Moving Mountains

by Bill Palmer for Concrete Insights, a Concrete Construction Blog

We have selected the Five Most-Influential People in the concrete industry for 2013 and I think you will enjoy learning about these individuals over the next few weeks. Some you probably already know, or know of, but others are people who have worked behind the scenes to make a difference in our business

The Most-Influential People are often selected based on specific things they have accomplished recently—we don’t generally use this as a lifetime achievement award. Sometimes, though, there are people who have moved mountains over the years and there’s a current reason to recognize those efforts. That’s the case for Bob Weatherton. Back in 1975 when the idea started growing to have an exhibition for the concrete industry, Bob was instrumental in getting the concrete pumping industry organized and behind what became the World of Concrete. With the 40^th World of Concrete just around the corner, and the American Concrete Pumping Association celebrating their 40^th anniversary, this seemed an appropriate time to recognize Bob’s efforts.

Bob once explained to me his theory of concrete construction. Looking out at a job site, he asked what I saw happening: dirt was being moved, trucks were delivering concrete, pumps were placing it, forms were being set. It’s all about moving materials from one place to another, he explained, to create a structure. Seems simple, but the clearest insights always are. For more than 40 years, Bob Weatherton has moved more than materials, he has moved our minds to help us focus on what we are doing in this industry. For that, we have named him one of 2013's Most Influential People in the Concrete Industry.

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