2026 PCI Chair Cheryl Lang receives the ceremonial gavel from outgoing 2025 PCI Chair Carlos Cerna. Credit: PCI

CHICAGO – The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) held a successful and busy 2026 PCI Convention February 3-6 in Kansas City, Mo. Cheryl Lang, president and CEO of Tindall Corporation, was installed as the new PCI board chair and members attended a variety of special events, all while keeping busy at their committee meetings.

 More than 900 people attended the PCI Convention, which was co-located with The Precast Show. “The PCI Convention remains an outstanding opportunity for our industry to come together,” Lang said. “Through informative and instructive committee meetings, meaningful conversations, and valuable networking, attendees strengthened connections and advanced ideas that will serve PCI well into future.”

 “PCI Convention attendees I spoke with were very excited and upbeat about the coming year,” added PCI President and CEO Bob Risser. “Everyone was working hard at the committee meetings and then also had fun at the social and networking events. Finally, congratulations to the new PCI Fellows and members who were presented with awards of recognition.”

Mike Wolff, vice president of Basin Precast, joined the PCI board as secretary/treasurer. Nine others were elected as new board members: Jared Brewe of S.K. Ghosh Associates; Sean Dixon of High Concrete Group; Rich Fitzgerald Blakeslee Prestress; Hatt Huslig of Coreslab Structures (MIAMI); Steve Kloos of Wells – Brighton, CO; Jon Mohle of Clark Pacific; Ali Shrih of Mid-States Concrete Industries; Lee Wegner of Contech Engineered Solutions/Rinker; and Jeff White of Florence Concrete Products.

One highlight of the week was the PCI Annual Members Meeting and Luncheon, during which several deserving people were recognized for their outstanding contributions to PCI and the precast concrete industry.

• The PCI Medal of Honor, the institute’s most prestigious award, was presented to Rita Seraderian, a tireless advocate for the precast and prestressed concrete industry for nearly four decades. Seraderian  made her mark in the industry as the executive director of the PCI Northeast region for 35 years until she retired in 2024. Seraderian was instrumental in expanding the market for precast concrete infrastructure technologies in the region and beyond. She prioritized education and outreach to improve and sustain the industry’s workforce by engaging with universities. Seraderian mentored young professionals and supported other women working in an industry traditionally dominated by men. Watch the video.

• The PCI Distinguished Educator Award was presented to Sri Sritharan, the Anson Marston Distinguished Professor and Wilkinson Chair of Interdisciplinary Engineering at Iowa State University (ISU). He is an outstanding researcher, having secured millions of dollars in funding, and also authoring more than 300 publications. Sritharan has supervised more than 75 graduate students at ISU, with more than half focusing their master’s or doctoral research on precast and prestressed concrete. Watch the video.

• Giovanni (Gio) Loreto received the PCI Educator of the Year Award. He is an associate professor in the Department Architecture at Kennesaw State University (KSU) in Kennesaw, Ga. Since KSU launched its PCI Studio under Loreto’s leadership in 2020, more than 1,000 students have engaged in PCI-integrated coursework including a groundbreaking course he teaches on advanced concrete fabrication. Watch the video.

Ten members were honored as PCI Fellows. Watch the Fellows video.

• Krista (Kris) Brown is an independent consultant/technical editor for PCI
• Kevin Eisenbeis was the national bridge practice leader for Burns & McDonnell
• Fouad Fouad is a professor emeritus of the School of Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and chief scientist and director of research and development at Valmont Industries
• Corey Greika is vice president and general manager of Coreslab Structures (INDIANAPOLIS) Inc.
• Troy Jenkins is vice president  and chief engineer of Northeast Precast Products LLC
• Eric Matsumoto is a professor of structural engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering at California State University, Sacramento
• Brian Miller is the former manager of business development at PCI and has held several positions in the precast and construction industries
• William Nickas is the managing director, Transportation Services, for PCI
• David Schneider is the vice president of engineering at High Concrete Group LLC
• Sri Sritharan is the Anson Marston Distinguished Professor and Wilkinson Chair of Interdisciplinary Engineering at Iowa State University

The 2027 PCI Convention takes place February 1-5 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About PCI

Founded in 1954, The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) is a technical institute for the precast concrete structures and systems industry. PCI develops maintains, and disseminates the Body of Knowledge for the design, fabrication, and construction of precast concrete structures and systems. PCI develops consensus base standards, industry handbooks, quality assurance programs, certification, research and development projects, design manuals, continuing education, and periodical publications. PCI members include precast concrete producers, erectors, suppliers, professional engineers and architects, educators, students, and industry consultants who complement the wide range of knowledge of precast concrete. For more information, visit pci.org/howprecastbuilds.