DCA History: The Teens and Beyond – Soaring to New Heights
Tuesday, January 4, 2022
By 2010, it was clear that the new millennium had gotten off on the wrong foot, with one great tragedy after another—9/11, war in the Middle East, Hurricane Katrina, the Indian Ocean tsunami, and the Great Recession, just to name a few. And the troubles showed no signs of stopping: Just two weeks into the new year, a massive earthquake in Haiti left more than 200,000 dead and millions homeless. As for the U.S., despite worsening partisan gridlock in Washington, the nation was slowly grinding its way out of recession, and the new technologies of smartphones and social media still held the promise of bringing us all closer together than ever before. Five states had voted to allow gay marriage, the Kepler Space Telescope was busy discovering new planets around other stars, and the world had a new tallest building by far as the Burj Khalifa opened in Dubai. The DCA had weathered the recession better than many and was enjoying the fruits of demand for cleaner fuels amid calls for greater domestic production and growing fears of climate change. As a major milestone anniversary neared, the stage was set for DCA to see some spectacular new growth.
A New Hand at the Tiller
In February 2010 the DCA ventured for the first time to Mexico for its annual convention, setting up shop at the Fiesta Americana Grand Resort in Los Cabos at the southern tip of Baja California. The convention marked a period of transition guided by DCA President Shepard Poole, who initiated a new strategic plan and hired Rob Darden to take over as Executive Vice President after Dennis Kennedy announced he would be retiring from his long-tenured post. Kennedy was inducted as an honorary member and treated to a special “roast.”
With a new strategic plan fresh in hand, Darden gave a state-of-the-industry address to outline the issues DCA would be tackling over the next few years. Vincent Giblin, general president of the International Union of Operating Engineers, also spoke at the meeting. Another milestone was the establishment of a new scholarship in honor of the late Curtis H. Allen, to be funded by Bentonite Performance Minerals. Kevin Miller, president of Miller Pipeline Corporation, Indianapolis, was elected as the next DCA president, and safety awards went to H&H Enterprises, H.L Chapman Pipeline Construction, Inc., and Minnesota Limited, Inc. The day before the convention closed on Feb. 27, a gargantuan 8.8 earthquake — the sixth largest ever recorded — struck off the coast of Chile, threatening the entire Pacific Rim with possible tsunamis. All 300 attendees were moved to higher ground in anticipation of the worst, but there were some brave souls who hung out at the infinity pool waiting for the wave. Luckily for all, the tsunami never materialized, but a rowdy game of water volleyball ensued.
The next convention would be a special one as the DCA celebrated its 50th anniversary at El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, where they were almost guaranteed sunny weather. Bruno Mars, Enrique Iglesias, and Pink were on the radio, the Arab Spring revolutions swept across the Middle East, and China was cracking down yet again on nosy reporters who dared to acknowledge the existence of protests against the government. The convention opened with a retrospective on the last 50 years, paying tribute to the generation that had built DCA into the great organization that it is, and introduced a new logo and website to the members. The annual auction topped $400,000 for the first time and H & H Enterprises, Q3 Contracting, Inc., Mears Group, Inc., and Michels Corporation won the safety awards. The welcome dinner featured a trip across the water to beautiful Palomino Island, where everyone had fun dancing, playing volleyball, and socializing. Guest speaker Brian Bowen, Professor of Practice at the School of Construction, College of Architecture at Georgia Institute of Technology, enlightened members on the history of construction, and Michael Rogers, “Futurist-in-Residence” for The New York Times, opined on what was yet to come. The Business Session featured a panel that highlighted the perspectives of suppliers and providers versus contractors. Gregory Dahl, ARB, Inc., became the next DCA president and ended the convention with an introduction to what the association hoped to achieve in the next 50 years. Later in the year, DCA debuted the first Professional Development Conference in November to bring education deeper into member companies’ employee ranks, earning rave reviews from attendees.
