DCA History: The 00s – A Fast-Changing World

As the world’s odometer rolled over the big triple-zero, humanity kicked off the new millennium with the biggest party the world had ever seen, 6.1 billion strong.  Computer programmers everywhere finally breathed a sigh of relief after months of desperate code-checking when the clock struck midnight and… nothing happened.  Crisis averted!  Bill Clinton was finishing out a scandal-plagued term as president while Vladimir Putin moved into the Kremlin after Boris Yeltsin’s surprise resignation.  The DCA emerged from a transformative decade that ushered in new leadership, new traditions, and a stronger financial foundation than ever before.  The future was here at last, and the world seemed full of promise.

The Party’s Over
By February  2000 it seemed like the world was over it.  Violence rocked far-flung places from Colombia to Chechnya to Sri Lanka, George W. Bush and John McCain battled fiercely for the opportunity to run against Al Gore, and reality TV was a thing now that gave us the cultural milestone of “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?”  Worst of all (unless you’re Vern), Jim Varney – Ernest P. Worrell himself – was dead.  Over 400 DCA members deftly avoided all the strife by going to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands for the 39th annual convention.  Outgoing president Pat Michels remarked that “DCA membership and influence continues to grow.  The association is positioned to become more involved in member-driven programs.”  David Nelson was elected president, Snelson Companies continued their safety awards dynasty joined by Mid-Mountain Contractors, and the annual auction surpassed $200,000 for the first time.

The weather was decidedly less balmy for the 40th convention at the Westin in Palm Springs, California, the following February.  Cold, windy, and wet conditions nearly torpedoed the golf tournament, but the DCA had other victories to celebrate in 2001.  In response to legislation in a number of states calling for HDD operator certification, a consortium that included DCA developed an HDD good practices manual and training curriculum.  DCA also collaborated in training programs with the major labor organizations and continued to emphasize safety in the wake of tragic, headline-making accidents.  Fiber optic and natural gas installations were booming so strongly it was hard to keep up.  To add the icing on the cake, DCA elected its first ever female president, Linda Loftis-Vrooman of Loftis Construction Corp.  While the members waited out the bad weather, they could listen to U2’s Grammy-winning Song of the Year “Beautiful Day” or go see “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” in the theaters.  HAL never did open the pod bay doors, though.

In early 2002, the country and the world were still reeling from the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.  Many DCA member companies were still actively involved in the cleanup and recovery efforts at Ground Zero and the Pentagon.  The Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City went on despite the general gloom, bringing a bit of welcome distraction.  Attendance at the convention in Hawaii dropped to 250 and the auction slid to $175,000 from its recent highs.  Linda Loftis Vrooman observed that merger and acquisition activity had slowed substantially over the last year, and workforce training and recruiting remained a growing problem.  The terrorist attacks also brought into focus the need for utility contractors to work with insurance carriers to develop better insurance programs to meet the needs of the changing work environment.  The DCA  unveiled a new five-year strategic plan that year.  Distribution Construction and Snelson (of course) won safety awards, and Jim Bender of Sub-Surface Construction Company was elected DCA President.  Bender would later resign from the post, and Michael D. Murphy of Murphy Bros., Inc., fulfilled the remaining term.

Helping America Back On Its Feet
For 2003 the convention moved to the Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa in Fort Myers, Florida.  Michael Murphy was elected to serve a full term as president after filling the vacancy in 2002, and former president Tom Poole and Ollie Klinger received  the title of Honorary Member for their contributions to the association.  The 13th Annual Auction raised $168,000 and included the first-ever car raffle of a brand new Ford Thunderbird, won by 1990 DCA president Scotty McGlothin.  Snelson continued to bask in its safety glory, joined by Minnesota Limited.  The news outside remained mostly grim, with President George W. Bush seeking justification for war with Iraq and beloved TV host Mister Rogers passing away from cancer.  NASA was still searching for the remains of the Columbia space shuttle after it broke up on reentry on February 1st.  On a hopeful note, however, New York City chose the design of a 1,776-foot spire to rise on the site of the former World Trade Center the day the convention opened.

