CONEXPO-CON/AGG - Innovation from the Ground Up
Las Vegas welcomed 11 key decision makers of Cedar Valley Corp. to CONEXPO-CON/AGG with additional spouses and guests in March 2011. CONEXPO-CON/AGG was the international gathering place for the construction industries. Held every three years, the exposition showcases the latest equipment, products, services and technologies. Employees were at the show to examine the newest equipment and product technologies and innovations to help them prepare for future business.
CONEXPO-CON/AGG attracted nearly 120,000 registered attendees; the shows were the global industry gathering place for the year and the largest gathering in North America since 2008 for the construction, construction materials and fluid power/power transmission/motion control industries.
International registrations accounted for a record 24 percent of the total, representing more than 150 countries. Reinforcing the global scope of the shows were international exhibit pavilions from China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Korea, Spain and United Kingdom. Altogether on the show floor there were more than 2,400 exhibitors taking more than 2.34 million net square feet of exhibit space.
AGC of America's 92nd Annual Convention
AGC's 92nd Annual Convention was also held in Las Vegas in conjunction with the 2011 CONEXPO-CON/AGG tradeshow the week of March 21-25. It provided several of Cedar Valley Corp.'s key leaders the opportunity to gain knowledge and expertise needed to improve their odds for success and build their business. During more than 20 professional development sessions, they gained insights from leading experts on improving bottom-line performance, elevating industry standards and increasing personal proficiency and expertise.
Taking Care of Business at the Country Club
Cedar Valley Corp.'s 'Taking Care of Business' day was April 4, 2011. It is an annual event for the company's supervisory and administrative employees and was hosted this year by the Sunnyside Country Club in Waterloo. 'Taking Care of Business' is organized to train the company's employees with the latest in group benefits and employment policies.
Dr. Bill Withers, a leadership fellow and associate professor at Wartburg College, was the keynote speaker for this year's event. Dr. Withers referenced his studies of successful corporations and their leadership to challenge Cedar Valley Corp. to attain a higher level of greatness.
Punctuating the day was the recognition of every field employee in attendance with the honor of being a recipient of at least one national or state chapter award for paving projects. Earlier, on December 3rd, Cedar Valley Corp. had proudly accepted two Excellence in Concrete Pavement awards from the American Concrete Pavement Association. Then at the 47th Annual Iowa Concrete Paving Workshop in February the company garnered two more "Blue Ribbon" awards for building the "BEST" Portland concrete pavement projects in 2010. And in Missouri, the company picked up the Missouri/Kansas ACPA chapter award for its unbounded concrete overlay project in Shelby County. These latest awards brings the number of the company's winning projects to fourteen over the last seven years, an achievement that can only be reported by an elite few in the nation.
Spring Kickoff Meeting at the Isle Casino
Cedar Valley Corp. met en masse at the Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo on April 4, 2011 to welcome its entire seasonal workforce back for another construction season. Employees gained insights from presentations by TrueNorth Companies, Health Solutions, National Pharmaceutical Services (NPS), and Wells Fargo on the year's current and important employee benefit topics.
Your Character Counts, the day's theme on leadership ethics, was presented by State Representative Scott Raecker, Executive Director of the Character Counts in Iowa organization. Mr. Raecker helped employees learn how character is intertwined with leadership and decision-making. With each employee becoming a person of character, all employees can be happier, more productive and more fulfilled in their team roles as the company culture changes.
Another agenda item that employees anticipate is the project manager overviews of the construction projects currently under contract.
Awards were presented for various individual and group achievements - Employee of the Year, safety awards, and others. Service awards were acknowledged for employees having served the company from three years to as long as 35 years.
Finally, in salute to Cedar Valley Corp.'s industrious and esteemed workforce, it was announced by Team WellPro that all employees, families, and even friends were invited to 'play' at the company's 40th Anniversary Celebration at Adventureland Amusement Park and Waterpark in Des Moines in July.