2024 TCEL Geoprofessional Conference
The 2024 TCEL Annual Meeting and Conference is scheduled for February 9 and 10, 2024 at the Embassy Suites Hotel Conference Center in San Marcos, Texas.
The annual TCEL Geoprofessional Conference is for Texas Geo-professional firms. This conference is an opportunity for TCEL members and guests to come together as Geoprofessionals for Management Level training on Friday and Field Technical Training on Saturday. The conference also provides an opportunity to network and gain professional development hours for our members and attendees.
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8:00 AM to 11:50 AM |
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Lunch - |
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1:00 PM to 2:00 PM |
Ethics Presentation: Hard Conversations – An Ethics Case Study in the Destructive Power of Conflict Avoidance and the Redemptive Power of Honesty – Mike Yost and Aaron Mann |
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2:05 PM to 4:30 PM |
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Saturday, |
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2024 TCEL/Geoprofessional Conference Sponsorship Opportunities:
The TCEL/Geoprofessional Conference is annual training conference and an opportunity for TCEL members to come together. Friday is focused on Management Level training and Saturday is focused on technical training. The conference also provides an opportunity to network and gain professional development hours for our members and attendees. We believe promoting your company and its services to the Geoprofessional Industry at our 30th Conference is a great opportunity.
Gold Sponsor ($2,000)
Silver Sponsor ($1,500)
Bronze Sponsor ($1,000)
For Sponsorship Details Click Here
Thank you to our 2024 Sponsors
Gold
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Registration Notes
Seminar Registration Fees
- Seminar fee will includes coffee breaks, lunch and all meeting materials.
- Meeting & Seminar Costs listed above.
- Walk-ins are welcome. An additional $25.00 fee for members and non-members will be charged at the door. Registration for Walk-ins must be paid at the door by credit card.
- Refund Policy: You may request to cancel your registration for a full refund, up to 72 hours before the date and time of the event. Cancellations less than 72 hours before the event may not receive a refund, however you can transfer the registration to another individual.
- The registration fees above are valid until close of business February 7, 2024 for members and non-members. This is also the date the Online Registration Closes.
- Please make checks payable to TCEL. Mail to PO Box 19325, Sugar Land, TX 77496-9325
- For Multiple Registrations, please contact Kim Icenhower at [email protected].
Hotel:
Embassy Suites by Hilton San Marcos Hotel Conference Center
1001 E McCarty Lane
San Marcos, TX 78666
The TCEL room block rate of $157.00 per night has expired. Rooms may be available, but not at this rate.
Embassy Suites by Hilton San Marcos Link
TCEL also has a block of rooms at:
Holiday Inn Express San Marcos
105 Bintu Dr., San Marcos, TX 78666(512) 805-1000
Room Rate $147.00
1) Call the hotel front desk at 512-392-6355 and mention that you are with the TX Council of Engineering Labs or use group code TEL and the front desk will book your reservations.
2) BOOK ONLINE! Click the TX Council of Engineering Labs Booking Link. It will take you to our website with the pre-selected dates and you can book your reservation online.
2024 Project Professional Training Schedule
Friday, February 9, 2024
8:00 AM to 11:50 AM
Don't Let Them Go: Best Leadership Practices in Retaining Talent
Presented by:
John Geddie
Geddie & Associates, Inc.
When replacing a good employee can mean spending 2.5 times their annual salary, staff retention becomes increasingly critical to your firm’s bottom-line. But how do you build employee loyalty and reduce turnover? Surprisingly, a pay raise is seldom the answer.
This session examines best practices for retaining your most valuable employees. You’ll also learn how to:
- Build top talent by hiring ahead of the curve
- Energize your orientation programs to build long-term employee loyalty
- Motivate employees by negotiating goals and coaching for performance
John Geddie is President of Geddie & Associates Inc., headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida. He has served the A/E industry for more than 25 years as a management consultant, corporate trainer, and strategic planner. He is the primary instructor and facilitator for the company’s High Performance Leadership Program Project Management Practitioner Program. He is a regular speaker at organizational meetings and conferences and has served in communications-related positions and led project teams in both state government and the private sector. His clients have included firms such as AECOM, JUB Engineers, Walker Parking Consultants and Arup as well as government agencies including the US Air Force Research Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Berkeley National Laboratory. He has Bachelors and Master’s Degrees in Business Administration from the University of New Mexico’s Anderson Schools of Management.
Friday, February 9, 2024
Noon to 1:00 PM
Announcements & Sponsor Presentations
Friday, February 9, 2024
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Ethics Presentation: Hard Conversations – An Ethics Case Study in the Destructive Power of Conflict Avoidance and the Redemptive Power of Honesty
It began with a nervous call from our client. They suspected that a letter (on state letterhead) that our consultant provided may have been a forgery. And they were right. Thus began a year-long journey into the mind and work product of a former employee who was willing to do nearly anything to avoid confrontation—on this and other projects.
