Planned Schedule

Wednesday, July 30

3 - 7:30 pm Registration

3 - 5 pm Board of Directors Meeting

6 - 7:30 pm President’s Welcome Reception
Enjoy some fun and relaxation as Herb and Chris Fluharty welcome you to the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa and the 2008 PCCA Mid-Year Meeting. Catch up with old friends and meet new folks over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on a beautiful Michigan evening.

Thursday, July 31

7:30 am -12 pm Registration

7:30 - 8:30 am Continental Breakfast

8:30 - 9:45 am Opening General Session
PCCA has invited new USDA Deputy Chief of Staff for Rural Development Susan K. Stacey to our meeting so that she can meet our members, get to know PCCA a little bit, and update us on developments at the agency, including the rewrite of the 515 construction contract for telecommunications systems.

10 - 11:45 am Construction Industry Roundtable
This fast-paced and frank discussion, led by Mears Group’s John Fluharty, touches on the various segments of the industry and promotes the sharing of thoughtful insights and candid opinions from contractors, suppliers, and manufacturers working in different market sectors all over North America as well as experts from the engineering, insurance, and legal sectors.

12:45 - 5 pm Shopping Excursion in Traverse City
Our first stop is the Village at Grand Traverse Commons, the newest hot spot in town, followed by a visit to downtown Traverse City. From its enchanting beachside Main Street shopping district to its eclectic shops scattered throughout the region, Traverse City is a shopper’s paradise. Explore a wide variety of shops, buy some freshly made fudge, and enjoy lunch at a sidewalk table.
$50, includes transportation and gratuities

1 - 6 pm PCCA Golf Tournament
One of only 20 Jack Nicklaus Signature Courses, the Bear is widely regarded as one of the great courses in the country. And it’s just as intimidating as it is fun. You’ll quickly appreciate this beautiful links-style course featuring Scottish terraced fairways, tiered greens, deep grassy roughs, moguls, mounds, and deep pot bunkers. Lakes, ponds, hardwood forests, streams, and fruit orchards are home to a variety of wildlife that give The Bear its character: golf in the midst of wild nature.
$130, includes box lunch

6 - 9 pm Country Club Dinner
We’ll cap our day with a memorable dinner party at the resort’s newly renovated clubhouse.

Friday, August 1

7:30 - 8:30 am Continental Breakfast

8:30 - 10 am Committee Meetings

10:15 - 11:45 am Win-Win Negotiation Skills
Attendees will learn the differences between competitive and cooperative negotiations, explore the value of the “win-win” approach, and discuss how negotiating is a process not an event.
The FMI Corporation’s Andy Patron will lead this session. As a talent development consultant with FMI, management consultants and investment bankers to the construction industry, Patron specializes in the creation and implementation of training programs designed to develop world-class leadership and organizational effectiveness. His enthusiastic approach draws from real-world experience in management and the construction industry.
Patron brings with him a 20-year work history with private and public sector owners and contractors. As a production manager in the residential market, he was responsible for the day-to-day allocation of resources and learned to tackle the unique operational challenges of the construction industry. Andy was the first executive director for the North Carolina Home Inspector Licensure Board, initiating and administering the licensure and educational programs for this newly established governmental agency. He has also managed the planning, designing, and building of major medical facilities for a national healthcare provider. He has worked on national and international projects for a Fortune 100 information technology company.

12:45 - 4:45 pm Old Mission Winery Tour
Taste the wines and discover the pristine beauty of the Old Mission Peninsula and its world-class wineries. The Traverse City area is an internationally recognized wine-producing region, and like many of the world’s great appellations, they are located on the 45th parallel. Distinction, however, comes from the surrounding deep water of Grand Traverse Bay. Enjoy the wine and the breathtaking scenery.
$75, includes box lunch, winery tour, and visits to three other wineries

1 - 5 pm Fly-Fishing Adventure
Fly-fishing on private property along the Boardman River. Learn loop and line control techniques, line delivery techniques and receive an on-water demonstrations, one-on-one instruction, and guided fishing.
$250 per person, includes guide gratuity, transportation, beverages, a small snack, and all equipment

6:30 - 10 Dinner at the Shores
A delightful evening at the Shores, the resort’s beautiful beach club facility. Enjoy a sumptuous BBQ with grilled steak and salmon, salads, and deserts featuring Traverse City’s world famous cherries.

Saturday, August 2

9 am - 12 pmYoung Construction Professionals present Teambuilding Workshop
The group, led by FMI’s Andy Patron, works toward a definition of teambuilding and discusses the many benefits involved. Attendees learn the roles and responsibilities of the project team and how to develop a common language and framework for team building.
See Andy Patron’s bio under Friday’s negotiating session.

