluation of SCC Formwork Pressure." The project was conducted by the Université De Sherbrooke, Purdue University, Northwestern University and the CTL Group with co-funding from the American Concrete Institute's Strategic Development Council (ACI-SDC). The final report includes information, tools and test methods to help predict and decrease formwork pressure. It examines the impact that materials constituents, mix designs, concrete placement factors, geometry of formwork and temperature have on formwork pressure exerted by SCC. Read More
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Florida to offer amnesty on certain tax delinquencies
By Harriet Johnson Brackey
An amnesty on many Florida state taxes will run through Sept. 30. It gives many individuals and businesses a chance to pay up without penalty or prosecution.
If you didn't pay all your Florida state taxes, you can fess up this summer and not feel quite as much pain. Amnesty for many Florida state taxes has just begun. Read More
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Recession sparks new attitudes for Generation Y
Stunned by the recession, Generation Y has swallowed a piece of humble pie. Those who still have jobs are adopting new workplace attitudes and making themselves valuable -- at least for now. Read More
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Persistence isn't using the same tactics over and over.
That's just annoying.
Persistence is having the same goal over and over.
~Jeff Dixon
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