In the spirit of open collaboration, we will share an actual incident and response to demonstrate how conflict avoidance can damage the trust placed in your organization—and how transparent honesty can rebuild that trust. We will take the audience through the initial event, our internal investigation, and our discussions with regulators and clients.
While we will highlight the pressures and dangers of conflict avoidance, we will also provide tools to manage responses to similar crises. While the process was painful, by being honest and transparent, we were able to demonstrate that the actions did not reflect the culture of Terracon and we emerged with stronger client and regulator relationships than before the incident.
Presented by:
Mike Yost
Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer
Terracon
Mike Yost is a Senior Vice President at Terracon and serves as the Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. Mike has helped Terracon navigate legal issues for the past 20 years, during which time the company has had significant growth. In addition to managing Terracon’s growing Legal Department, Mike oversees the company’s ethics program. He is deeply involved in internal ethics training and compliance initiatives at Terracon.
Mike is involved in a number of professional organizations including the Geoprofessional Business Association and the American Council of Engineering Companies. Prior to joining Terracon in 2003, Mike served as a prosecutor in Missouri. He earned his J.D. in 1995 from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.
Aaron J. Mann
Principal, Senior Attorney | Litigator
Terracon
Aaron is a Principal and General Counsel with Terracon. He has been practicing law for nearly two decades. At Terracon, he oversees all aspects of risk management including claims, litigation, intellectual property matters, and internal investigations. He manages outside counsel acting on behalf of the company and works internally to troubleshoot project issues and avoid disputes before they escalate.
Prior to joining Terracon in early 2016, Aaron was a partner at Husch Blackwell, an AmLaw 100 law firm, where his practice focused on litigation. During his time with Husch Blackwell, Aaron spent four years working in the firm’s office in London, England. At the beginning of his career, Aaron served as a judicial clerk for a U.S. District Judge in Kansas City, Missouri. Aaron earned his J.D. from the Creighton University School of Law in 2001.
Friday, February 9, 2024
2:05 PM to 4:30 PM
Connecting with Your Clients: Strategically Gaining New and Repeat Business
Presented by:
John Geddie
Geddie & Associates, Inc.
For professional services organizations, the relationship with the client is the most important aspect of your business. It’s important to connect with them during the presentation phase in order to win their trust and business, but it’s also imperative that you continue to maintain the company’s reputation through the work that you deliver for the client. Good relationships with clients are the key to keeping and growing the business and your reputation in the market. This session will give you the tools to connect with your client on a professional level and present yourself as a professional who listens, is trustworthy and can deliver what the client truly wants.
2024 Project Field Training Schedule
Saturday, February 10, 2024
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Ethics Presentation: Avoiding Pitfalls While Working in the Trenches - Risk Management for Field Personnel
When it comes to risk management, field personnel are critical to a firm’s success. As the workers who are on the front lines every day, they see potential problems long before anyone else. And they have a unique opportunity to step in and change the course of the project. This presentation will discuss some of the most common project issues encountered and how to prevent those issues from becoming full-blown disputes.
Presented by:
Aaron J. Mann
Principal, Senior Attorney | Litigator
Terracon
Aaron is a Principal and General Counsel with Terracon. He has been practicing law for nearly two decades. At Terracon, he oversees all aspects of risk management including claims, litigation, intellectual property matters, and internal investigations. He manages outside counsel acting on behalf of the company and works internally to troubleshoot project issues and avoid disputes before they escalate.
Prior to joining Terracon in early 2016, Aaron was a partner at Husch Blackwell, an AmLaw 100 law firm, where his practice focused on litigation. During his time with Husch Blackwell, Aaron spent four years working in the firm’s office in London, England. At the beginning of his career, Aaron served as a judicial clerk for a U.S. District Judge in Kansas City, Missouri. Aaron earned his J.D. from the Creighton University School of Law in 2001.
Saturday, February 10, 2024
10:10 AM to 11:30 AM
Deal with it Today or Deal with it Every day - Positive & Effective Conflict Resolution & Management
Let’s face it, every day there’s a chance to encounter someone that is… “difficult?” “challenging?” Oh, let’s just call it like it is! There are jerks out there! At least that is the way we see it, right? Today’s workplace is high-stress and high-
speed, multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary, deadline and results oriented, and so on! If you want to be successful you not only have to be good at what you do, you must be good at relationships. Even the nicest people have conflicts with others. Dealing with conflict has become critical. The better you are, the higher your chances of success and sanity. In this engaging and entertaining session, attendees will learn how to prepare for and have difficult conversations, deal with difficult people, and strategies and skills to both manage and resolve conflict. The session will include open discussion of real-world examples, and attendee participation.
