DCA 2025 Mid Year Meeting Wrap-Up

The weather gods smiled on DCA yet again as the 2025 Mid Year meeting came to pass. Weekend haze from Canadian wildfires dissipated just in time for the Monday, July 14, launch in the cozy resort town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. This year’s location held special meaning, honoring Wisconsin native and DCA Director of Administration, Teri Korson, the association’s longest-serving staff member, who retired after more than 32 years of service. With many of DCA’s founding companies hailing from the region, this became the best attended summer meeting in the last 10 years — just a few hours’ road trip through classic Midwestern farm country.

Monday, July 14
Registration began late Monday morning in the lobby of the main ballroom at the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa. Tables were laid out with classic Wisconsin favorites: bratwurst hot dogs, fried cheese curds, pretzels, and beer (of course), along with popcorn, cookies, and complimentary DCA baseball caps. The crowd trickled in slowly at first but soon filled the space with animated conversation.

In a change to the schedule from previous years, the registration party led straight into the Town Hall and Business Meeting. DCA Executive Vice President Rob Darden noted in the membership report that total membership was down from its peak of 237 companies in 2019 to just 184 today, due to factors ranging from financial hardship to mergers to loss of employee contacts. While the organization remains sound, Darden emphasized the importance of rebuilding its pre-COVID strength. Members also learned that, based on their feedback, the 2026 annual convention in Miami would be shortened by one day to make travel home easier for everyone. Darden then called the DCA staff to the stage to recognize members old and new, but most importantly to thank Teri Korson, who recently completed 32 years of exemplary and invaluable service. Darden spoke about Korson’s role in making DCA the world-class organization that it is today, for which she earned a long and heartfelt standing ovation.

The business session speaker was a familiar one to those who have been attending for a few years — Mark Bridgers of Continuum Capital, whose unique perspective on current and historical economics makes the “dismal science” considerably more understandable. In his presentation, “Trump 2.0: Where Are We Headed Now?” Bridgers pointed out that we are in a unique economic period with very few precedents, identifying just two — the 1890s and the 1960s-1970s. In the 1890s, Grover Cleveland became the first U.S. President to serve non-consecutive terms. The industrial revolution was in full swing; volatility was high; tariffs were the favored method to control trade; and farmers paid a high price. Cleveland, a proponent of tariffs, also presided over four economic panics. Bridgers then told the fascinating tale of how “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” written in 1900 by L. Frank Baum, was conceived as a political satire. Noting how the government then had similar economic goals to today, Bridgers discussed the concepts of building walls vs. bridges and Keynesian economics vs. monetarism. In the 1960s and ‘70s, the country was plagued with lower revenue and very high government spending, resulting in high inflation and nagging economic uncertainty that did not ease until Paul Volcker became chairman of the Federal Reserve under the Reagan administration.

From there Bridgers moved into current geopolitics, analyzing how strategic competition with China, the situation with Israel and Iran, and the Russia-Ukraine war could impact the U.S. On policy, the “Big Beautiful Bill” is favorable to the gas and construction industries, but while the U.S. economy is still expanding, pessimism is rising due to uncertainty over tariffs, consumer prices, exchange rates, and housing woes. Bridgers believes a recession is possible, but it will likely be short and shallow with little impact on the DCA. However, he also observed a recent upswing in contractor bankruptcies and a drop-off in historical financial performance for utility contractors over the last several years, with construction productivity flat or falling over the last two decades. He warned that these challenges could continue for some time before improving. Bridgers wrapped up with suggestions to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) to improve productivity, policy effects on construction, and the unique challenges and opportunities of data center construction.

After Bridgers’ veritable feast of food for thought, it was time for DCA to go outside and play. Members divided up into teams by bandana color for a resort-wide scavenger hunt. Each team followed clues leading to different locations around the property, where they found team challenges to score points and a clue to the next location. Over three hours, teams wound through conference rooms, indoor pools, golf courses, and wooded trails while answering trivia questions, hopping blindfolded, taking selfies with staff, and tossing frisbees before racing back to the main ballroom to beat the clock and tally up points. In the end, Team Navy won the top spot, with Team Lavender and Team Black close behind.

The welcome dinner capped off the day under an outdoor pavilion overlooking the resort’s scenic golf course. A guitarist performed as the sun slowly set in a clear sky while children played games in the grass. Eagles and sandhill cranes could be seen flying home to roost for the night, and fireflies lit up the field behind the ice cream cart as darkness settled in. The idyllic Midwestern summer evening was a perfect way to relax ahead of the start of committee business on Tuesday.

Tuesday, July 15
Tuesday morning began with an unusual handover of leadership. Due to personal reasons, 2025 President Dan Carson had to step away from his position, and 2024 Past President Mark Albert passed the gavel to DCA Vice President Doug Reeves of Primoris Services Corporation, who will complete Carson’s term and then begin his own at the 2026 Convention. Darden thanked Doug for stepping in and offered well wishes to the Carson family with hopes to see them return soon. Darden also announced that DCA would be making a Lyons’ Grant to Texans on Mission, an organization supporting the victims of the July 4th floods in central Texas. Darden offered prayers to the victims, many from the Dallas and Houston area. Through the years, the Lyons’ Grant has been used for a variety of reasons including when a community emergency or crisis occurs.

