The Portland Cement Association (PCA) presented the winners of the 2020 John P. Gleason, Jr., Leadership Awards during a virtual board meeting last month. The award program honors members who have exhibited leadership in advancing industry programs and initiatives.
Named after John “Jay” Gleason who served as PCA president from 1986 until his retirement in 2007, the awards are held as a distinguished honor by the cement industry.
“The Gleason Awards are a way to recognize individuals that go the extra mile, helping to positively impact our industry now and into the future,” said PCA President and CEO Mike Ireland.
“Everyone involved, winners and finalists, has shown leadership and commitment toward the advancement of cement and concrete as the sustainable, resilient and preferred building material of choice in America,” added Alex Car, Gleason Award Selection Committee chair and president, Northeast Region at Lehigh Hanson.
The following are the 2020 winners in each of the respective categories.
Business Continuity – Kirk McDonald, vice president of technical services, CalPortland.
McDonald has been the chair for PCA’s Product Standard and Technology Committee’s Limestone/Harmonization Task Group for more than a decade. The group leads guidance to state communication teams for all Departments of Transportation, providing background on changes in ASTM and AASHTO specifications. These teams succeeded in speeding the acceptance of the change to permit portland cements to contain up to 5% limestone.
Market Development – Steve Wilcox, cement technical director, Argos USA.
Wilcox currently chairs PCA’s Product Standards and Technology Committee and ASTM subcommittees C01.10 on Hydraulic Cements and C09.27 on Slag Cement and is a member of the AASHTO-ASTM Harmonization Task Group. He has been influential in assuring acceptance of portland-limestone cement by the Florida DOT (among other states), as well as bag house dust as inorganic processing additions in cement by the Florida market.
Young Leaders (tie) – Allyson Tombesi, environmental engineer, Titan America; and Eric Koehler, director of quality, Titan America.
Tombesi led Titan America’s Zero Waste campaign in 2020 to be the first LEED Platinum certified cement and aggregates company in the United States. Her TRUE Advisor credentials and involvement in the U.S. Green Building Council and local outreach programs, demonstrates leadership not only in the workplace, but also within the community. Additionally, Tombesi coordinates Titan’s GHG recordkeeping/reporting and Sustainability 2025 initiatives.
Koehler is the current chair of PCA’s Product Standards and Technology Committee’s Task Group on Cement Specifications ASTM C150/ASTM C595. His industry contributions include activities in ACI Task Group 211-N. As an active chair, Koehler oversaw the creation of the ACI document, “Guide for Proportioning Concrete Mixtures with Ground Limestone and Other Mineral Fillers,” in a remarkably short timeframe.