In early 2012, President Obama was enjoying the lowest unemployment numbers in three years as Mitt Romney sought the Republican nomination to challenge him in the fall election. Egypt and Libya were in chaos after toppling their dictators, Somali pirates threatened shipping in East Africa, and the Zetas drug cartel terrorized Mexico. In February, the DCA sought refuge from the news at the Fairmont Orchid Resort on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii, where Kevin Michels of Michels Corporation took the reins as DCA president. In what would be his first appearance at DCA events, Jason Dorsey introduced his research on generational differences in the workplace at the keynote breakfast. Vacuworx sponsored a Super Bowl party on Sunday with food, fun, and prizes as the Giants beat the Patriots for the second time in five years. The auction followed that evening, raising $415,000. Christopher Daum, senior managing director and officer with FMI Capital Advisors, Inc., comedian Frank King, and cookie mogul Wally “Famous” Amos were also featured speakers that week. The year would end up being a strong one for the DCA thanks to newly discovered natural gas resources and a strong push to rehab and replace aging infrastructure. DCA had grown 18 percent since 2009, with over half of that in 2012, during a time when most associations in other industries were losing members. The organization also ramped up its government relations efforts with the help of Wyman Associates in Washington, D.C. and collaboration with the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) and other industry groups, while adding a new monthly publication, DCA Insights, to keep members better informed on the latest developments.
Rewriting the Record Books
Demand remained strong throughout 2013, but regulatory hurdles from the federal government and state and local budget shortages began to slow the pace of work. Industry worker shortages were increasingly becoming an issue, but at the 2013 DCA convention, Loews Miami Beach Hotel still hosted 400 attendees, the highest number in more than a decade. The upscale festivities included a dinner at the former Versace mansion, a luxury yacht cruise around Biscayne Bay, and a professional fashion consultant at the McLaughlin Spouses’ Breakfast. Guest speakers included two-time world champion Eco-Challenge adventure racer and San Diego firefighter Robyn Benincasa and country music recording artist and Army Ranger Keni Thomas, who served on the Ranger task force portrayed in the book and movie “Blackhawk Down.” Tim Bell of Midwestern Contractors in Chicago was elected DCA president, Dave Nelson of Pilchuck Contractors was inducted as an honorary member, and the auction total rose to impressive new heights at over $538,000. The event ended with a “Great Gatsby” Roaring 20s costume party, where gangsters and flappers enjoyed the bar’s best “bootleg” and danced the night away. In the news, Syria was mired in civil war, the Carnival Triumph cruise ship was set adrift after a fire in the engine room, Asians ushered in the Year of the Snake, and a record-breaking blizzard slammed the northeastern U.S., cancelling thousands of flights and cutting power to 700,000 homes.
In February 2014, “The Lego Movie” competed with “The Monuments Men” on the big screen while Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” knocked Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” out of the top spot on the music charts. Winter storms were pounding the east coast yet again, Germany was upset with the U.S. over spying allegations, Russia opened the Winter Olympics in Sochi, and legendary child star and U.S. diplomat Shirley Temple Black passed away. The DCA gathered at the Ritz-Carlton in Cancun, Mexico, for a week of fun at the beach, far from the cold and snow. The welcome reception transformed the Ritz-Carlton Ballroom into a tropical jungle, and Mayan fire dancers entertained the crowd. Grady Bell of Laney Directional Drilling Co. in Spring, Texas, was named the 2014 DCA president and the Business Session featured Mark Bridgers of Continuum Advisory Group, who gave a presentation on “What Pipeline Contractors & Engineers Need to Know.” Other featured speakers were FDNY Chief Richard Picciotto, the highest ranking firefighter to survive the World Trade Center collapse; Clayton Anderson, former NASA astronaut; and Mac King, comedy magician. It was an astounding year for the auction, with the record total jumping by more than $200,000 to a breathtaking high of $728,360. Members also raised an additional $73,000 to support honorary member and auctioneer Butch Graham’s local Oklahoma chapter of the Special Forces Association. Butch and his wife Bonnie had hoped to raise $2,500 to donate to the wives of disabled veterans for Christmas and were shocked by the generosity of DCA members. The week wrapped up with a Margaritaville-themed beach party featuring a Jimmy Buffett tribute band, parrots, margaritas (of course), buckets of beer, and grass skirts and parrotheads for the dance floor. For the remainder of the year DCA focused heavily on reaching out to other industry associations to work on improvements such as operator qualification (OQ) portability and safety issues like cross bore management. In his year-end letter, Rob Darden noted a perceptible shift where other groups were beginning to approach DCA for its expertise and leadership, which he accredited to DCA’s exceptionally active membership gaining more widespread notice.
