Chapter Leaders, Awards & Honors

The list of Chapter Presidents also reflects the companies in which they worked. Many of these companies have been very strong supporters of the American Concrete Institute and our Chapter for decades. 

 

The Sam Burks Award is for outstanding chapter contributions by an individual member.  This award is given out from time to time when it appears that an individual goes above and beyond in his or her contributions to Chapter activities.

The award was named after Sam Burks, who was one of the founding members and first President of our Chapter in 1958.  He was a member of ACI from 1938 until his death in the early 1990’s.  He was employed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for 19 years, followed by 22 years with W. R. Grace Co. until his retirement.  Sam was elevated to both a Fellow in 1975 and Honorary Member in 1978 of ACI.  He contributed greatly and generously over the years to the development of concrete use and was a key leader in the work of the Institute.  Nationally he was active in both administrative affairs and technical committee work, and served as both a member and chairman of the Technical Activities Committee.

Besides his service on the Board of Directors, Sam was President of the American Concrete Institute in 1970.  He added to the technical knowledge of hot weather concreting, mass concrete, and the inspection of concrete.  Sam exemplified the well-rounded executive who combined technical experience and knowledge with demonstrated administrative abilities to provide a broad viewpoint of and solutions to both ACI and industry problems.

Sam served on 11 administrative committees and the search committee for a new executive director in 1975.  He served as a member of eight different technical committees, serving as a chairman of three for periods of two to five years.

The Sam Burks Award has been given to the following outstanding Chapter members:

Wilbur Moulton
Everett Osgood
Cliff Craig
Claude Trusty
John Peckham
Merl Isaak
Michelle Craig  (2010)
Bruce Carter
Ron Stickel
Al Kaufman  (2015)
Kelly F. Idiart  (2019)
Robert Hightower (2021)

The Al Kaufman Award was instituted in April 2015, in recognition of outstanding Chapter contributions by an individual member. This award is given out from time to time when it appears that an individual goes above and beyond in his or her contributions to the Chapter’s certification activities.

The award is named after Alfred Leon Kaufman, Jr., who, in 1988, was the Chapter’s first co-chair of the then newly created Certification Committee. He has also served as the National Chairman of the Flatwork Finisher Certification Committee, promoting a pilot program locally before the program went national.

Mr. Kaufman became a member of the Chapter in 1967. He gave his first presentation in 1969 on the history of architectural concrete, followed over the years by nine more covering everything from certification programs to concrete on the new Bay Bridge. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 1978, and served as President in 1984. Additionally, he has served as the Membership Committee Chair, and Chair and Co-Chair of the 1994 and 2004 Convention Finance Committees, respectively.

Al has continued to serve the Chapter’s certification efforts for more than 27 years; assisting more than 5,000 technicians achieve ACI certification. Certification remains his primary activity, both with the Chapter and nationally, sometimes even internationally.

Awarded in 2015
The Al Kaufman Award was presented in 2015 for the first time to outstanding Chapter member John Schmidt, former Co-Chair of the Chapter Certification Committee, whose tireless energy and high standards helped to establish our Certification efforts as one of ACI’s finest.

Awarded in 2018
Tom Fourre, Co-Manager of the Chapter Certification Program, received the Al Kaufman award for  exemplary dedication to the program over the years, maintaining the program's equipment, and helping candidates succeed in getting their Certifications. 

A new award first presented at our 2015 Annual Meeting that recognizes longtime Chapter and ACI Membership combined with making a significant contribution to the Chapter and the regional industry over their years of service. 

Awarded in 2015
Bruce Carter – Bruce Carter was Chapter President in 1999 when he was at Hanson Aggregates. Bruce has been involved in all facets of the Chapter and the regional industry for decades helping develop procedures and specifications. He received the Chapter’s Sam Burks award and co-chaired the Host Chapter Committee for the 2004 and 2014 ACI Conventions. 

Michael Taylor- Michael Taylor was Chapter President in 1979, He combines British civility, intelligence, and a wicked sense of humor. He has been a college professor and a private sector engineer – at the same time, most recently working with Granite and UC Davis. Michael continues to be involved in our Chapter and is a breath of fresh air.

Joseph Warnes – Joseph Warnes was an ACI Member 12 years before the Chapter was chartered. He was active in the great post-war building boom that was focused in California, and which acted as a stimulus for the Chartering of the Northern California and Southern California Chapters in 1958. His company CPMA specializes in weather proof structure design and specifications – heavy duty weather like tornadoes. In Fall of 2015, he was named an ACI Honorary Member, a high distinction. 

Claude Trusty – Was Chapter President in 1978. He worked at Calaveras Cement in San Andreas, among other positions, and following the economic problems of the late 2000s, then-Chapter President Dean Browning asked him to chair the Chapter audit committee along with Clancy Hogan to provide reports twice a year on the financial health of the Chapter. We refer to Claude’s conservative and tenacious fiscal approach often. “How would Claude feel about that?”  

Merl Isaak – Was Chapter President in 1975, when he was at Testing Engineers. He was involved in the early logistics of the Certification program before it was introduced by ACI, and was Chair of ACI’s Certification Program Committee and also served on the ACI Board of Direction. 

Al Kaufman – Was Chapter President in 1984, when he was at Pacific Ready Mix. He has been an influence in Certification and ACI technical committees for decades. His innovative solutions to technical issues and logistics in the formulation and placement of concrete have earned him respect throughout the industry. 

Joseph Warnes - Received his Honorary Membership at the 2015 Fall ACI Convention. He was honored "for your lifelong efforts to improve the design and construction of the concrete infrastructure, both domestically and internationally, and your significant contributions in the field of precast concrete structures that have benefited societal developments throughout the world." Mr. Warnes is also a Chapter Lifetime Member.   

Florian Barth - Received his Honorary Membership at the 2018 Spring ACI Convention. He was honored “for outstanding leadership, vision, and guidance of the Institute while serving as President; for outreach and collaborations which led to a unified and holistic positioning of concrete in the sustainability arena; and for pioneering work and technical contributions to ACI 318 and in the field of prestressed concrete.”  Learn More.

An ACI Honorary Member shall be a person of eminence in the field of the Institute's interest or one who has performed extraordinary meritorious service to the Institute. Nominees are voted on by the ACI Board of Direction. Typically, three to five Honorary Members are named each year. 

Dr. Akthem A. Al-Manaseer
Florian G. Barth
Herbert A. Brauner
Dr. Patrick J. Cregan
Raj T. Desai
Robert W. Gaul
Harvey Haynes
Merlyn Isaak
William J. Jurkovich
Al Kaufman
Tarek Khan
Jerome G. Kluball
Erick N. Larson
Ray A. McCann
Stepan J. Medwadowski
Dr. Jack P. Moehle
Pavindar K. Mehta
Joseph P. Nicoletti
Robert C. O'Neill
Everette W. Osgood Joseph Penzien
Egor Paul Popov
Alexander C. Scordelis
Michael A. Taylor
Claude B. Trusty
Dr. William J. Venuti
James Warnes
Loring Wyllie Jr.
Theodore C. Zsutty