Next, it was time to introduce keynote speaker Joel Zeff, work culture expert, humorist, and author of the book, “Make the Right Choice: Creating a Positive, Innovative and Productive Work Life.” He began with the observation that little kids celebrate everything and invited the audience to do the same by standing up with their hands in the air and yelling “TA-DA!” He was impressed that we actually did it, which was an excellent sign because being silly as a group means we feel like we’re all in this together. Describing his own journey, Zeff said he started as a reporter before trying improv comedy on the side and eventually combining the two into his current job. Next, he asked for three audience volunteers to help him with an exercise. One acted as a “driver” while the rest were “hitchhikers,” each bringing a different emotion into and out of the “car” with them as they came and went. The room quickly filled with laughter as the volunteers gamely portrayed happiness, anger, and fear. Zeff explained how the exercise demonstrated commitment and ownership from each of the players and positive support from the audience, contrasting that with the “bye-bye” people who inhabit every workplace, doing just enough to earn a paycheck and no more.

Zeff asked for three more volunteers and an activity from the audience. This time, Zeff and friend would be puppets talking about “fishing,” while the other two acted as puppeteers to move them around in accordance with the conversation. The audience was positively in stitches as arms and legs flopped about “casting a line” and “reeling in a fish.” Again, Zeff explained how this exercise demonstrated teamwork and the power of improv to help teammates be successful because it requires everyone to be present in the moment together. For his final game, Zeff and three more brave souls played what can only be described as “charades telephone.” With all but one volunteer out of the room, the audience tossed out suggestions for charades. As each new player came into the room, he who was “it” had to demonstrate “giraffe,” “roller coaster,” and “rockstar” (no, not “water well,” Mark!) with the other acknowledging silently when they thought they had it, then doing the same for the next until the last person guessed out loud. Amazingly, the volunteers got all three right in the end, which Zeff said was very rare. This game, he said, demonstrated openness to change and flexibility, noting that improv requires you to stay in the game. While DCA often has funny guest speakers, Zeff got some of the loudest and longest laughs heard in recent memory, leaving moments to smile about for years to come.

The schedule then moved on to the first round of committee meetings. The Membership and Engagement Committee worked on recruitment and retention strategies while discussing the possibility of opening membership to other types of underground construction contractors beyond the gas industry, such as water and electric. The Future Leaders Committee focused on the Deep Dive webinar series along with networking and mentorship strategies for future events. The Workforce Development Committee then discussed changes to the Leadership Development program, upcoming trade events, and the new Technical Schools Subcommittee before introducing speaker Jason Nelson to talk about the Gas Utility Construction and Service degree program at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC).

Members then broke for the afternoon to enjoy a variety of local activities. Some played golf on the resort’s beautiful course known as “The Beast;” others spent a successful day bass fishing on Lake Geneva or went ziplining through the canopy in the forested hills around the lake. A vintage tour boat took members to see the many mansions of the rich and famous along the shore, while another group enjoyed a special tour of the historical Yerkes Observatory, which played a role in the discoveries of science luminaries such as astronomer George Ellery Hale and physicist Albert Einstein.

After a day of fun, guests gathered back at the main ballroom for Casino Night. Guests posed under a glowing “CASINO” sign for pictures before entering a ballroom transformed with card tables, craps, and other games of chance awaited as dealers shuffled their cards and counted chips in readiness. Dinner tables were decorated in red and black with dice and candles on each one. A magician roamed from table to table as members dined on street tacos, Chicago-style hot dogs, and roast beef sandwiches. Once members’ bellies were full, the action shifted to the casino side of the room, where the chips and the cards were real, but the money wasn’t. The dealers stayed busy all evening, and even the kids had a dealer of their own with a wheel of prizes out in the hall. When they weren’t putting on their best poker face, conversations and laughter carried late into the evening. 

Wednesday, July 16
On the third day of the Mid Year Meeting, members took a leisurely breakfast before jumping into the day’s business meetings. The Trenchless and HDD Committee covered a wide range of subjects from white papers to mud management, including a presentation from Randy Bunch on HDD exit side safety monitoring. The Innovation and Technology Committee discussed outdoor heat safety technology before introducing speaker John Rozum from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). The Safety and Risk Management Committee questioned whether the “Energy Wheel” was a viable tool for hazard recognition and proposed an “Operational Excellence Day” as part of the next Safety Congress. The Government Relations Committee reviewed the events of the Midwest Regional Fly-In that happened in late June, along with the ramifications of the Big Beautiful Bill and creating a new working group on “AI and Energy.”

After another afternoon of fishing, ziplining, and golf, which was threatened (yet undeterred) by inclement weather, members returned to the ballroom one final time for an old-fashioned ‘indoor’ picnic and family game night. Dinner was a Wisconsin-themed heart attack of brats, pierogis, mac and cheese, battered fish, fried cheese curds, and s’mores. Around the room and out into the hall were Skee-Ball, Jenga, air hockey, table hockey, Pop-A-Shot, cornhole, Connect Four, and ping-pong. Around the corner and down the hall, one room housed a bounce house while another featured a full laser tag course, with a parachute game in the hall outside.  Children raced between a bounce house, laser tag, and parachute games while families and colleagues squared off in good-natured competition. The atmosphere was loud, spirited, and full of praise for the staff who made it all possible.

The DCA will convene next for the Fall Meeting October 29-31 at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth. We look forward to seeing many of you there.