February 2004 saw Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” debut just three days after the final episode of “Sex and the City” (coincidence?).  “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” cleaned up at the Oscars, gay marriage and clerical abuse were in the news, and a real live wolverine was spotted in Michigan (that’s the Wolverine state, for you Badger fans) for the first time in 200 years.  The Hyatt Regency in Scottsdale, Arizona, hosted 280 attendees for the 43rd annual DCA convention, where Keith Swerdfeger of K.R. Swerdfeger Construction, Inc. was elected president.  Swerdfeger would run for another office that year, this time in the state legislature of Colorado, although he came up just short of victory.  Tim Michels of Michels Corporation encountered a similar result in challenging for a U.S. Senate seat in Wisconsin.  The auction raised $140,000 and officially retired Bob Lyons’ multi-colored coat with a special tribute to the man, the myth, the legend.  Maintenance Unlimited and Snelson (yet again) won safety awards.  Meanwhile, the association paid close attention as the U.S. Congress worked to overhaul the 2002 Pipeline Safety Act, with DCA determined to ensure the revised act would contain language setting mandatory standards for verifying operator qualification.

In 2005, America’s troubles in Iraq and Afghanistan were a daily sore spot for anyone watching the news, Microsoft founder Bill Gates declared that U.S. high schools were “obsolete” and left millions of students unprepared for college and technical jobs, and hip-hop star 50 Cent ruled the music charts with three hits in the top 10.  In Kansas, police finally arrested the infamous “BTK” serial killer, Dennis Rader, after the case had gone cold for more than 25 years.  DCA headed back to Disney World again that February, where the Grand Floridian hotel played host.  Attendance jumped to 366, the highest total in five years.  DeWitt Burdeaux of the Transportation Safety Institute in Oklahoma City and Dennis Jarnecke with GTI were featured speakers, and Snelson’s stranglehold on the safety awards was finally broken when Minnesota Limited, Inc. and Mears/HDD LLC took home the honors.  The board of directors established a Horizontal Directional Drilling Committee, combined the Membership and Marketing committees, and tripled the annual funding to the Michels Scholarship Committee from $5000 to $15,000.  Ken Gabrielse of Gabe’s Construction Co., Inc. took office as president, and the auction brought in $153,000.  Later in the year, DCA contractors would be vital in the recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast following the infamous hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

As the 2006 convention rolled around, DCA returned to Hawaii in a Winter Olympic year for the fourth consecutive time since 1994 as the Games began in Turin, Italy.  The event at the Sheraton Maui Resort  Ka’anapali Beach, Hawaii, revolved prominently around HDD as the HDD Committee assembled for the first time and an entire day was devoted to HDD topics.  DCA had recently absorbed the assets of the Directional Crossing Contractors Association (DCCA), and some of its former members went on to join the new committee.  Outgoing president Ken Gabrielse reflected on DCA history in his address, remarking that “…our association has changed over the last 45 years. We have evolved from an early group of contractors who installed gas mains and services for utilities to a group of contractors and associate members both large and small that have become major suppliers of all utility services for utility companies, both gas and electric, municipal infrastructure and the underground transportation of communication and vital resources that continue to make America prosper.”  Terry O’Sullivan, general president of the Laborers’ International Union of N.A., and Gerry Shaheen, group president of Caterpillar and chairman of AEM were also featured speakers.  The 300 delegates raised a record $217,000 at the auction and Snelson returned to the podium as the safety awards were expanded from two categories to three, joining Quality Restoration Services, Inc. and Patterson & Wilder Construction Co.  Ed Shannon of Snelson Companies, Inc. took office as incoming president.  Between the first and last days of the convention, millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett managed to fly 25,000 miles around the world in a balloon, and Vice President Dick Cheney made headlines for all the wrong reasons by accidentally shooting his friend in the face with birdshot on a hunting trip.

