Registration is Open!

2021 Solutions Symposium
Florence, SC June 6-8

Register
Hotel Reservations (Group Code: RTF)

Sponsorship Now Available. Please contact Regina K. Robuck, RTA Director of Partnership Relations at [email protected].

Sentenced to sixty-five years in a Texas prison, Damon West once had it all. At 20 years old, he was a Division 1 starting quarterback at the University of North Texas, when he suffered a career ending injury. He turned to hard core drugs to cope with disappointments of life.

Damon West, M.S Criminal Justice, is a college professor,
nationally known keynote speaker, and best-selling
author (with best-selling author and motivational speaker Jon Gordon) of The Coffee Bean: A Simple Lesson to Create Positive Change. His first book and autobiography, The Change Agent: How a Former College QB Sentenced to Life in Prison Transformed His World, was published just three years after his release from a Texas maximum-security prison.

His life changed in prison when he realized that like a coffee bean changes with heat and pressure, he could change the environment around him.

Today, Damon lives a life of recovery and service sharing his story of redemption, grit and determination.

MeriBeth McNeil is a Chick-fil-A Owner/Operator in Cordele, Georgia. She opened her restaurant in 2013 after three years of working for Chick-fil-A in Athens, Georgia, and corporate headquarters in Atlanta. What started as a college job has blossomed into leading 100 team members and $6 million in annual sales.

Her passion for the business is rooted in growing up as a coach's daughter. She learned many valuable lessons about leadership and culture watching her dad succeed on the gridiron.

Creating and implementing strategies for people to succeed is not only what she does daily in
the restaurant, but it has become one of her passions in life.

Her husband, Jess, is a 7th generation peanut farmer, and they live on the family farm with their three sons John Davis (6), Duncan (4), and Cooper (1).

RTA Spring Meeting
June 6-9, 2021
Staybridge Suites, Florence, SC

Track 1 Target Audience – Sawmills and Small Business Owners/Managers

Track 2 Target Audience – Railroads, Direct Producers of Ties, Environmental, Recycling, Research

Finalized Schedule (4/24/21)
June 6th (Sunday)
10:00 AM – 3:30 PM Golf Tournament at The Traces Golf Club
2:30 PM – 4:45 PM Exhibitors Setup
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM Welcome Reception with Hors d’oeuvres
7:00 PM Dine Around

June 7th (Monday)
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Breakfast with Sponsors
9:00 AM– 10:15 AM Opening Keynote – Coffee Bean (Damon West)
10:15 AM– 10:45 AM Break
10:45 AM– 12:00 PM TRACK 1 – Overcoming Adversity (Damon West)
TRACK 2 – Identifying the Scope of the Problem – Facilitated Roundtable on issues with used ties. (Goodin)
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM – 2:15 PM TRACK 1 – Real American Hardwood Update (Dana Cole & Tom Inman)
TRACK 2 – Mini-Sessions:California Disposal, Environmental, and NHSM Update – (Butch Bernhardt)
BioChar Technologies and Advancements – (Chuck Ludwig)
2:15 PM – 2:45 PM Break
2:45 PM – 4:00 PM TRACK 1 – Health, Safety, and Environmental Forum (EHS Support Services)
TRACK 2 – Mississippi State University AWPRP Tie Life Study Update (Drs. Gabrielly Bobadilha and Dercilio (Joe) Lopes)
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Reception with Sponsors and Exhibitors

June 8th (Tuesday)
8:00 AM– 9:00 AM Breakfast with Sponsors
9:00 AM– 10:15 AM Keynote: Inside Chick-fil-A’s Corporate Culture – (MariBeth McNeil)
10:15 AM– 10:45 AM Break
10:45 AM– 12:00 PM TRACK 1 –Attracting, Hiring, and Retaining Next Gen Employees (McNeil)
TRACK 2 – Ties, Trees, Carbon, and the Future (Dr. Jeff Lloyd)
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Networking Lunch and Closing Session

June 9th Wednesday
8:30 AM – 12:00 Noon – RTA Committee Meetings (Breakfast and Lunch Served)
Education Committee
Safety & Material Processing
Committee for Legislative & Environmental Affairs Response (CLEAR)
Research & Development Committee

Legacy Sponsors