Presented by:
Matt Connor
Coach Connor
With over 30 years of relationship-driven, executive-level marketing and business development experience, Matt’s talent lies in creating authentic and effective connections and networks, inspiring teams, and guiding individuals to achieve both personal growth and professional success.
Matt is a Certified Gallup Strengths Coach and forges sincere connections with his audience and adds meaningful value regardless of subject, setting or size. Speaking nationally on a variety of topics, he delves into universal challenges such as: Burnout, Work Life Balance, Leadership, Employee Engagement, and more.
Saturday, February 10, 2024
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
The Importance of Concrete Curing
Concrete is a widely used construction material due to its strength, durability, and versatility. Test cylinders are the industry standard for evaluating the hardened properties of in-place concrete. The compressive strength of concrete test cylinders can be affected based on the quality of the initial curing process. Curing is the process of maintaining adequate moisture and temperature conditions in the concrete to ensure proper hydration of cement. The initial curing period is critical for the development of concrete strength. This presentation will focus on the importance of initial concrete curing and its impact on the strength of concrete. We will discuss the factors that affect the curing process, such as temperature, humidity, and wind. Finally, we will examine the best practices for initial concrete curing to ensure the highest quality of concrete and have an open discussion with our audience to learn from each other.
Presented by:
John M. Tupa , CET
Materials Department Manager
Terracon
Mr. Tupa brings over 26 years of experience in the field of Construction Materials Testing and Inspection. He is currently the Department Manager of Materials Services in Terracon’s Fort Worth, Texas office. He is involved in all aspects of Construction Materials Testing including advising and mentoring the DFW area Project Managers and Senior Project Managers, providing project budget analyses and technical report reviews, and overseeing project billing and coordination, field inspections, field training, management training, and client development.
Kenneth Lee Redfearn, Jr, ET
Terracon
Mr. Redfearn is a Senior Project Manager in Terracon’s Dallas-Fort Worth Metro, Texas Office. He has over 17 years of materials testing and consulting experience involving a variety of projects in the ISD, commercial/industrial, transportation, retail, multi-family residential, and government-based client sectors. He is currently responsible for managing projects throughout the DFW Area.
Mr. Redfearn’s experience includes construction materials engineering. He has valuable experience as a field technician, laboratory and field manager, project manager and Department Manager.
Saturday, February 19, 2024
2:15 p to 3:45 PM
What I wish I knew when I started in the Field (Panel)
Moderated by:
Lee Gurecky, PE
Engineering Department Manager
Universal Engineering Services (UES).
Panel:
• Houston: Jason Sandoval – Geoscience Engineering and Testing
• San Antonio: Albert Rosales – UES (formerly Rock Engineering)
• San Antonio: Jeremiah Gibson – Braun Intertec Corporation
This panel discussion will discuss Best Practices for Field Personnel in the geoprofessional industry.
- How have you seen the industry change or evolve in the last ten years?
- What consequences have you seen from poor communication between contractors and inspectors?
- Do you feel our industry provides adequate continued training?
Mr. Gurecky is the Engineering Department Manager for Universal Engineering Services (UES) in San Antonio. He obtained his Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University, College Station in 2011. He is a licensed professional engineer with 12 years of experience in the geotechnical engineering and construction materials testing (CMT) industry. He started his career in 2012 in Houston, Texas then relocated to the DFW Metroplex in 2014. In 2019, he was tasked to open an office in San Antonio for Riner Engineering where he is currently located.
Saturday, February 10, 2024
3:55 PM to 4:55 PM
Reinforcing Steel Inspections
This technical seminar will provide an introduction to reading construction plans as well as an overview of reinforcing steel inspections in various applications. A list of topics covered is provided below.
- Reading the cover page of plan sets
- Understanding the general notes
- Construction schedule
- Locating key items on the plans
- Responsibilities of the inspector or testing laboratory
- What if something is wrong?
- Locating references between sheets
- General nomenclature
- Foundation plans
- Elongation tables and symbols
- The final report
After completion of the above items, a field technician will have a better understanding of how to apply a construction plan set to their final inspections. Field training will further expand this knowledge and is encouraged as plans to construction can vary depending on the project.
Presented by:
Derek Stout, PE
Vice President of Engineering
Terradyne Engineering, Inc.
Derek has been in the Geotechnical industry since 2010. He has extensive knowledge of Geotechnical Engineering and Construction and Materials Testing. Derek graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.
