October 17, 2022 –The Emerging Leaders Committee of the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC), St. Louis, Mo., presented its fifth Gaining Strength Award to Joey Ward, director of sales and marketing, Allen Engineering, Corp., Paragould, AR, at the organization’s Annual Conference on September 29th in Cleveland, OH. The award was established to acknowledge up and coming individuals aged 40 and under, from member companies, who go above and beyond to promote and professionally represent the concrete industry, through their actions in their company and industry organizations.

Candidates are judged based on letters of recommendation and letters of acknowledgement from industry organizations, with emphasis on participation, commitment, safety awareness, role modeling, and personal skills and knowledge.

Jeff Johnson, who nominated Joey, explained that Joey has worked at Allen Engineering for over nine years. He began as a member of the leadership training program before being placed in the customer service department. “After learning inside sales and customer service, Joey showed an aptitude and leaning towards Allen’s international customers. After one year he became international sales manager. After four years of international sales growth Joey was promoted to inside sales manager in conjunction with his international sales responsibilities, and after two years was promoted to national sales manager. One year later, he was promoted once again to director of sales and marketing. Joey is highly self-motivated and capable of achieving challenging goals.”

While working for Allen, he went back to school and received his MBA. He has continued his professional development throughout his career, most recently becoming an ACI certified flatwork finisher. He is a member of the American Rental Association Young Professional Network, a member of Concrete Floors Asia and a member of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.

Candidates for the 2023 Gaining Strength Award will be accepted after the first of the year.

The ASCC is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the capabilities of those who build with concrete, and to providing them a unified voice in the construction industry.  Members include concrete contracting firms, manufacturers, suppliers and others interested in the concrete industry such as architects, specifiers and distributors.  There are approximately 710 member companies in the United States and 12 foreign countries. 

For more information, visit www.ascconline.org or call the ASCC office at (866) 788-2722.