JB Lumber
Superior Ready Mix Concrete L.P.
Morley Construction
Palomar Transit Mix/Vulcan Materials
Rossi Concrete
Western Concrete Pumping
TXI Riverside Cement
EFCO
Utelite
Mitsubishi Cement Corporation
Solomon Colors
The Blue Book Building and Company
Propex Concrete Systems
Boral Material Technologies
BASF
Rimrock CA, LLC
Davis Colors
US Concrete Precast Group
KRC Rock
Sundt
T.B. Penick & Sons
Team C
Squires Lumber Company
Christian Wheeler Engineering
Merli
CEMEX
Hanson Aggregates
Euclid Chemical
California Portland Cement
Grace
Headwaters
ACI, San Diego Chapter
ACI, Southern California Chapter
San Diego Harbor Excursion
San Diego Air & Space Museum
Maritime Museum San Diego
The Old Globe
IN-N-OUT
Hornblower
Six Flags
Pat & Oscars
Disneyland
Spy Eyeglass
Twin Oaks
El Camino Country Club
Marriott Mission Valley
San Diego Chargers
San Diego Zoo/Wild Animal Park
H&M Landing
Anthony’s Fish Grotto
Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes
Catamaran Resort
Dave & Busters

As we to move through this fast paced year we are all still well aware of our current economy and the challenges that come with it. Some of us have been through this before and some of us are seeing this and feeling the impact for the first time. It is evident, as construction funds decrease and costs of materials increase, it forces us to think out of the box and be more innovative than we have had to in the past while still continuing to reduce cost.

The last program that we held in July “ACI 360 – Design of Slabs-on-Ground & Cost Effective Slabs on Ground” presented by Jeff Ferris of Propex Concrete Systems and Robert Waggoner of PNA was focused on the potential ways of reducing construction cost while enhancing the quality of your concrete floor or pavement. I would like say “thank you” to Jeff Ferris and Robert Waggoner for giving us alternatives and some answers to the many questions that arise when thinking out of the box.

As we continue to move through this difficult year it is apparent that the next year may be more of the same if not tougher. It is easy to look at downside of all this, but we need to also look at what can be taken from these tough times as well. When we think out of the box, we venture down many paths seeking the right answers, some paths will lead us to closed doors, but many of those paths will lead us to open doors. These open doors can lead us to new opportunities, business contacts & relations, innovations and above all knowledge. It also breaks us of the mold that many of us have become accustom to the past couple of years and forces us to not do it the way we’ve always done it.

We will do our best in continuing to provide you with the paths to venture down and the open doors that will provide some answers through programs and guest speakers. This month we will be dark but our upcoming scheduled programs in September and October will both be programs that you will not want to miss out on. September we will be grateful to host a program that is given at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas. It will be titled “Engineering 101 for the Non Engineers” presented by Jay Thomas and Nils Fox both of Structural Preservation Systems, Inc. In October we will be hitting out of the box at our annual ACI golf tournament held at the Twin Oaks Golf Course in San Marcos. Sign up now for both events. You can locate sign up information in this edition of the news letter or on our website. Should you have any ideas for upcoming programs please give us a call. I’ll leave with a quote from Alexander Graham Bell…

"When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."
Until next time, Be Safe!

On June 17th, we had the privilege to hold our most recent program at the San Diego Division of US Concrete Precast Group’s newly opened 18 acre facility. With over 80,000 SQ FT of indoor manufacturing capacity and the most current equipment technology in the precast industry, this was definitely a site to see. We want to thank Todd Ebbert, Angelo Kolokithas and the entire staff at the US Concrete Precast Group for giving us the opportunity to tour an amazing facility.

In July we will be having Jeff Ferris of Propex Concrete Systems and Bob Waggoner of PNA Construction Technologies discussing ACI 360 and alternatives to steel reinforcement. Please plan on joining us for this program and all other upcoming programs which are listed on the ACI San Diego Chapter website.

As we enter the summer months we have got to ask ourselves where the first six months went, but we have got to also keep in mind the temperatures that will come along with these next three months and prepare ourselves for the Safety of each other and for the Protection of our concrete.

• For the Safety of each other we need to be familiar with ways to beat the heat and to recognize the symptoms of heat-related illness. Please contact your safety representative to refresh yourselves in a safety meeting if you have not done so already.
• For the Protection of our concrete we must acknowledge the factors that will affect the concrete during the hot summer months and plan accordingly to minimize their effects. We can also use local resources along with the National ACI website to help assist you with any information needed to combat hot weather concrete.

Lastly, I would like to encourage all members to come to the programs and bring a friend or someone in the industry that has not had the opportunity to attend one of our programs. We are here to educate and promote existing & new technology to our local industry, where the future is built today.

Be Safe,

The 2008 ACI San Diego Chapter Board Members would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who attended and participated in the 2007 ACI San Diego Awards Banquet. We would like to also thank all of those who submitted their projects. Each year the judge panel looks at a number of projects submitted for awards and each year the judges have a tough time picking which project will go home with the award. Next year we ask you to please continue to submit your projects and to make it that even tougher for the judges to select a winner.

Special thanks go out to Heather Caya and two key board members Jeff Ferris and Quinn McGuire in making the ACI San Diego Awards Banquet a success. Each year they seem to raise the bar by adding a new twist of some sort, this year it was our MC’s, Mike Serra and Byron Klemaske, Thanks again Mike and Byron for a job well done. I would like to challenge our board members and chapter members to continue to build off the success that has been set by the hard work of Jeff Ferris and Quinn McGuire, and to make the next years awards banquet a success as well.

Ed Trasoras our 2007 President, Thank you for the time and dedication you have put towards the ACI San Diego Chapter this past year. It was a very challenging year faced with some tough obstacles, but Ed continued to devote his time in working with the board, bringing in new technologies to our area in the form of speakers, demonstrations and technical papers while also striving to increase the membership.

I look forward to working with the all the board members in the upcoming year and building off the foundation set by past Presidents and Trustees. We will continue to work hard in providing programs that will educate us and keep us informed with new technologies and hot topics such as Sustainability in the world of Concrete. Please join us in attending the programs in the upcoming year.

Lastly, I would like to inform you of my commitment to the San Diego ACI chapter and its continuing success and growth. I am here for you the members. Should you have any ideas on how to improve this chapter my phone is always on for you.

Be Safe,

We are now coming to the last few months of this presidency.

Our last seminar was well attended and as everyone can begin to see, each speaker has built on the preceding seminar. Our series of concrete technology has introduced new products and new ideas on the production of concrete and its utilization. This series will end next month with our investigation of “Green Concrete”.

Our last get together will be a tour of the Colton cement plant which we will be a joint venture with the Southern California ACI, Los Angeles Chapter. This is going to be a wonderful tour and everyone should take time to attend.

It is a tough time in Southern California for construction. We all need to back away from our everyday endeavors to land the next project. Attend our seminars, learn something new, meet friends and competitors. Get outside the box and look around. These seminars are for you and we welcome your participation and your input.

We are always looking for individuals to join our board and bring in new ideas. Give it a try. This is my 7th year and unfortunately I will be ending my term in May.

Technical papers for our news letter are always a must so if you have something you think would be of interest to the chapter please send it in to Heather Caya.

If there is anyone in ACI who has an idea how to build a canoe, which weighs approximately 35 to 45 pounds per cubic foot, please contact Garrett Decker at UCSD 925-209-4453. The UCSD Canoe Committee is open to suggestions
Respectfully,

Ed Trasoras