Jerry Woods: Teaching the Next Finishing Generation

For Jerry Woods, Director of Training/Outreach for the Iowa Ready Mixed Concrete Association (IRMCA), the goal is to keep concrete finishers, designers, architects and anyone else interested in concrete abreast of all the available products, materials and applications at their disposal.

Woods' passion for concrete goes back to his high school days, when he worked on a concrete crew for his uncle's company in Clinton, Iowa. "I loved concrete – even back then!" Woods exclaims.

This infatuation led Woods to complete the four-year schooling that was then required to become a journeyman brick, block and cement mason. He spent the next 13 years of his concrete career in the field as a concrete foreman.

In 1967, Woods took a job at the Portland Cement Association (PCA), where he was one of five cement masons traveling around the U.S. conducting concrete finishing demonstrations. His role with PCA as a construction superintendent had him conducting seminars and public relations in the concrete community. For eight years, Woods taught what he dubs a "refresher course" for concrete contactors. "You've got to make them feel good, be honest and sincere, and teach peer-to-peer," he says of his teaching philosophy.

In the mid-70s, Woods took a leave from the concrete industry and worked for the Safer Foundation, a non-profit organization that works with former offenders. The Safer Foundation is a placement organization helps former offenders get back on their feet and make the transition from prison to the world. "I was with them for 15 years, but I always stayed in tune with the (concrete) industry," Woods explains.

Which is why, when he left Safer in 1992, Woods joined the Illinois Ready Mixed Concrete Association. For six and a half years, Woods was the field director, until Iowa called. "They stole me from Illinois," he laughs.

Woods is relishing his time with the IRMCA, saying, "We're so fortunate to make so many things happen in Iowa. For example, we do box lunch seminars (over 200 in the last three and a half years) for design professionals. We take it to them, and let them select the topics. We build a relationship with them, and producers are also attending so lunch seminars build relationships with design professionals as well."

Never one for idle time, Woods is also involved in the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Certified Flat Finisher Training Program. "We're focusing on the community college arena to start on that population," he explains. "We do 'train the trainers' seminars for instructors, which are all day seminars where we place concrete from start to finish and cover all the elements."

"Right now we're seeing design professionals specify (they want) a certified finisher," says Woods. "We have certified technicians, plumbers, electricians and so on. Why not finishers? Plus, it makes people feel pretty good about themselves to be certified, too."

Woods also spearheads the ACI Flat Finishers Technician Program into colleges, which lets students get certified as technicians and show they know about the product. "Then they can graduate and show an employer they are certified technician," says Woods. "It's a good marketing tool." Currently Woods is working with IowaLakesCommunity Collegeand Western Iowa Community College, and he says he hopes to expand the program into other college in the near future.

Among the tips Woods' 51 years of experience have garnered include perfecting basics, such as striking off and troweling an edge to maintain a true plane. "I've worked with Bob Harris and I'm from the old school," Woods explains. "There's a right way and a wrong way. The basics are critical to finishers--plus it makes the person who closes the job's task easier."

Woods says the most common mistake he sees is pouring concrete too wet, usually the result of adding too much water. He adds that there are also attitude mistakes he's encountered, such as being lazy and a lack of work ethic. "The residential arena and fast track construction are (full of) mistakes," he adds. "Those areas are where there's a need for more education and more training."

"This industry is really fast paced," Woods says. "There are always new products, but a lot of finishers don't understand (those) products. The bottom line is the industry changes every day, and we learn more every day."

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