DCA Meets in the Bahamas
The Distribution Contractors Association held its annual convention, March 4-9, in Nassau, Bahamas. The Caribbean is a great place to visit in the wintertime, and accordingly the convention attracted 620 attendees.
DCA meetings always have a major focus on business. The event in Nassau included business sessions on government relations, safety, risk management, HDD and workforce development. The convention also included the Dale R. Michels Scholarship winners and the awards for contractors with outstanding safety practices.
The meeting included keynote breakfasts, one of which featured Carey Lohrenz, the first female F-14 Tomcat pilot with the U.S. Navy, and another that featured two Australian doctors who played a pivotal role in the daring rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand in July 2018.
The DCA has had strong growth in membership over the years. Currently, there are 91 contractor and 144 associate members. By comparison, in 2009, there were 52 contractor and 88 associate members.
A highlight of the annual convention was the Educational Auction. This year, there were 44 items that raised just under $1 million.
2018 DCA president Jay Osborn, Primoris Services Corp, directed the business meetings. Jay’s son, Jaeson Osborn, also with Primoris, served as the convention chairman. Rob Darden, DCA’s executive vice president, reported that DCA member man-hours worked in 2018 totaled 130 million.
The convention had numerous networking events. Besides the auction, which was structured as a reception and dinner, there was an opening reception and dinner and a closing night president’s reception and dinner. At the final dinner, Mike Hickey, executive vice president of operations for Hallen Construction Co., took over the reins as the 2019 DCA president.
Next up, DCA members will meet July 16-20 at the Mid Year Meeting at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, in Farmington, Pennsylvania. Registration for the 2020 DCA Convention, Feb. 24-29, 2020, at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, Boca Raton, Florida, will open in late October.
Tags: DCA, May 2019 Print Issue
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