DCA 2023 Annual Convention Wrap-Up

The weather was perfect in Miami Beach as gas contractors and industry support members arrived at the world-famous Fontainebleau resort for the 2023 DCA Convention on Monday, February 20.  The legendary hangout of such luminaries as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, and James Bond served as the backdrop for the 62nd annual gathering, dazzling members with its pristine beaches, blue skies, and mid-century modern architecture.  It was obvious within the first 30 minutes of the afternoon registration party that this convention would have an excellent turnout as members gathered on the Ocean Lawn for cocktails and hellos.

Tuesday, February 21
Tuesday’s business started at a leisurely 10:30 a.m. with the Membership Committee, which was quick to mention that a record 62 convention first-time attendees were in attendance. 

Much of the discussion at the Membership meeting centered around re-engaging lapsed members via the Strategic Vision Committee’s Membership Reinstatement Project.  Executive Vice President Rob Darden noted that of 40 members who had joined and then left since the start of COVID, 36 of them had never participated in any DCA events.  

Vince King pointed out the importance of communication with these members, and another committee member noted that it’s even more effective if a fellow member reaches out to these folks rather than the DCA staff.  It’s also important to get more than one person from each company to participate, as this decreases the chances of lost contact if someone moves on.  Attendees were also reminded that prospective contractor members can attend as guests without membership in a “try before you buy” program with approval from the staff.  Finally, the committee urged more members to take the equipment survey, as the current 41% participation rate is inadequate for associate members to predict future equipment needs.

Next, Darden opened the Town Hall and Business Session with the Treasurer’s and Membership reports, along with a recap of recent DCA activities and a new BuildWitt video.  DCA President Kevin Parker then recognized retiring members from the Board of Directors, followed by the presentation of the Arthur T. Everham Safety Awards by Bill Colson and Randy Bunch, co-chairs of the Safety/Risk Management Committee.  

Shared Accountability
Next, speaker Sam Hall, Vice President of the Common Ground Alliance’s (CGA) Damage Prevention Institute (DPI), presented on “The Next Generation of Reducing Damages Through Shared Accountability.”  DPI is intended to create voluntary accreditation standards and a system for true peer review between equivalent companies while using transparency of results in place of punitive performance penalties – low performers don’t lose accreditation, but publicly available results show you who they are.  The majority of DPI members are excavators; the number of excavators vastly increased with CGA’s recent acquisition of Gold Shovel, which involved onboarding 800 new members.  All members are required to submit damage data to the organization’s DIRT database, and all resulting data products are shared with all members.  The peer review process is still in development but is expected to launch in 2023.  

The Town Hall concluded with a panel discussion on PSMS moderated by Ashley Donnini of Lola Link Consulting.  Noting that most of RP 1173’s “shall” statements are aimed more at operators, the panel discussed the differences with PSMS as it relates to contractors, misconceptions about it, and advice for how best to implement it.

Powerful Truth
The Safety/Risk Management Committee delivered the most powerful moment perhaps of the entire week with speaker Eric Giguere’s “The Buried Truth, Uncovered.” Giguere is living, breathing proof of what can happen when companies take little shortcuts on safety to save a few minutes of time here and there.  

In October 2002, when Giguere was 27, he was invited to work on a water line installation crew — despite having no experience with water lines.  The supervisor, who had 30 years of experience with no major incidents, was adamantly “old school,” mostly only paying lip service to safety procedures; an attitude which spread to his crew. 

As the work went on, the trenches were gradually getting deeper. Then, on October 4, a water spill occurred while Giguere was kneeling in an unsecured 6.5-foot. trench by himself cleaning up.  In less than a second, he was buried under more than a ton of dirt. There was no one in sight to help him; although another worker was close enough to hear something and raise the alarm, he hadn’t seen where Giguere had disappeared.  

While the other workers faced hard decisions about where and how to dig without risking even more serious injury to Giguere, or endangering themselves  in the process, Giguere lay buried for ten full minutes, and was clinically dead when they found him. It was just six days after his wedding and one of his coworkers had to notify his wife. 

Although Giguere was successfully revived, he suffered severe trauma, PTSD, years in therapy, and lost his wife to divorce when he could no longer be the man she married.  He still experiences lingering effects to this day, 20 years later.  Giguere reminded everyone that people don’t think accidents can happen to them, and that he got buried because he had a terrible attitude about safety and wasn’t man enough to speak up when things were unsafe.  His life was changed forever in less than a second, all for the sake of saving a few minutes.  His story was an unforgettable reminder of why DCA’s relentless focus on safety remains perpetually vital.

