The Concrete Foundations Association is expanding its regular spring and fall meetings beginning in spring 2005 in Minneapolis as part of our attempt to reach more CFA members (and potential members) with our educational and networking opportunities. This is also an opportunity to support our newly forming local chapters.

The first regional meeting will be held Saturday, April 2, 2005, in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area. The Minnesota Concrete Foundation Association (MCFA) was the first local chapter to organize under the banner of the CFA and we want to give their 40+ members as much support as possible.

There are several other reasons for going to a regional meeting in the spring and fall versus our standard Foundation Fundamentals seminar. First, many workers have already attended Brent Anderson’s Foundation Fundamental’s seminars. Both MCFA and Brent are anxious to move on to cover more in depth information about foundations and concrete.

Second, while the CFA Annual Summer Meeting remains our flagship event, the regional meetings present an opportunity for smaller companies to partake in our excellent educational offerings and informal networking opportunities. These meetings are held on a single day versus the multi-day format of the summer meetings. This allows smaller firms to participate and larger companies can send more people, for a smaller investment of time and money.

The format includes concurrent sessions and round tables with material and content along two paths. One path has been developed for the company managers and office personnel, the other for the field workers and foremen. The educational portion of the meetings are approximately 5 hours long, followed by a cocktail reception and table-top displays. There are no off-site or social activities planned for the regional events. Attendees can be in and out in a single day. The shorter events give attendees a taste for what the longer and more comprehensive summer meetings are like.

Chapters are also in the formative stages in Atlanta , Pittsburgh, Connecticut, and Raleigh. Future regional meetings will be staged in those cities to support their efforts. If you are interested in forming a CFA chapter in your city or state, contact Talia Nelson at CFA at 866-232-9255 or tnelson@cfawalls.org.