The Texas Aggregates & Concrete Association (TACA) welcomed more than 450 attendees to their 67th Annual Meeting June 16-18 at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort. Members were excited to participate in the association’s largest in-person annual event.Kicking off the opening General Session was Annual Meeting Master of Ceremonies David Magee. TACA President and CEO Josh Leftwich brought members up to date on the many changes, challenges, and opportunities TACA has met over the past year with the COVID-19 pandemic during his State of the Association address. These included the economic recovery of Texas and continued growth in Texas, brief recap of the 87th Texas Legislature, as well as new communication technology implemented to benefit members including the TXACA mobile app and TACA Talks podcast.

After Leftwich’s address, committee chairs highlighted each committee’s accomplishments over the past year and objectives for the upcoming year.

TACA’s 2020-2021 Committee Chairs were:

• Education Chair – Matt Arnold, Knife River
• Environmental & Sustainability Chair – Melissa Fitts, Westward Environmental, Inc.
• Governmental Affairs Chair – Tyler Lowe, Vulcan Materials
• Industry Promotion & Marketing Chair – Kristel Perry, Capitol Aggregates
• Membership Co-Chairs – Joey Biasatti, Summit Materials and Wade Carroll, Hallett Materials
• Safety & Transportation Chair – Kerri Todd, BURNCO Texas LLC
• Specification Chair – Craig Plunk, Lattimore Materials

Following the in-depth association report was a legislative update by Mindy Ellmer, Mindy Ellmer and Associates, part of TACA’s lobby team, with Leftwich providing insights as well.

An integral part of the TACA Annual Meeting is the TACPAC fundraiser. All funds raised go directly to TACPAC to help support those candidates within Texas who align with and are supporters of our industry. The event included a private concert featuring Diamond Rio and a silent auction.Friday’s General Session was a full line-up of speakers who provided valuable industry insight to attendees. Speakers included Abbott Lawrence, Chair of the Board for the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, and Michael Johnson, President and CEO of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association. Both provided some interesting facts and spoke on future plans for each national association. Author and speaker Robert L. Guyer. Guyer discussed local stakeholder and elected official engagement. Jon Hockenyos, President of TXP, gave an in-depth economic report for Texas and the nation.The Past Chair's Banquet is held to bring the Annual Meeting to a close. Entertainer and Mentalist David Magee gave a mind-bending performance that shocked many attendees and provided some laughs as well.

A special part of the Past Chair’s Banquet is that it brings together past TACA leaders in a setting to share time with current leaders and members, providing many stories and the benefits of their wisdom and experience. TACA Past Chairs of the Board are the guests of honor and were recognized as well as the TACA Board of Directors, Allied Board of Directors, outgoing Board members and Committee Chairs. Past Chairs in attendance were Cecil Holloway (1978-1979), Tom Green (1987-1988), Harry Tormey (2004-2005), Lee Carroll (2006-2007), Pat Strader (2016-2017), Rob VanTil (2018-2019) and Paul Rouse (2019-2020).

As we honored the leaders from years past, we also acknowledge the newcomers to the industry through the Emerging Leaders Academy (ELA). The ELA helps develop leadership skills within the industry, foster relationships among peer groups, helps improve retention of industry professionals, and promotes the importance of community involvement for our industry. The TACA Emerging Leaders Academy Year III graduated its fourth class this year. The six graduates were recognized at the banquet. Dean of the Academy Rick Kolster honored four of the graduates with a diploma.

Chair of the Board 2019-2020 Paul Rouse closed the Annual Meeting with remarks looking back on the past two years since we were not able to meet in 2020. He then passed the gavel to Incoming Chair Ben Blankenship. Chair Blankenship gave his incoming remarks and shared his hopes and goals for the upcoming year for this strong and active organization. He concluded his remarks with the 68th Annual Meeting theme, which will be the focus for the association through the next year – “Texans Building a Better Tomorrow”. The 68th Annual Meeting will be held June 15-17, 2022, at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort.

The Awards Luncheon provides the opportunity for TACA to recognize many outstanding individuals and companies who are impacting the industry in a positive way.Ready Mix
A
Runner-Up CEMEX-Galveston Ready Mix, Galveston
First CEMEX-Mt Belvieu Ready Mix, Baytown
2A
Runner-Up CEMEX-Holmes Ready Mix, Houston
First CEMEX-Ellington Ready Mix Houston
3A
Runner-Up BURNCO TEXAS LLC-Irving Ready Mix, Irving
First Charley's Concrete-Crowley Plant, Crowley
4A
First CEMEX-Navigation Ready Mix, Houston

Vehicle Shop Maintenance
A
First Vulcan Materials Company-Huebner Ready Mix Shop, San Antonio
2A
Runner-Up Knife River Corporation South-Beaumont Shop, Beaumont
First BURNCO TEXAS LLC-Fleet Maintenance, Irving
3A
First Knife River Corporation South-Waco Shop, Waco
4A
First CEMEX-Navigation Truck Shop, Houston

Aggregate Transport/ Tanker
2A
First BURNCO TEXAS LLC-Tanker Division, Justin
3A
First BURNCO TEXAS LLC-Aggregate Transport Floating Fleet, Irving
5A
Runner-Up Cantera Transportation-SAR: Cantera Transportation, San Antonio
First Knife River Corporation South-Bryan
6A
First Aggregates-Aggregate Haulers I, San Antonio

Plant Facility Maintenance
A
Runner-Up Martin Marietta-Beaumont Plant Maintenance, Beaumont
First Vulcan Materials Company-RMC Fixed Maintenance, San Antonio
2A
First CEMEX-Navigation Plant Maintenance, Houston

Concrete Pump
A
First BURNCO TEXAS LLC-Pump Division, Irving

Aggregates
A
Runner-Up Vulcan Materials Company-West Texas Portable #3, Abilene
First Vulcan Materials Company-Simonton Sand & Gravel, Wallis
2A
Runner-Up Vulcan Materials Company-Uvalde Quarry, Uvalde
First Vulcan Materials Company-Chico Stone, Bridgeport
3A
First Vulcan Materials Company-Medina Quarry, Hondo
4A
Runner-Up Martin Marietta-Hunter Stone Quarry, New Braunfels
First Vulcan Materials Company-1604 Stone, San Antonio
5A
First CEMEX-Balcones Quarry, New Braunfels

Bruce Ingram Excellence in Concrete Award Winner
Martin Marietta Southwest

Best Plant Ready Mix A
Martin Marietta
Corsicana Ready Mix

Best Plant Aggregate B
Knife River
Honey Creek Quarry

Best Plant Cement A
Martin Marietta
Celina Cement Terminal

Best Plant Aggregate A
Martin Marietta
Tyler Rail Yard

2021 Truck Driver of the Year
Randy Chapoy, Ready Mix Driver/ Trainer, BURNCO Texas LLC

The Richard Szecsy Educational Scholarship Recipient
Chloe VanTil

The Bob R. Beard Good Neighbor Award Recipient
Robert Gentry, ASFE

Photos taken by Alexander Aleman