NUCA 2021 Convention & Exhibit Wrap Up
Holding our annual meeting and the 2021 NUCA Convention in Florida allowed our participants to safely enjoy one of the benefits NUCA membership promises to all: meet other influential members in our industry and network with them in a grand setting.
Carefully following the Covid-19 guidelines established to keep our 200 member attendees and their guests safe, the Feb. 4-6 event featured knowledgeable speakers, involved industry seminars, a fun team-building exercise, concluding with our exciting Gala and auction. Here’s what your fellow NUCA members enjoyed this year at our association’s Convention:
PRE-CONVENTION GOLF TOURNAMENT
The return of the “CEO Bobble Head Open” featured the resort’s fantastic golf courses as our members competed to raise money to benefit NUCA’ s scholarship program.
PROFIT PIPELINE ROUNDTABLES
This year’s Roundtables focused on three important subjects: “Filling the Workforce Knowledge Gap” “Protecting Your Company Liability Clauses in Contracts,” and “Building Relationships Provide ‘Value-Added Engineering’.”
NUCA’S 2020 NATIONAL PARTNERS & EXHIBITORS
This year, our 45 exhibitors included National Partners who know the value of displaying their latest technologies to the utility construction industry’s decision makers. We also had a good number of new members who found their first-time at the NUCA annual exhibit to be very worthwhile in gaining new leads and product orders.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: ROBERT STEVENSON
Our keynote speaker was the enthusiastic and insightful Robert Stevenson. His dynamic presentation of stories and experiences he faced in his 30 years of the corporate world illustrated several important lessons about how to succeed in business. Mr. Stevenson was very happy to personally speak to our audience, as he opened with the news that our NUCA convention was the first non-Zoom presentation he had delivered in months!
WELCOME RECEPTION
Kicking off the 2020 events was the first night’s lively reception at the resort’s Mangrove Pool. Attendees enjoyed the beautiful weather, tasty appetizers, cool drinks, and the joy of spending time with their long-time colleagues and new friends alike.
2021 GALA & LIVE AUCTION
The Gala Dinner and live auction this year celebrated our members successes and recognized 2021’s industry brightest! Besides a great dinner, our guests congratulated the Award of Excellence, Safety, and Top Jobs winners. New Chairman Lauren Atwell delivered his inaugural speech and plans for his term-of-office, and those who bid on auction items helped fund the association’s programs. Thanks to everyone who placed a bid and helped NUCA’s future.
TEAM BUILDING: SUPER BOWL SCAVENGER HUNT
Our team building event was a wild Super Bowl-themed affair: Teams worked together to create team flags and cheers, and then traveled throughout the beautiful Naples Grande property, seeking out the game’s challenging tasks and answering the difficult trivia questions posed at each station. While there could only be one official winner, everyone had a blast!
THE NEW NORM: 2021 UTILITY CONSTRUCTION ECONOMIC FORECAST WITH ANIBAN BASU
Associated Builders & Contractors’ Chief Economist Aniban Basu made his NUCA convention debut, discussing and analyzing changes ahead for the utility construction industry in 2021, particularly considering the pandemic’s influence on the economy.
TRANSITION OF LEADERSHIP
The reins of Chairman of the Board are passed from Immediate Past Chairman Fred Cheney to newly appointed Chairman Lauren Atwell.
NEWLY CHARTERED CHAPTERS: NEW JERSEY & KENTUCKY
Presiding over the new charters as the previous newest chapter, NUCA East Tennessee welcomes newly chartered chapters NUCA New Jersey and NUCA Kentucky to our association family.
2020 TOP JOBS COMPETITION
NUCA’s Sixth Annual Top Jobs Awards were presented during the 2021 Convention. The awards recognize outstanding member projects that went above and beyond, overcoming unique challenges on their jobsites or demanding project details.
Overall Winner: Penro Construction – 2019 Braasch Avenue, 5th St. to 1st St.
Sanitary Sewer Collection – L.G. Roloff Construction Company – OPW 52982 Elkhorn WWTF Decommissioning & Interceptor Sewer Extension
Trenchless Technologies – Garney Construction – Hayfield Road Pipe Conveyance System
Water Distribution – Cleary Construction Inc. – Water System Expansion to Springfield, Tenn.
(not pictured) Water or Sewage Treatment Plant – Anchor Construction Corporation – 1810 Irving St. NW Collapse
AWARDS
NUCA’s Leadership Awards
Ditchdigger of the Year – Dan Buckley
Associate Member of the Year – Andy Williams
We Dig America Award – Brenda Reigle
The 2020 Safety Awards – Overall Winner, Team Construction.
Top Recruiters for 2020 – David Hurst and Adam Terry
