Promotion
Great promoters adapt to changing conditions to communicate their message but they never stop building relationships. Like everyone else in 2020 TCA had to do a lot of adapting.
Many of our in-person events like trade shows and seminars were canceled completely while some transitioned to virtual formats. We adapted to become better virtual presenters and to using the tools we had to stay connected with members and with those we want to influence about the increased use of concrete.
We continued our participation and financial support for allied construction organizations that represent important stakeholders like architects, engineers, code officials, regulators and contractors even when they had to cancel their in-person events. We believe that continuing to invest in these relationships during difficult times will pay long-term dividends.
We participated virtually whenever we could while continuing to seek out in person opportunities where appropriate.
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ASCE Chattanooga Development Symposium Virtual - presentation on concrete testing (based on our research study) and another on TCA’s new office designed under the Living Building Challenge
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TN-ASLA Trade Show - Cancelled but continued sponsorship
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Tennessee Engineers Conference - Cancelled
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TRMCA Foundation Golf Outing - Scholarships for CIM (Held in October with excellent attendance!)
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Tennessee Tech Pavement Class Lecture - Cancelled
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Several A&E Lunch & Learns completed virtually
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TN Chapter American Public Works Institute - Cancelled
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TN Stormwater Annual Convention Virtual - Presented on TCA Office and Living Building Challenge
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National Concrete Consortium Site Tour and Demonstrations - Cancelled (but see additional information below)
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Safe Room in a Single Day - Live and in-person event at new TCA Campus (see more info below)
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TCA Virtual Concrete Conference - new event hosted in virtual avatar environment (more info below)
Sponsorships and Memberships for 2020
TN Environmental Council - 250K Tree Day Sponsorship
TN Stormwater Association - Membership & Annual Conference Sponsorship
US Green Building Council - Membership & TN Chapter Annual Sponsorship
TN Women in Green Virtual Event Sponsorship
TN Society of Professional Engineers - Membership
TN Chapter of American Council of Engineering Companies - Membership
TN Chapter of American Landscape Architects - Annual Sponsor
TN Building Officials Association - Membership & Sponsorship
American Society of Concrete Contractors - Membership
Friends of Mill Ridge Park - Membership & Event Sponsorship
Nashville Civic Design Center - Membership
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National Concrete Consortium Site Tour and Demonstrations
This national event focused on concrete pavements (with a primary target audience of state DOT’s) was scheduled to be held in Nashville in April 2020. TCA was approached by our state DOT to help with hosting a site tour traditionally held at the end of the conference. TCA suggested a tour of our new campus located in Nashville combined with live demonstrations of various concrete pavement placements.
Two live placement demonstrations were selected for this event. One would be the placement of a section of roller compacted concrete pavement and the second would be the placement of a section of pervious concrete pavement. TCA reached out to other industry groups and arranged for the placement of the RCC pavement on the day of the demonstration, and TCA would self perform the installation of the pervious concrete.
In addition to these live demonstration events TCA agreed to install some conventional concrete pavement utilizing various mix designs to show that the embodied carbon of concrete mixtures could be substantially reduced while still meeting compressive strength requirements. These concrete slabs were placed in February 2020 with the help of TCA member IMI to supply the concrete and testing data.
Unfortunately the rise of the pandemic forced the cancellation of this event. TCA was able to compile and share the data regarding low embodied carbon concrete mix designs with our state DOT and a compilation of that data can be seen here. As with many state DOT's Tennessee's DOT is considering the adoption of specifications to limit the embodied carbon of at least some concrete mixtures used for DOT construction. Having this data in hand is an important part of the conversation moving forward.
Safe Room in a Single Day
TCA was able to hold a live demonstration, in person event in September 2020. This event was held at the new TCA campus near Nashville and featured the construction of a small ICF building that was completed in one day.
TCA member Nudura was a key partner in this event and agreed to donate the ICF forms and to supply an experienced contractor to stack and pour the building. TCA constructed the concrete slab and foundation prior to the event.
Nearly 30 people attended the event and many remained throughout the day to watch as the ICF walls were stacked, reinforced and braced. This project also featured a cast in place concrete roof slab that was placed at the same time as the ICF walls. The roof was formed using a product known as Insul-deck, also donated by Nudura.
Virtual Concrete Conference
As it became clear that holding traditional indoor seminars was not going to be possible in 2020 we decided to try our first ever virtual Concrete conference. This event was held on November 11 and 12, 2020.
We held this event in a virtual environment known as Virbila - the same environment used to host the NRMCA Global Concrete Summit later in November/December. This environment features avatars who can move through the spaces, including an exhibit hall, in a manner similar to a physical event venue.
Our keynote speaker for this event was Mr. Kenny Stanfield of Sherman Carter Barnhart architects. Mr. Stanfield is now well known in the concrete world for his firm's excellent design work on a large number of ICF school buildings constructed in Kentucky.
Other speakers included a local engineer who attended a 2019 ICF promotion event on our TCA campus who went on to build his own ICF home here in Tennessee, and Mr. Frank Gordon with NRMCA.
Speakers:
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Thompson Research Group, "An Economic Outlook"
Frank Gordon, NRMCA, "Current Market Opportunities
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William Paddock, WAP Sustainability
, "How to simplify your EPD process to issue EPDs for all your mixes quickly and affordably."


