The arrival lobby at Custom Concrete, Westfield, IN – host for the 2017 Rocky Geans Construction Business School by the Concrete Foundations Association

December 12th to the 14th was an interesting new stretch for the CFA. A new education partnership to benefit the concrete contractor member of the Association was crafted with industry motivation expert, Rocky Geans. Rocky is a name many will recognize with familiarity having attended seminars at World of Concrete or stayed current with articles published in key trade magazines relevant to the concrete industry. The Construction Business School is a new venture for this concrete contractor as he enters the next phase of his career. “I had a great career as a concrete contractor,” states Geans. “It was time to move on though, and I wasn’t ready to leave the industry. Concrete is my passion and I really enjoy meeting other contractors, talking about their business and passing along any pieces of advice from my career that might impact theirs.”

This is precisely what thirty-five people attending the CFA’s offering of Rocky’s school found. Custom Concrete in Westfield, IN offered their facility and training room as the host for this event. Beginning the evening of the 12th, registered attendees met up for a reception at Noble’s Pizza and had a great time getting to know Rocky, meeting many new faces and catching up with some old acquaintances. On Thursday morning, the short walk or drive to Custom’s location was met by a tremendous staff and a gracious welcome. Through the next two days, Rocky’s curriculum immersed every attendee into the challenge of comparing systems, management styles and cultures to that of the Custom Concrete framework laid out all around and the contents of this course.

“This is the first time I have spent this length of time thinking only about the way I run my business,” stated Daryl Knoerdel of Knoerdel Foundation Specialists, Georgetown, PA. “I feel like I’ve got a long way to go but I was also encouraged by seeing steps that I can take now.”

The atmosphere for the school was set by the positive attitude of the Custom Concrete Education Meeting Space

Rocky recognized more than one face in the audience and asked Mary Wilson of Michel Concrete, Springfield, IL toward the end of the class how she felt after sitting through it the second time around. “When I signed up for this class, I started feeling guilty, questioning whether I had done anything with the investment I made in the last one,” stated Wilson. “While I was reminded of a lot more we have to do and was given more great things to think about, I was surprisingly satisfied with many of the little things we have already implemented. Having my husband along this time to give us two minds absorbing and thinking of ways to make changes will be all the better.”

“It was a real pleasure to host so many CFA members to our facility at one time,” stated Brad Schrock, Chief Operations Officer for Custom Concrete. “We had a chance to get many more of our people invested in the event, meeting other CFA members and really getting a sense of the value this Association has to our operation. No matter how refined a company is, we know there is always more that we can do to make us even better.”

CFA is committed to bringing two more chances for the Rocky Geans Construction Business School in the second half of 2018. Stay tuned to the Events Calendar at www.cfaconcretepros.org and your email for notifications.