Richardson, Texas – Over the past years, the list of attendees at the Distribution Contractors Association’s annual convention has been long and distinguished. This year’s week long gathering, held February 3-8 at The Fairmont Orchid on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii, proved to be no different.
The convention was a well-blended mix of business and pleasure – a mix that has served to highlight the unique nature of DCA since 1961.
As in years past, a featured event of this year’s convention was the installation of the new board of directors.
Kevin Michels, vice president - equipment division of Michels Corporation, Brownsville, Wisconsin was named the 2012 DCA president, succeeding Greg Dahl, vice president of ARB, Inc., Lake Forest, California. Tim Bell of Midwestern Contractors, West Chicago, Illinois was elected vice president, and Grady Bell of Laney Directional Drilling Co., Humble, Texas was elected treasurer.
Elected to two year terms on the Board of Directors are: Dale Anderson, executive vice president for Miller Pipeline, Indianapolis, Indiana; Tom Clapper, vice president business development for H.L. Chapman Pipeline Construction, Inc., Leader, Texas; Michael Hickey, executive vice president of operations for The Hallen Construction Company, Island Park, New York; and Jay Osborn, president and owner of Q3 Contracting, Inc., Little Canada, Minnesota.
Ben Nelson, vice president of operations for Pilchuck Contractors, Inc., Kirkland, Washington; and Frank Patterson, president of Patterson & Wilder Construction Co., Inc., Pelham, Alabama are currently finishing two year terms.
Tony Deusenbery, vice president of construction for Otis Eastern Service, Wellsville, New York was named past president director; Dale Mykyte, president and owner of Pe Ben USA, Inc., Houston, Texas was appointed as director at large for a one-year term; John Weaver, corporate business manager for John Deere Construction and Forestry Division, Moline, Illinois was named associate member director; and Bob Darby, president of Darby Equipment Co., Tulsa, Oklahoma was elected by the associates as alternate associate member director.
Highlights of the annual event included the past presidents’ dinner on Friday night in the Kilohana Room at The Fairmont Orchid.
The Caterpillar Welcome Reception on Saturday night kicked off with DCA president Greg Dahl arriving by canoe in Hawaiian attire. Fire dancers and a hawaiian band entertained members as they danced and socialized to late in the evening.
The Case Keynote Breakfast on Sunday morning with Jason Dorsey, The Gen Y Guy® entertained and educated members on generational differences in the workplace and how to bridge the gap for effective communication. After the Keynote Breakfast, was an informative Business Session with Chris Daum, the senior managing director and officer with FMI Capital Advisors, Inc.
Sunday afternoon included a spirited Vacuworx Super Bowl party with food, fun and prizes.
Sunday night’s Volvo Auction Reception and Ritchie Bros./DCA Auction was a record-breaking event, with the auction raising over $415,000 to support the association’s scholarship program and general activities. Purchasing vacations, equipment, and novelty items, once again DCA Members showed their support for the Association with their generosity.
Monday morning’s Ditch Witch Members’ Breakfast entertainment was comedian Frank King.
The American Augers/DCA Golf Classic was held on Monday with beautiful weather and a challenging course.
At Tuesday’s HammerHead Aloha Breakfast, Wally Amos, the father of the gourmet chocolate chip cookie, inspired members to read to their children and “be positive regardless”.
Tuesday night’s Vermeer president’s dinner and Deere/T. T Techchnologies President’s Reception was held with a lava theme and was followed by hours of dancing at the After-Hours reception.
The tours, food, fun and entertainment rounded out the five days of enjoyable events.
At the end of the convention, the staff advised the attendees to turn in their recyclable name badges in order to be eligible for a $100 VISA Gift Card. After returning to the DCA office, Rob Darden drew the winning badge: Randy Hayes of Vacuworx International.
Visit us next year at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in Miami, Florida, March 5-10, 2013.