TCA’s John Pearson
, "ACI Review Sessions & Research Update" 

CarbonCure
, "Lowering Embodied Carbon & EPDs"


Jimmy Waddle
, "ICFs Home Built by Engineer Homeowner"
TDOT TCA Liaison Statewide Meeting
TCA even (occasionally) resorts to something as old-school as printed resource materials. In 2019, we partnered with one of our member companies (Cemex) to publish a Tennessee Native Landscaping Guide. This guide can be used by industry companies to select plants as part of native habitat creation efforts, or it can be used by homeowners who want to improve the landscaping around their house. TCA will promote the PDF version of the guide as well as handing out physical copies at trade shows and events in 2020.
We also continue to publish our long-running Tennessee Concrete magazine but 2019 will mark the last year that this will be a printed publication. While we have archived digital copies of the magazine on our website (www.tnconcrete.org) for several years, the magazine will be moving to digital online distribution in 2020.
Websites & Social Media: www.tnconcrete.org is TCA’s official website. We also maintain an active Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/tnconcrete/) as well as a Twitter feed @tnconcrete. This year, we opened a private group for our Ready Mix Producers on LinkedIn where we could share pertinent information. We are utilizing modern tools to streamline both registration and payments for ou r events, making it easier for customers to access our services and information. Click on the links above to visit our sites.
TCA utilized video posts more this year than ever to draw members to content about upcoming events like our TCA/Nudura ICFs installation and educational seminar Sept. 10, 2020.
As our ability to meet in person changed, Zoom became our tool of choice. TCA hosted over 10 zoom meetings on subjects ranging from technical topics to business related topics like 1099 designations and how to maximize a business' presence on social media platforms.
Sample of 2020 Schedule:
September 10, 2020 Joni Jones on “Nondestructive Testing – Concrete Strength”
August 6, 2020 Social Media Webinar with NRMCA’s Gregg Lewis
July 23, 2020 1099 & Other Business & Accounting Questions Discussion with CPAs from Smiley, Smith, Wynd LLC
July 9, 2020 Martin Clark of Nudura Discussing ICFs
July 7, 2020 Comman Alkon on “The Future of Technology in Concrete”
June 18, 2020 Frank Gordon & NRMCA’s Concrete Design Center
June 11, 2020 Commercial & Infrastructure Market Analysis by Thompson Research Group
Annual Concrete Design Awards
Annual Concrete Design Awards - Awards are presented each year as the highlight of our annual convention to recognize outstanding work executed with concrete.
TCA Concrete Magazine
Tennessee Concrete Magazine – our flagship publication, founded in 1987. Our direct circulation is about 4000 individuals. While TCA members receive the publication, the primary target audience is the concrete customer.