Workforce issues came to the fore in 2015 as DCA held its first annual job fair and brainstormed new ways to connect with youths and attract them to the industry. The 2015 convention once again boasted 400 attendees as DCA members converged on the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans. The welcome reception and dinner—complete with jazz band, dancers, fortune tellers, and plenty of refreshments—kicked off the week’s theme at Mardi Gras World, where 80% of the floats for the carnival parade are designed and built. Frank Patterson of Patterson & Wilder Construction Co. Inc, in Birmingham, Alabama, became DCA president, and cousins Jack and Ken Gabrielse were inducted as an honorary members at the opening keynote breakfast, which featured Navy SEAL Rob O’Neill as speaker, otherwise known as the man who killed Bin Laden. Another breakfast was held at the National World War II Museum, where retired Army Lt. General Russel L. Honoré spoke about leading recovery efforts after hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005. Auction revenues leaped again to an astounding $900,000, demonstrating the growing strength of the industry. Alpinist, wing-suit pilot, and BASE jumper Joby Ogwyn regaled the closing breakfast with his tales of derring-do, and the President’s Dinner wrapped up the proceedings with a Mardi Gras masked ball. Meanwhile, Brian Williams was out as the host of NBC Nightly News for exaggerating his record in covering the Iraq War, disgraced captain Francesco Schettino of the capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia was sentenced in Italy to 16 years in prison for manslaughter, and Ukraine faced the fast-growing threat of pro-Russian separatists within its borders. Boston, of course, was closed due to snow.
Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” had just won Song of the Year when the DCA convened at the Naples Grande Beach Resort in Naples, Florida, for the 2016 convention. Pope Francis was touring some of the most desperate and crime-ridden areas of Mexico, and the gas industry was in the news as well — for all the wrong reasons. California state regulators announced that the state’s largest ever methane leak, an underground natural gas pipeline rupture at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage field that lasted almost four months, had finally been capped, allowing thousands of displaced Los Angeles residents to return home. Convention attendance hit a new record high of 450, with more first-timers than ever before. The tropical-themed welcome dinner took place at the Naples Botanical Gardens. Journalist and bestselling author Steve Hayes; Chris Daum, president and senior managing director of FMI Capital Advisors; Jeff Havens, an authority on generational differences; and award-winning keynote speaker David Horsager graced the DCA stage with their inspiring and informative messages. Dale Anderson of Miller Pipeline, Indianapolis, took over as DCA president. The auction total dipped slightly from the previous year to a still-impressive $890,000, and Executive VP Rob Darden presented longtime auctioneer and honorary member Butch Graham with a gift to commemorate his retirement from Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. The week closed with an evening of ocean enchantment centered around a giant sandcastle. Important developments during the year included the creation of the Workforce Development Committee, the release of a position paper from DCA’s Cross Bore Initiative that was presented at various industry events, and participation in a damage prevention study by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Political outreach to lawmakers continued to advance, while new efforts were required to rebut the increasing objection to pipeline construction projects across the country. DCA also brought together a coalition of gas associations, training service providers and contractors to tackle the OQ portability issue head on.
