Posted on July 10, 2023
By Judith Powers
WEDA President and Board Chair Matt Binsfeld has announced that the Board of Directors will announce a plan “to grow its mission by acting as a catalyst for attracting new talent to our industry and fortifying our position as the ‘hub of information’ for dredge science in North America” at its annual meeting July 17th through 20th at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.
The announcement will be made in a special session on Wednesday, July 19th.
“The Board of Directors is excited to host our members and conference attendees” he said. “This year’s summit will feature expanded educational offerings, an abundance of opportunities to build professional networks and the sharing of leading edge technologies and ideas through high quality technical papers and presentations.”
This year’s event is very different from the organization’s first meeting in 1979 in Kansas City, Kansas, where 140 dredging professionals – contractors, Corps of Engineers employees and suppliers from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico – met to vote on the by-laws, elect officers and plan the group’s future. This year the Dredging Summit and Expo, will host 750 attendees occupying 500 hotel rooms, present 65 technical papers, and field 115 exhibit booths in a 50,000 square foot ballroom.
In the beginning years, the organization struggled to attract members and attendees at its meetings. Funding came from the generosity of suppliers, who displayed literature on tables outside the meeting rooms. Over the years, awareness of the value of this type of information exchange and marketplace, along with including exhibit space for products and equipment at the annual meetings, stimulated growth in membership and participation in both the annual meetings and in separate chapter meetings.
WEDA as it exists today is a result of certain ideological milestone that expanded its effectiveness in the industry.
In 1991, Craig Vogt, a scientist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, joined WEDA, and in 1994 established the WEDA Environmental Commission to raise awareness of environmental issues associated with dredging and disposal, and to work toward getting dredging projects done in a cost-effective and timely manner while meeting environmental objectives
Today the Commission, in addition to presenting awards for projects following ecologically sound practices, has created a major report on the dredging industry’s response to climate change along with suggested protocols, using the template approved by the United Nations.
In the 1990s, contractors were seeing an increased number of injuries and fatalities on dredging jobs and began assessing their operations and seeking changes in protocol to increase safety. Thomas Verna, from the Chief of Engineers office at USACE Headquarters in Washington D.C., established the WEDA Safety Commission, which promotes papers on safety at every meeting, convenes separately in conjunction with annual meetings, and presents several safety awards annually to companies who have outstanding safety records. Safety is now a primary concern among WEDA members in their offices and personal lives as well as on the job operating dredging equipment.
A major goal of WEDA is the presentation and publication of technical papers, and the group produces proceedings for each meeting. The WEDA Journal of Dredging is published several times a year and presents peer-reviewed technical papers on dredging. It has been in publication since 1999 and is distributed to every member.
This year’s event begins on Monday, July 17th with continuing educational short courses and commission meetings, followed by a Meet the Exhibitors happy hour and a welcome reception at the MGM Grand.
The opening plenary on Tuesday, July 18th begins with a keynote address by Lt. Col. Kevin Arnett, the Corps of Engineers South Pacific Division Deputy Commander. To see the full schedule, visit https://dredging-expo.com/general-schedule-2023/ or install the conference mobile app”Engagefully App” at the Apple IOS or Google Play stores. After installing, search for “Dredging Summit & Expo.”
Tom Cappellino, executive director of WEDA, can be reached at tcappellino@westerndredging.org