A Cuban Air
The welcome dinner that evening was a casual affair on the lawn with a cool, light ocean breeze accompanying the Cuban band on stage.  Amid moon globes and tropical décor, guests dined on Cuban food and gathered around the mojito bar to wile the night away with conversation.

Wednesday, February 22
Before the keynote speaker took the floor Wednesday morning, the DCA warmed up the crowd with a humorous video ode to “The Man from Michigan,” Kevin Parker, and his year as president.  Parker, a dyed-in-the-wool Wolverine, and convention chair Brad Heck, a dedicated Ohio State Buckeye, took turns razzing each other about their unlikely friendship.

Doing his best to follow that comedy act, Lt. Col. Dan Rooney introduced the audience to his charitable organization, Folds of Honor.  As a decorated F-16 fighter pilot (USAF), father of five, author of Fly Into the Wind, and a PGA pro golfer, Rooney had quite a variety of interesting stories to tell.  From meeting Tiger Woods in college to combat missions in Iraq to taking a bawdy Irish sportscaster up for a high-G ride, Rooney is clearly not a man with a boring life.  He spoke of lessons learned from a philosophy professor about volition, from his F-16 instructor about staying ready so you don’t have to get ready, and from his own experience flying above a sandstorm at night that comfort and courage can’t coexist, but God is always around you even though you’re not looking. Rooney said that when y resumed a more normal life after combat, he noticed how “parasitic drag seemed to be holding him back from serving a greater purpose.  Ultimately it was a commercial flight with the remains of a fallen soldier that inspired him to create Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships to the children of veterans wounded or killed in service to their country.  

After years of trying, he succeeded in making Folds of Honor the official charity of Anheuser-Busch and the charity has since given out more than 44,000 scholarships worth over $200 million. After a rousing round of applause, Rob Darden presented Rooney with a $50,000 donation to Folds of Honor in the DCA-LMCT Trust's name.

Trenchless Updates
Dr. Sam Ariaratnam opened the Trenchless Committee meeting with an update on his activities as a member of the Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC) under the Department of Transportation (DOT). GPAC is a statutorily mandated advisory committee that provides recommendations to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and the DOT Secretary regarding proposed standards for gas and liquid pipelines and facilities.

GPAC is also currently involved in a lawsuit against OSHA over banning pipe wrenches on directional drilling sites.  When asked if the committee felt pressure from the Biden administration to “kill gas,” Dr. Ariaratnam answered, “Not directly.”  

Next, Grady Bell of Bell Trenchless introduced the new HDD Association to the audience then Trenchless Committee co-chairs Nate Eastway and Alan Goodman reviewed the new HDD guidelines publication and upcoming events in collaboration with AGA, NASTT, and more.  

The meeting wrapped up with a meaty question for the group: How can we bring up the standards of non-DCA-member contractors?  The consensus answer was to drive demand for higher standards from the top down, starting with owners, utilities, and the people writing the paychecks.

Auction Success
In the afternoon, members scattered off to various activities around the Miami Beach area before reconvening in the evening for the annual auction.  A wide array of drilling equipment and supplies was spiced up with offerings of spectacular jewelry, sports tickets and outdoor trips, hunting gear, and an extra special dinner at next year’s convention in Hawaii.  The silent and live auctions raised a grand total of $632,000 for industry scholarships, industry events and staff support. This year, continuing the auction’s rebound toward pre-pandemic levels.

Thursday, February 23
After the DCA announced the recipients of the Dale R. Michels and Curtis Allen scholarship awards, which totaled $145,000 this year, and debuted a BuildWitt video, the rest of Thursday morning’s breakfast was devoted to Gary Lawson, the association’s newest Honorary Member.  The crowd was treated to a hilarious video of “The Grumpy Old Pipeliner,” a character Gary created that has the cranky enthusiasm of a badger with hemorrhoids.  Gary’s best friend, Jack Gabrielse, who could not be present, congratulated him by video, leading into the short but insightful film, “Who is Gary Lawson?”  Lawson’s humor and humility were on full display as he accepted the well-deserved honor to a standing ovation.

Gas Versus Green
Eben Wyman kicked off the Government Relations Committee meeting with a recap of 2022 activities and 2023 goals.  The committee’s top priority remains the Pipeline Safety Reauthorization and pushing for criminal penalties for criminal protesting; there has been some debate over including penalties for damage to equipment. The committee continues to push for three things: incentivizing use of GIS mapping, opposing mandates for SMS, and keeping the focus on damage prevention.  

