January 2026 Newsletter 
President's Report
Happy, happy New Year!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is ready for an action-packed year ahead in 2026.
As we wrapped up 2025, we celebrated with our Annual Holiday Luncheon, which included presentations from our 2024 Scholarship recipients. I would like to congratulate Ibrahim Abiodun, Ryan Salameh, PhD, Tu-Nam Nguyen, and Osazee Oravbiere on being selected as our 2024 scholarship winners and thank them for taking the time to speak at the luncheon. The ACI Georgia Chapter wishes you all continued success in 2026 and throughout your future careers.
I would also like to extend a sincere thank you to our outgoing ACI Georgia Chapter President, Jesse Fortner, for his leadership over the past year and for his continued support of the Chapter. We truly appreciate your dedication and service.
Additionally, congratulations to our new Vice President, Jonathon Campbell (Uzun + Case), and our new Board Member, Jacob Townsend (Nova Engineering). I would also like to thank Chris Benefield (Precision Concrete), who will be serving another term as a Board Member.
Looking ahead, 2026 promises to be a very busy and exciting year for our Chapter. The ACI Georgia Chapter will be hosting the ACI National Fall Convention in Atlanta October 11–14, 2026. In addition, we will continue our regularly scheduled programs, including ACI GA Chapter monthly luncheons, the Dan R. Brown ACI Awards Program, the Skipper Seminar, Young Professional events, and the Sporting Clay Shoot benefiting the ACI Georgia Scholarship Awards Fund.
I am honored to lead the ACI Georgia Chapter this year and am very much looking forward to a great year ahead.
Happy New Year 2026,
Tom Baggett
President, ACI Georgia Chapter
Our Next Event
Join us Thursday, January 29, for our monthly luncheon!
When
January 29, 2026
11:30 AM - 1:15 PM
Add to Calendar
Where
The Whitley Hotel Buckhead
3434 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta , GA 30326
Program:
Maturity to Strength: Practical Use of the Maturity Method
Guest Speaker:
Icaro Mariani, P.Eng., M.Sc.
Director, Customer & Engineering Success, Giatec Scientific Inc.
Program Description:
This presentation will provide a practical overview of the concrete maturity method and how modern sensor technologies convert in-place temperature data into reliable strength estimates. Topics include the fundamentals of maturity, sensor placement and data collection best practices, and how to validate and interpret maturity-based strength predictions. Attendees will also explore real-world examples demonstrating how sensor-driven workflows reduce testing time and project risk. The session will conclude with brief case studies and actionable recommendations for engineers and technicians looking to confidently apply maturity-based methods in the field.
ACI Awards
we invite you to submit your project to the 2026 georgia chapter ACi Awards Program!
The Georgia Chapter ACI is proud to present the 2026 Dan R. Brown Awards Competition. The competition is open to all architects, engineers, developers, contractors, ready mix producers and other concrete-industry professionals who have participated in projects with unique and/or significant concrete applications.
Submit your project using this link
Eligibility
Projects must have been completed between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025.
If your project was completed before 2025, please contact [email protected] before submitting your project.
Submission Deadline
February 13, 2026 at 10:00 PM (No deadline extensions will be granted)
Calendar of Events
Thursday, January 29, 2026
GA Chapter ACI Monthly Lunch Meeting
The Whitley
3434 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30326
11:30 am Registration
12:00 Lunch & Program
Saturday, January 31, 2026
ACI Field Tech, Grade I & Strength Tech
Exam Review Workshops
Materials TEC Lab
Lawrenceville, GA
8:00 am — 2:00 pm
Saturday, February 7, 2026
ACI Field Tech, Grade I & Strength Tech
Certification Exams
Ready Mix USA Lab
Woodstock, GA
7:30 am – 2:00 pm
Saturday, February 14, 2026
ACI Aggregate & Concrete Lab Tech
Exam Review Workshops
Materials TEC Lab
Lawrenceville, GA
8:00 am — 2:00 pm
Saturday, February 21, 2026
ACI Masonry Lab & Field Tech
Exam Review Workshops
S&ME’s Lab
Duluth, GA
8:00 am — 2:00 pm
Saturday, February 21, 2026
ACI Field Tech, Grade I & Strength Tech
Certification Exams
S&ME’s Lab
Augusta, GA
7:30 am – 2:00 pm
Thursday, February 26, 2026
GA Chapter ACI Monthly Lunch Meeting
The Whitley
3434 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30326
11:30 am Registration
12:00 Lunch & Program
Saturday, February 28, 2026
ACI Field Tech, Grade I & Strength Tech
Exam Review Workshops
Heidelberg Materials Lab
Doraville, GA
8:00 am — 2:00 pm
Saturday, March 7, 2026
ACI Field Tech, Grade I & Strength Tech
Certification Exams
Thomas Concrete Lab
Atlanta, GA
7:30 am – 2:00 pm
Saturday, March 14, 2026
ACI Aggregate & Concrete Lab Tech
Certification Exams
Materials TEC Lab
Lawrenceville, GA
7:30 am — 2:00 pm
Saturday, March 21, 2026
ACI Masonry Lab & Field Tech
Certification Exams
S&ME’s Lab
Duluth, GA
7:30 am — 2:00 pm
Thursday, March 26, 2026
GA Chapter ACI
Dan Brown Awards Banquet
The Whitley
3434 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30326
5:30 pm Registration & Reception
7:00 Dinner & Program
Important Note: ACI Training & Exams are for
Pre-registered Persons Only.
**No walk up seating available**
For Information on any of our exams or events go to:
www.aci-ga.org
Luncheon Recap
Concrete International Magazine Article
This month in Concrete International…
Reprinted from the January, 2026 (V. 48 No. 1) issue of Concrete International with permission from American Concrete Institute (www.concrete.org)
This month’s read is a pretty good comprehensive discussion on the new compliance requirements for field-cured specimens in ACI CODE-318-25 and other procedures approved by the licensed design professional to evaluate concrete strength. This reprint is from the Concrete Q&A section that you can find in the back pages of many Concrete International issues…
Enjoy the read, Acceptance Testing of Field-Cured Cylinders.
