James Baty jbaty@cfaconcretepros.org

Congratulations! That is to say, congratulations to those reading this article, knowing that you and your company are members of the Concrete Foundations Association, an organization that turns its golden anniversary in 2025. Fifty years of existence is an impressive mark. Looking back on those fifty years reveals the staggering perseverance, endurance, patience, and tenacious leadership that has led usto this point. However, the hurdles our members have overcome are not the most primary points to be made today. It is the vision of what is to come that I wish to consider.

I also want to extend congratulations to those of you reading this magazine who are on your way to making what I believe to be the most important decision of your company’s future: CFA membership. I am aware it may be cliché to pitch membership as an important opportunity (I recently spent time with executives from contracting companies touring member facilities and projects and enjoying the networking surrounding the CFA Executive Retreats)—yet I am convinced of its intrinsic value.

As 2025 kicks off, the CFA embarks on a mission to make this year of celebration the next in a progression of great evolutions and advancements. The pinnacle event will once again be the Convention, CFACON25 (July 17–19), booked for Deadwood, South Dakota, in the heart of so much rich U.S. history and the magnificent Western identity. Linking us to that moment will be World of Concrete in Las Vegas, again accompanied with Foundation Contractors’ Night (see the promo on page __), the next Executive Retreat in Salt Lake City (April), and a host of Best Practice Group networking sessions. These are the events that have become staples in the business acumen of CFA members leading their respective industries.

Our 50th anniversary is an appropriate time to express gratitude for the passion and leadership that has marked each of the more than fifty years that has made the CFA’s success possible. There were a few years of formation, minds getting together and determining that this organization needed to exist. Then there was the challenge of the initial years, crafting what members could receive. There were the growing years, as more and more were invited to participate, enriching their own experience as well as that of those who were already enjoying membership. Fifty years has spanned four executive directors: Bob Sawyer, memorialized in the top CFA honor award, Roger Nielsen, and Ed Sauter, my predecessor, who continues to deserve the greatest recognition for the vision that is the modern CFA. To these leaders, the current members, and the future generations to be impacted by professional cast-in-place contractors and this organization, this season of celebration begins. Come and join!