INDEPENDENCE, KY — During the 2018 CCAI Annual Meeting in Sarasota, Florida, the Chemical Coaters Association International (CCAI) held its annual awards ceremony to recognize the CCAI Chapter Users and Suppliers of the Year and announce the 2018 James F. & David J. Wright Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. CCAI also installed its 2018-19 National Board of Directors and Officers.

CCAI’s highest honor, the James F. & David J. Wright Lifetime Achievement Award, was presented to Rex Winemiller. Winemiller was a member of CCAI for 26 years, where he served on the National Board of Directors from 1989-1994, held all officer positions, and was National President in 1991-92. During his year as President, he visited all of CCAI’s regional chapters as an ambassador for the mission of the association. In the early 1990s, he was the CCAI Finance Chairman and was instrumental in launching the CCAI Scholarship Program. He led the initiative to convert CCAI finances over to the electronic era. Winemiller was an active member until his retirement in 2015. Upon receiving this award he commented, “Unfortunately, I never met Jim Wright, but I worked with Dave Wright on the CCAI National Board and various other industry events. The Wrights were truly leaders in the coating industry and were dedicated to the CCAI mission. It humbles me to be honored with this award in their name along with the great list of previous outstanding award recipients. I would like to thank everyone involved who made this event so memorable.”

CCAI also honored its Chapter User and Supplier of the Year recipients at the awards ceremony. Each year, chapters recognize a User and Supplier member for their service and dedication to their respective chapter.

The 2017-18 Chapter Award winners are:  Central States Chapter — Shawn Bristol, HMC Performance Coatings, and Marty Sawyer, Trimac Industrial Systems LLC; Georgia Chapter — Samantha Paulson, Dinamec Systems LLC; Las Vegas Chapter — Tony Sclafani, AR Iron LLC, and Luis Hernandez, Coral Chemical Co.; Southern California Chapter — Shivie Dhillon, Sundial Powder Coating, and Ron Lum, Coral Chemical Co.; Twin Cities Chapter — Michelle Striggow, Graco Inc., and Robyn Aiken; West Michigan Chapter — Bob Warren, retired, WM Secretary/Treasurer and ChemQuest Inc.; and Wisconsin Chapter — the Metalcraft Management Team and the Andreae Family, Therma-Tron-X.

CCAI also announced the individuals who will serve on the National Board of Directors for 2018-19. Officers include: President Bill Oney, Therma-Tron-X Inc. (Wisconsin Chapter); Vice President Duane Fudge, Chemetall (unaffiliated); Treasurer Tony Sclafani, AR Iron LLC (Las Vegas Chapter); and Recent Past President Ron Lum, Coral Chemical Co. (Southern California Chapter).

In addition to the officers, serving on the National Board of Directors for the 2018-19 year will be: Kevin Coursin, George Koch Sons LLC, (Northern Illinois Chapter); Shivie Dhillon, SunDial Powder Coatings (Southern California Chapter); Jim Gallagher, Harley-Davidson Motor Co. (Wisconsin Chapter); Loren Keene, Pneu-Mech Systems Mfg. LLC (Central States Chapter); Dan Labrecque, Tiger Drylac USA Inc. (West Michigan Chapter); Todd Luciano, Products Finishing (Greater Cincinnati Chapter); Jim Malloy, Kolene Corp. (Southeast Michigan); Tim Milner, J.I.T. Powder Coating Co. (Twin Cities Chapter); Mark Walsworth, Nordic Ware Inc. (Twin Cities Chapter); Bob Warren (West Michigan Chapter); Jeff Watson, Custom Chemicals of Texas (Texas Chapter); and Sam Woehler, George Koch Sons LLC (unaffiliated). Serving as an ex-officio board member is Larry Melgary, Northern Coatings & Chemical (Wisconsin Chapter).