1:45 - 5 pm Tall Ship Sailing on the Manitou
Embark on a delightful two-hour sail aboard the schooner Manitou, one of the largest sailing vessels on the Great Lakes. On this unique adventure back in time, you discover the beauty of Grand Traverse Bay from the deck of this majestic vessel.
The Tall Ship Manitou is a replica of an 1800s “coasting” cargo schooner, similar to those that sailed the Great Lakes and the Atlantic. Specifically designed for passenger service, her hull was constructed in Portsmouth, N.H., in 1983 and finished by Vermont carpenters on Lake Champlain. There is plenty of space onboard for sitting and moving around the decks while under sail. Her overall length of 114 feet, beam of 21 feet, and displacement of nearly 100 tons ensures a comfortable, relaxing motion, soothing to both landlubbers and old salts alike.
$99, includes transportation, gratuities, and refreshments

Young Construction Professionals

YCP Education Registration
This year PCCA is offering a special rate for YCP education registration for up-and-coming employees in your organization. This is a great way to get new people from your company more involved in your industry and your association while taking advantage of an excellent educational value.
For just $299, your employee will enjoy all the functions and education of the Mid-Year meeting on Friday and attend the YCP Teambuilding Workshop especially designed for up-and-coming construction professionals on Saturday.

Who is a Young Construction Professional?
Without putting an age limit on it, we’re looking for men and women who are rising (or expect or hope to) in the management ranks of their construction businesses, whether contractor, supplier, or manufacturer.

Optional Activities

Thursday, July 31

12:45 - 5 pm Shopping Excursion in Traverse City
Our first stop is the Village at Grand Traverse Commons, the newest hot spot in town, followed by a visit to downtown Traverse City. From its enchanting beachside Main Street shopping district to its eclectic shops scattered throughout the region, Traverse City is a shopper’s paradise. Explore a wide variety of shops, buy some freshly made fudge, and enjoy lunch at a sidewalk table.
$50, includes transportation and gratuities

1 - 6 pm PCCA Golf Tournament
One of only 20 Jack Nicklaus Signature Courses, the Bear is widely regarded as one of the great courses in the country. And it’s just as intimidating as it is fun. You’ll quickly appreciate this beautiful links-style course featuring Scottish terraced fairways, tiered greens, deep grassy roughs, moguls, mounds, and deep pot bunkers. Lakes, ponds, hardwood forests, streams, and fruit orchards are home to a variety of wildlife that give The Bear its character: golf in the midst of wild nature.
$130, includes box lunch

Friday, August 1

12:45 - 4:45 pm Old Mission Winery Tour
Taste the wines and discover the pristine beauty of the Old Mission Peninsula and its world-class wineries. The Traverse City area is an internationally recognized wine-producing region, and like many of the world’s great appellations, they are located on the 45th parallel. Distinction, however, comes from the surrounding deep water of Grand Traverse Bay. Enjoy the wine and the breathtaking scenery.
$75, includes box lunch, winery tour, and visits to three other wineries

1 - 5 pm Fly-Fishing Adventure
Fly-fishing on private property along the Boardman River. Learn loop and line control techniques, line delivery techniques and receive an on-water demonstrations, one-on-one instruction, and guided fishing.
$250 per person, includes guide gratuity, transportation, beverages, a small snack, and all equipment

Saturday, August 2

1:45 - 5 pm Tall Ship Sailing on the Manitou
Embark on a delightful two-hour sail aboard the schooner Manitou, one of the largest sailing vessels on the Great Lakes. On this unique adventure back in time, you discover the beauty of Grand Traverse Bay from the deck of this majestic vessel.
The Tall Ship Manitou is a replica of an 1800s “coasting” cargo schooner, similar to those that sailed the Great Lakes and the Atlantic. Specifically designed for passenger service, her hull was constructed in Portsmouth, N.H., in 1983 and finished by Vermont carpenters on Lake Champlain. There is plenty of space onboard for sitting and moving around the decks while under sail. Her overall length of 114 feet, beam of 21 feet, and displacement of nearly 100 tons ensures a comfortable, relaxing motion, soothing to both landlubbers and old salts alike.
$99, includes transportation, gratuities, and refreshments