Thriving in Hard Times
The Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas, was the destination for the 2007 convention, attracting almost 300 delegates for the second year in a row even though the date was moved up to January.  Back in the states, Lovie Smith and Tony Dungee became the first Black head coaches to earn their way into the Super Bowl as the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts prepared to face off.  As Sen. Hillary Clinton announced her intention to run for U.S. President in Washington, Christopher Leines of Minnesota Limited was elected to serve as DCA president.  Dan Waters, formerly of Miller Pipeline, and Butch Graham of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers were inducted as honorary members.  Patterson & Wilder Construction and Midwestern Contractors succeeded in bumping Snelson off the safety podium again that year.  When Leines reflected back on 2007, he noted that the recent slowdown in the housing market had not affected gas contractors yet, who remained quite busy, but it was a point of concern that bore watching.  The DCA also made significant improvements to its ability to communicate with members, launching a redesigned website and an email newsletter to complement the new and improved DCA News, which included more industry news and articles about member projects and industry topics.  The association database was upgraded as well, and signatory contractor wage and benefit pages were added to the website to aid members in preparing bids.  All of it could now be conveniently accessed on the brand new first-generation iPhone released in January, which would revolutionize communications and go on to cause more car accidents than any invention since the miniskirt.

By February 2008, the U.S. economy was skating on thin ice.  Millions of homeowners were underwater on sub-prime mortgages, General Motors reported record losses, and President Bush signed legislation to speed up income tax rebates to try and stabilize the situation.  DCA members gathered at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort in Palm Springs, California, to find weather as chilly as the economic forecast, barely above freezing the morning of the golf tournament.  Anthony R. Deusenbery, vice president of construction for Otis Eastern Service, Inc. took office as DCA president, and Ruth Michels, CEO of Michels Corp., announced a $50,000 donation to the DCA-Dale R. Michels Endowed Scholarship Fund to commemorate the 10th anniversary of  Dale Michels’ passing.  Brotherton Pipeline, KS Energy Services, and K.R. Swerdfeger Construction took home safety awards.  Despite the economic headwinds, a continuing increase in infrastructure projects, blanket contracts, demand for directional drilling services, and major pipeline projects helped to keep most members in the black over the course of the year.  Attracting new workers to the pipeline and construction industries remained a growing concern, however.

The beginning of 2009 was an emotional roller coaster to say the least.  America had elected its first Black president in Barack Obama, but he inherited an economy in shambles as GM and Chrysler requested billions in bailouts while slashing jobs and closing factories, and the quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan rambled on.  The box office was equally conflicted as rags-to-riches tale “Slumdog Millionaire” won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, while Heath Ledger was posthumously awarded Best Supporting Actor for his role as The Joker, who just wanted to “watch the world burn.”  The DCA finally returned to Hawaii in a non-Olympic year for the 48th Annual Convention at the Sheraton Maui Ka’anapali.  In a sign that the industry remained strong despite the world’s woes, the auction raised a record $268,000.  Snelson returned to the safety awards podium, sharing it with Mid-America Underground and KS Energy Service.  Pat Tielborg, Managing Director and General Counsel of the PLCA, Dr. Sam Ariaratnam, professor at Arizona State University, and Terence O’Sullivan, General President of the Laborers International Union N.A. were the featured speakers at the event.  Harold Mueller, former owner of MRM, Ed Malzan, founder of Ditch Witch, and Ruth Michels, Michels Corporation were all inducted as honorary members, and Shepard T. Poole of The Hallen Construction Co., Inc. was elected DCA president.

While the decade of the Oughts (…Naughts?  2000s?  What do we call this thing?) had mostly ended on a sour note for the country, the gas industry was able to capitalize on long-term changes in the energy sector favoring cleaner fuels to ride out the worst of the Great Recession.  Though the pain was far from over, DCA members were well-positioned to help stiffen America’s economic backbone in the years ahead.  As the organization’s 50th anniversary approached, DCA could take pride in improving safety culture across the industry and finding new ways to serve its members and foster communication than ever before.  The future was now, and the DCA was right where it wanted to be: moving forward.