St. Petersburg, Florida – The Concrete Sawing & Drilling Association (CSDA) is pleased to announce the creation of a new association group that will hold its inaugural meeting at World of Concrete 2010.

The Las Vegas Convention Center is the venue for the first CSDA "Next Gen" meeting, geared towards a new generation of sawing and drilling professionals. The purpose of this meeting will be to develop a set of goals and objectives for the new group, ultimately increasing association participation in younger members. The meeting is open to members and non-members regardless of company position, and aims to raise awareness of this new generation of cutters and share ideas and information.

The idea for a group of this kind to be formed within the association came from a meeting of CSDA Past Presidents, that now have sons and daughters taking an active role in the day-to-day running of their businesses or see promising young people developing in the association. "There is a general feeling that the younger concrete cutting generation is aware of associations and what they can offer, but with new generations come new ideas," said Richard Long, a Past President and recipient of a CSDA Lifetime Achievement Award. "The aim is to have a group led by younger members of CSDA, for younger members, to find out what they feel is important about being the member of the association and what they can offer through their involvement," Long added.

It is clear that business and social trends have changed since the association was established in 1972, together with massive advancements in equipment, technology and communication methods. By listening to the views and opinions of a new generation of industry professionals, and determining what this potential group of industry leaders feels is most important from an association membership, CSDA can increase its longevity and continue to promote the use of professional specialty sawing and drilling contractors and their methods.

The CSDA Next Gen inaugural meeting will be held February 3, 2010, in room S227 of the Las Vegas Convention Center from 9:30–10:30 AM. This is a great way to meet and network with some of the up-and-coming members of the association, have a greater involvement in the future of CSDA or simply learn more about what CSDA has to offer. While there is no set age limit, CSDA is encouraging that participants be under the age of 45.