DFI trustees and committee chairs DFI Leadership Meetings The DFI Executive Committee and Board of Trustees met on October 23 in advance of the DFI Annual Conference on Deep Foundations in Anaheim, Calif. This was followed by a meeting of the trustees and technical committee chairs. These meetings allow the officers to set direction, the trustees to weigh in and vote on important decisions, and the committee chairs to discuss recent accomplishments and learn about the board’s strategies for the future and how committee activities work with those plans. Several reports were reviewed including the membership report — showing an increase of 2.5 percent with more academic and owner members; financial status of the institute; technical successes and positive financial results of events, sales and downloads of publications; staff performance; and activities of regional and student chapters. Additionally, the proposed 2019 operating budget was formulated, locations for future conferences were selected, and policies were updated. There were also discussions on further enhancing the value of DFI membership through the dissemination of educational and informative materials via an easy-to-use web portal for all industry experience levels and disciplines. The leadership also discussed continued collaboration with industry groups. In 2018, collaboration was a key factor in several successful programs including partnering with three industry groups on International Foundations Congress and Equipment Expo (IFCEE), partnering with European Federation of Foundation Specialists (EFFC) on the conference in Rome and the release of the DFI-EFFC Guide to Tremie Concrete for Deep Foundations, and collaborating with universities and Geo-Institute chapters on joint programming of technical seminars. The trustees also welcomed newly-elected board members, Morgan Nesmith, Jr., P.E., Berkel and Company Contractors, and Dan MacLean, P. Eng., Keller Foundations, and congratulated re- elected trustees Conrad W. Felice, Ph.D., P.E., P.Eng., D. GE., C. W. At the group dinner Felice; Anne Lemnitzer, Ph.D., P.E., University of California Irvine; J. Erik Loehr, Ph.D., P.E., University of Missouri; and Martin G. Taube P.E., P.G., Menard USA. They thanked John R. Wolosick, P.E., D.GE, Hayward Baker, for his many years of service and as past president, and Alan Roach, Berkel and Company Contractors, for his time on the board. They also voted in new officers, electing Matthew Janes, MBA, P.Eng., Isherwood Geostructural Engineers/Resonance Technology, as president; Michael H. Wysockey, Ph.D., P.E., Thatcher Engineering Corp., as vice president; Gianfranco Di Cicco, GD Consulting, as treasurer; and James O. Johnson, Condon-Johnson & Associates as secretary. Dan Brown, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE, Dan Brown and Associates, chaired his last meeting and will remain on the executive committee as immediate past president. Following the adjournment of the board meeting, the new ideas such as the web portal and enhancing value of membership were further discussed with the technical committee chairs, since their input on relevant information and available content is key to DFI continuing to lead the industry by providing useful, practical information. The committee chairs also prepared for their meetings the next day by reviewing logistics and agendas. The 40+ leaders then enjoyed a group dinner at the local Ranch Restaurant and Saloon. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • NOV/DEC 2018 • 31