The 2016 convention attendance record was shattered in 2017 as 490 members headed to the Grand Wailea Resort in Maui. Generational expert Jason Dorsey returned to impart his latest research on what it takes to recruit younger workers, and former Philadelphia Eagles football player turned magician Jon Dorenbos entertained the breakfast crowd with his inspiring story. Dale Mykyte of Pe Ben USA, Inc. in Houston, Texas was elected DCA president and the annual auction soared once again, flirting with a million dollars this time but falling just short. Members also enjoyed a “Build Your Own Boat” team activity to benefit a local charity. Attendees that week could toast Queen Elizabeth II’s sapphire jubilee—the first English monarch to reign for 65 years—or debate the cabinet nominees of Donald Trump after his unexpected victory in the fall presidential election. The New England Patriots staged a dramatic comeback against the Atlanta Falcons to win the Super Bowl while Adele cleaned up at the Grammys, Native Americans protested the Dakota Access oil pipeline, and JFK Airport shut down due to a snowstorm. In April, the DCA published the first draft of an OQ integrity document and sent it to numerous industry and government agencies for feedback.
A Big Year
A bit of science fiction turned to reality as the next convention rolled around at the end of February 2018, with California giving the green light to allow driverless robot cars on state roads as soon as April. The Winter Olympics were closing in Pyeongchang, South Korea, President Trump announced tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, and flooding rainstorms lashed the northeast. At the Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, California, the DCA convention topped 500 members in attendance for the first time ever. The event kicked off with a southern California garden party at the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano, and the DCA past presidents received the special privilege of a dinner at the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library, held in a replica of the East Room of the White House. At the Business Session, PHMSA Associate Administrator Alan Mayberry addressed the members on its mission to advance the safe transportation of energy and other hazardous materials. Mike Rowe addressed the keynote breakfast on the challenges of the shrinking skilled labor force in the U.S. DCA would later team up with Mike Rowe on a television series to raise awareness of the energy industry and the great jobs available. Afterward, Rob Darden presented Rowe with a check for his MikeroweWORKS Foundation, which provides financial assistance to those wanting to learn the skilled trades. The 2018 convention also introduced the members to SkillsUSA, an organization working to connect students with technical and skilled service occupations, as well as the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD) where DCA became its first contractor member. Jay Osborn of Primoris Services Corp. took his turn at the helm of the DCA, and the annual auction finally cracked the million-dollar ceiling! Canadian author, writer, and political commentator Mark Steyn rounded out the week’s speakers as the DCA concluded its most successful convention ever.
The turnout would leap again to 600 the following year as members gathered at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar Resort in Nassau, Bahamas, in March 2019. Tensions were high around the globe — anti-government demonstrations brought much of France to a standstill, Russia suspended its participation in a key Cold War-era arms treaty, China increased its military spending, and Venezuela had dueling presidents. The Bahamas were a welcome respite from so much sour news. The welcome dinner featured dancers in the colorful regalia of the Bahamian Junkanoo festival, and the week’s activities included a Nassau walking tour, snorkeling, and swimming with the dolphins. Featured speakers included Derreck Kayongo, founder of the Global Soap Project; Australian rescue divers Dr. Craig Challen and Dr. Richard Harris, who were instrumental in the daring extraction of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach from a flooded cave in Thailand; and Carey Lohrenz, the Navy’s first female F-14 Tomcat carrier pilot. The DCA thanked Rob Darden for his first 10 years of service as executive director, noting that membership had increased from 48 contractors to 91 during his tenure. The auction fell just short of its previous high, raising $974,000 for scholarships and DCA initiatives. Incoming president Mike Hickey of Hallen Construction Company presided over what might have been the wildest closing dinner in DCA history—a 70s-themed costume party that made the Junkanoo parade look like a black-tie dinner. A few months later at the DCA Workforce Summit, Jason Dorsey and the team from the Center for Generational Kinetics (CGK) unveiled a Take Action Playbook, a joint project with DCA, which provides member company teams with the tools to assess their hiring needs and develop the best solutions to tailor their offerings to the Millennial and Gen Z mindset. DCA also agreed to sponsor Mike Rowe’s new television show “Six Degrees” that romps through history showing how energy is tied to nearly everything. The Fall Meeting in New York featuring dinner atop One World Trade Center seemed a fitting end to DCA’s most successful decade as the “post-9/11” era prepared to give way to the era of Covid-19.
