The Portland Cement Association's board of directors elected Ronald E. Evans to a one-year term as chairman at the trade group's annual meeting in November 1999.

Evans is president and CEO of California Portland Cement Co., based in Glenora, Calif.

As PCA's chairman, he will implement the group's new strategic plan, which restructures the organization around four basic goals: promotion, advocacy, technical excellence, and education.

"The new plan retains our market-driven focus," PCA President John P. Gleason, Jr. said, "while setting specific, measurable goals in the most promising construction markets."

Programs in other markets, notes Gleason, are geared toward maintaining market share and providing technical services to the end-user.

Over the four-year life of the plan, promotion programs will generate more than 27 million tons of incremental cement demand in the target markets of residential above-grade walls, buildings, transit, soil-cement/roller-compacted concrete pavements, waste treatment, and highways. In 1999, U.S. cement consumption reached a record 104.94 million mt.

For market expansion and promotion, the plan stresses cooperative programs with national allied industry groups. It also strengthens the cement industry's resolve to build effective promotion programs at the local level.

Advocacy and government affairs programs are conducted by PCA's Washington, D.C.-based affiliate, the American Portland Cement Alliance. Here, the strategic plan calls for greater involvement by members and expands advocacy and government affairs at the state and local level.

In education, the plan charts a new direction for PCA by emphasizing training at all levels: cement and concrete industry personnel, specifiers and educators, and the construction workforce.

The plan also places renewed emphasis on communications and information technology. And common to these goals and programs is the commitment to a higher level of partnership with allied groups. Central to these partnerships is the Concrete Alliance, a coalition recently created to formalize the cooperative ties among segments of the cement and concrete industries.

To streamline operations and better meet the goals of the strategic plan, PCA has reorganized its promotion, technical services, and communications departments.

The association's two main operating units, Market Development and Research and Technical Services, are now consolidated to integrate programs behind promotion goals. George B. Barney, formerly vice president of Market Development, heads the new division as vice president, Market Development and Technical Services.

Within this division, the technical services department is headed by Steven H. Kosmatka, who was named managing director of Research and Technical Services. He was formerly director of Construction Information Services.

Market development programs are under the direction of Lionel A. Lemay, managing director for Market Promotion.

PCA's corporate, member, and marketing communications are integrated into a single department headed by Bruce D. McIntosh.

Daniel J. Sladek will have responsibility for an expanded allied industries program as director of Industry Liaison. He will coordinate local promotion and act as interface between PCA, national and local concrete industry groups, and regional cement promotion groups.

Richard P. Bohan will oversee expanded education and training programs.