Wyman then yielded the floor to Frank Canavan of the American Gas Association, who spoke on the current status of fuel choice versus gas bans.  Most bans currently affect new construction, but some, such as New York state’s, are trying to expand to sunset old gas appliances as well. 

Despite this, there are lots of exemptions for energy-intensive industries.  Washington state enacted the only total future ban on gas through the building code when legislation was unable to pass, sparking widespread public opposition.  A test case against another sneaky ban, in Eugene, Oregon, is currently in the works.  The New Jersey legislature recently introduced a fuel choice bill to counter executive action from their governor.  Canavan noted that the vast majority of places with gas bans don’t have much new construction anyway, so the bans are mostly symbolic. Ironically, despite California’s well-documented opposition, the state is second behind only Texas for most new gas customers.

The key to gas’s popularity with the public is its reliability, and Canavan stressed that it is important for groups like the DCA to convey to the public that gas versus green does not have to be an all-or-nothing battle.  Brad Heck then gave an update on the OQIP project, promising that data from the pilot programs would be posted soon.  Wyman then wrapped up with a few notes about the new Republican Congress, the May 14-16 celebration of construction on the National Mall, and efforts to organize the next D.C. fly-in for June.

Friday, February 24
The second keynote speaker of the week was a familiar face to DCA members — Jason Dorsey of the Center for Generational Kinetics. 

To keep things from being repetitive, Rob Darden had specifically asked Dorsey “not to talk about generations” this time. Instead, he asked the audience to think about the best and worst advice they ever heard, then posed the question: How do you tell the difference between good and bad advice?  All  the answers came back to  one common theme — experience.  

As Dorsey pointed out, people assume that with experience comes wisdom, but  experience can hold you back as well.  As proof, he cited  examples of how differences in both quantity and quality of experience between older and younger workers affects everything from the job market to perceptions of getting a driver’s license.  Executives and entrepreneurs will have different answers to whether you need to go to college to be successful, each based on their experience.  Dorsey told his own story of dropping out of college to write a book and start a research firm based on what he saw his peers going through.  The rest of the talk connected back to the recruiting process, touching on how job postings are perceived, changing workforce expectations, competency versus mastery, communication habits, and passing on experience.  Dorsey concluded with this advice: If you want to get more job applications, meet people where they are — allow them to apply by text message if that’s what it takes to get their attention — separate recruitment from retention, and show rather than tell people what you expect of them to get their best performance.

Skills For Success
The final business meeting for the week was the Workforce Development Committee.  New co-chairs Stephanie Krabbe and Matt Dvorak charted out the goals for 2023: to introduce the second BuildWitt video series, encourage engagement with SkillsUSA, participate in the next DCA/AGA panel, and hold a Leadership Development conference.  

For the next SkillsUSA Techspo, June 20-22 in Atlanta, Krabbe has written a guidebook for getting involved locally and has plans to write a participation guide for the event. The committee is still looking for contributors to help develop a heavy equipment operator competition as well.  

Next, the committee detailed the contents of the Leadership Development Program, which will debut with two sessions in October and November targeting employees who are moving up in responsibility.  Session 1 will focus on exploring and leading different behavior styles, while Session 2 concentrates on emotional intelligence, improving performance, driving difficult conversations, and unleashing your potential

After a brief review of the upcoming DCA & AGA Utility Contractor Workshop and the “Success Looks Like This” marketing campaign, the idea was put forth to start a Job & Career Fair Subcommittee.  The subcommittee would be responsible for handling requests for presence at fairs and working with members to make sure DCA is well represented.

Rat Pack Returns
Finally, after a long week of important business, it was time to party. 

Forgoing the usual banquet hall format, this year the DCA staff pulled off the impressive feat of renting out the entire world-famous LIV nightclub on a Friday night.  Located just off the main lobby of the Fontainebleau, the club was founded in 1954 and became one of Frank Sinatra’s favorite hangouts.  Sinatra and Dean Martin impersonators emceed the evening’s events while the best dinner in an exceptional week for food was served in the wings downstairs.  Kevin Parker turned over the DCA presidency to Ray Swerdfeger in the only formalities of the evening, and then the music kicked into overdrive.  Dazzling light displays and a “money” drop punctuated a killer playlist with something for every generation, and the floor was hopping. 

The evening ended with a boisterous singalong to “Don’t Stop Believing” and “Sweet Caroline” before moving the after party down to the Arkadia Pool.  It was a spectacular end to the week in Miami Beach that won’t soon be forgotten.

The DCA will convene next for the Mid Year Meeting at The Lodge at Spruce Creek in Stowe, Vermont, July 24-27.  Next year’s convention will be held in Hawaii.