Traverse City, Michigan

Traverse City is named after the Grand Traverse Bay, which was named by 18th century French voyagers who made la grande traverse or “the long crossing” across the mouth of the bay. Today, Traverse City is a scenic wonderland and a bustling area with many exciting attractions.
Surrounded by fresh green forests and shiny blue waters, Traverse City is all about the outdoors. Hike on a long lonely sand beach or on a quiet trail in the woods. Pedal an all-terrain bike along a scenic piney trail. Climb a windswept dune and gaze out over the endless blue of Lake Michigan.
Perhaps the most stunning features of the Traverse City area are its sandy shoreline and crystal clear lakes. The region boasts more than 180 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and 149 deep, aqua-colored lakes that are 10 acres or larger in size.  If you are searching for solitude, choose a remote beach—even during the height of the summer season, it is possible to be alone on a long Lake Michigan beach. Or choose one of the many beaches right in Traverse City for companionship, volleyball, and a friendly family atmosphere.
In town, you can visit the many art galleries, take in a museum, drive a go-kart on a race track, ride a restored antique carousel, stroll though the vibrant downtown shopping district, and dine at one of the many fine restaurants.

Wineries
Located on the 45th parallel, Traverse City is home to vintners who grow grapes and bottle wines on the scenic Old Mission and Leelanau Peninsulas. The wines are fast becoming among the finest offered anywhere. The ideal climate, with vineyards protected by winter snows and conditions moderated by proximity to Lake Michigan, has given rise to a wine industry that has been recognized for its quality and variety since the first winery opened in 1974. 

Cherry Capital of the World
The Grand Traverse area has grown to become the largest producer of sweet and tart cherries in the world.
Today with 3.8 million tart cherry trees, Michigan produces 70 to 75 percent of the tart cherries grown in the United States. These tarts, mostly of the Montmorency variety, are grown for pies, preserves, jellies, juice, dried fruit and other products; seldom for eating fresh. Most of Michigan’s sweet cherry production is also concentrated in the Traverse City area. Many of the golden sweet varieties are made into maraschino cherries. But in July and early August, the countryside around Traverse City is dotted with stands, markets, and u-pick signs offering cartons of sweet, dark cherries.

History
There’s more to Traverse City than its scenic and recreational qualities. It has a brief but dramatic past—a story in which Native Americans and missionaries, lumberjacks and fur traders, fishermen and farmers all played important roles.
Reminders of the past are everywhere along this remote coast: lighthouses, mission churches, taverns, Victorian cottages and estates of 19th century lumber barons.
Indian hunters and French traders were the first non-Native Americans to visit the area, but they weren’t interested in staying. Even the area’s Ottawa and Chippewa people didn’t arrive there until the early 18th century, and it wasn’t until 1839 that Rev. Dougherty established the area’s first permanent settlement, an Indian mission at the tip of the Old Mission Peninsula.
The modern-day village of Old Mission still occupies Dougherty’s site: a place where many of the original mission structures are still standing and in use. Three miles to the north is the quaint Old Mission Lighthouse, built in 1870 to warn ships away from the rocky shoals of Old Mission Point.
By 1847 a small but growing community was forming on the banks of the nearby Boardman River. In 1852 the little sawmill town was christened Traverse City, but until the first road through the forest was built in 1864 it remained a remote outpost, accessible only by water.

Travel Tips

Cherry Capital Airport
Grand Traverse Resort and Spa is located 15 minutes from Traverse City’s Cherry Capital Airport (TVC). With direct flights offered by Northwest Airlines, Northwest Airlink, United Express or American Eagle to Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, and New York, Cherry Capital connects travelers to more than 750 domestic and international destinations both conveniently and economically.

Airport Shuttle Service
Grand Traverse Resort & Spa offers complimentary shuttle services both to and from the airport.

Car Rentals
Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, and National/Alamo are just a step away from the baggage claim area at Cherry Capital Airport.

Weather
Northwest Michigan enjoys the variety of four seasons. The summers are magnificent with sunny, blue skies and low humidity. Temperatures can fluctuate from the 90s to the 60s but generally hover around 80. Evenings can be cool, so it’s always wise to have a sweater or light jacket on hand.

Directions
From Chicago and Milwaukee
Take I-94 East through Indiana into Michigan. Exit on I-196 (North of Benton Harbor/St. Joseph) to Grand Rapids. Go North on US-131 until you reach M-72 in Kalkaska. Go West on M-72 approx. 15 miles to Acme. Go North on US-31 about 1/2 mile. Resort will be on the East (right) side of the road.

From Cleveland and Detroit
Take I-75 North through Saginaw, until you reach M-72. Go West on M-72 at the Grayling exit, then approx. 30-35 miles through Kalkaska into Acme. Go North on US-31 about 1/2 mile. Resort will be on the East (right) side of the road.

Grand Traverse Resort & Spa
100 Grand Traverse Village Blvd.
Acme, MI 49610
www.grandtraverseresort.com