“May you live in interesting times”
As the DCA begins its seventh decade of existence, the old Chinese curse “May you live in interesting times” has never seemed more appropriate. The 2020 convention at the Boca Raton Resort and Club in Florida squeezed in just days before much of the world went into lockdown for the Covid-19 pandemic. Ben Nelson of Michels Pacific Energy in Santa Clara, California succeeded Mike Hickey as DCA president, Chris Brahler was inducted as an honorary member, and the annual auction raised $958,000. The convention featured a combination of Cuban and “Salute to Service” themes. Guest speakers included writer and businessman Gene Marks, Special Forces veterans Adam Carr and Jake Clark of the Save a Warrior (SAW) Foundation, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, political analyst Chris Stirewalt, and a surprise appearance by DCA favorite Mike Rowe. The convention wrapped up with a “USO Through the Decades” ball that featured more celebrity lookalikes than you could shake a stick at.
Upon leaving, the Miami airport was filled with worried cruise ship passengers debarking after news of other ships being stranded in quarantine after Covid-19 outbreaks onboard. The year was only starting to turn the world upside down. Violence filled the summer following the death of George Floyd and the economy crashed as lockdowns and mask mandates shuttered businesses around the world. The tumultuous presidential election ended the year with the election of Joe Biden and a new administration with a goal of crushing the fossil fuel industry.
The Mid Year Meeting became the Fall Meeting, and then the Fall Meeting became a virtual meeting, forcing everyone to learn how to Zoom, like it or not. A joint virtual Workforce Summit was held in conjunction with CEWD as well. Still, the gas and construction industries remained strong as the pandemic quickly made clear who the real “essential workers” were.
After a year and a half of staring at each other on computer screens, the miraculously rapid development of effective Covid-19 vaccines made it possible to finally meet in person again. A record-setting Safety Conference in April preceded the 2021 convention, which was originally scheduled for Hawaii in February, and then Scottsdale, Arizona, before finally taking place in Orlando, Florida, in July in place of the Mid Year Meeting. The Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes Orlando was a welcoming host to the 400 members and guests who turned out to celebrate DCA’s Diamond Anniversary, starting with a classic high school football Homecoming Reception. Ben Nelson saw his term as president extended for another year, reflecting the unusual times, and the auction revenues fell as expected, but managed a still-healthy $560,000 total. Jon Dorenbos made his second DCA appearance as guest speaker, along with spoken word poet Sekou Andrews, and a Build a Bike event gave DCA members a chance to support local children’s charities. The Diamonds & Stars Reception wrapped up the 60th anniversary events with special appearances by Lady Gaga and Elton John impersonators.
The OQ project, which DCA had been shepherding for several years, was formalized into the Operator Qualification Integrity Process or OQIP which became its own 501(c)(3) organization with www.OQIP.org as its electronic home. DCA also released two new micro-websites in 2021, www.DCALetsGetToWork.com and www.DCATrenchless.com, to help target the organization’s messages on workforce issues and trenchless technology more directly. The release of Mike Rowe’s “Six Degrees” show on the Discovery Channel in April also raised industry awareness and featured ads from DCA, Michels, and Artera highlighting the availability of high paying jobs and great careers.
These days, political rancor is reaching highs not seen in more than a century, the virus refuses to fade into history, and the gas industry is facing new pressures as the debate on climate change grows and a renewed opposition to natural gas rises. An organization born in the 60s, however, is no stranger to turbulence. It may take a couple of years to return to the record-high levels of activity that peaked in 2019, but the DCA’s long track record of dedicated members, steady leadership, and consistent achievement leave it well equipped to tackle difficult times and ensure that its members can keep America’s lights on for many decades to come.
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