Jay Osborn

President

Osborn started out in the business as a laborer and progressed through the ranks as a fuser, operator, foreman and manager. He joined Quality as General Manager and Partner in 1999 and was appointed President in 2002. Jay possesses 30 years of experience in the underground utility field.

Michael Hickey

Vice President

Mike started in the business as a commercial diver in 1978 for Oceaneering International in Morgan City, Louisiana. In 1980, Mike returned to New York and started work as a laborer in the gas utility industry. In 1990, Mike and his three brothers joined the Hallen family. In 1994, Mike was put in charge of the utility operation for Hallen and has done so ever since. Mike is currently the chairman of the DCA Safety / Risk Management Committee.

Mike Hickey is currently the Executive Vice President of Operations for The Hallen Construction Company in the New York tri state area.

Ben Nelson

Treasurer

Ben began working as a parts runner and laborer for Pilchuck Contractors in 1990. After graduating from the University of Washington in 1996, he began work­ing full-time for Pilchuck Contractors. He has moved up through the company as an estimator, project manager and operations manager. Pilchuck was purchased by Michels Corporation in 1999 and 2013, Pilchuck transitioned into Michels Pipeline Construction.

Ben Nelson is the Vice President of Western Operations for Michels Corp. in Kirkland, Washington

Robert Darden, CMP, CAE

Executive Vice President

Rob joined the staff in July 2009 bringing to DCA over 25 years of international meeting management and association experience, most recently as Executive Director of QuEST Forum, an international telecom association. Previously he held executive positions with the Young Presidents' Organization and Spear One Productions. Rob graduated from Louisiana State University and is a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and has earned certifications as a CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) and CAE (Certified Association Executive).

Rob and his wife, Sheri, live in Plano with their two children, Andrew and Ashley.

Robert G. Darden is Executive Vice President for Distribution Contractors Association, in Richardson, Texas.

Dale Mykyte

Immediate Past President

Dale started as a laborer in the oilfields of Alberta, Canada. He joined Kaps Transport in 1980, western Canada’s largest oil rig mover at the time. He joined Pe Ben in Canada as an Operations Manager in 1988, opened the US Operations in 1995, purchased the US assets and renamed it Pe Ben USA, Inc. in 2006. Dale is currently the chairman of the DCA Education Committee.

Dale Mykyte is President and Owner of Pe Ben USA, Inc. in Houston, Texas. 

Pat Michels

Past President Director

Pat Michels grew up in the construction industry, becoming a full-time laborer at Michels after graduating from St. Norbert College in DePere in 1981. He rose through the ranks, becoming president and CEO in 1998. Under Pat’s leadership, Michels has flourished into one of the largest utility and infrastructure construction contractors with annual revenues in excess of $2 billion. In 2016, he was honored with the Pipeline Leadership Award in recognition of his diligence in establishing a safety culture.

Pat Michels is president and CEO of Michels Corporation, headquartered in Brownsville, Wisconsin.

Dan Carson

Director

Dan Carson is the president of Carson Corporation headquartered in Lafayette, New Jersey. Dan has 30 years of experience in the construction industry as a specialty contractor performing both HDD and Civil Construction. Dan joined the DCA in 2013 and is a vice-chairman on the HDD Committee. 

Dan Carson is the president of Carson Corporation headquartered in Lafayette, New Jersey

Jim Lagios

Director

Jim started as a laborer for Michels Pipeline in the HDD division in 1989 and has moved up through the ranks of several reputable HDD organizations over the last twenty-five years. Jim is currently the president of Atlas Trenchless.
Jim has 26 years extensive hands-on experience in the HDD industry, having held senior management positions in several high profile HDD organizations.

Jim Lagios is President of Atlas Trenchless.

Andy Miller

Director

Andy graduated from Washington & Jefferson College with a B.A. in Business and received his M.B.A from the University of Pittsburgh in 1987. He has gained extensive experience in the construction industry while working for his family’s contracting business since childhood. He joined the Alex Paris Company in 1993 and has been active in all aspects of the organization since. Andy also owns and operates a variety of other businesses and is co-owner of a construction equipment rental company.  

Andy Miller is the equipment fleet manager and director of special projects for Alex E. Paris Contracting Co. based in Atlasburg, PA.

Kevin Parker

Director

Kevin Parker joined Mears Group in 1984 and is presently vice president of Safety, Health, Training, and Environmental Compliance. Kevin started attending DCA functions in 2008, and was awarded Safety Director of the Year in 2012. He regularly attends the spring DCA Safety Congress and has been both a roundtable panelist and moderator at the April DCA & AGA Utility Workshop. He is co-chair of the DCA Safety/Risk Management Committee, and is a member of the DCA Government Relations Committee, DCA Work Group on the Golden Shovel Standard, and DCA OQ Portability Task Force.

Kevin Parker is Vice President of Safety, Health, Training, and Environmental Compliance for Mears Group.

Ray Swerdfeger

Director

Ray grew up watching the company grow from a few employees to over 500 at its peak. As a child, Keith would often take Ray to work on the weekends teaching him to operate backhoes and loaders. From the age of 15, summer and winter breaks from school were mostly spent in the field learning to install pipe and build brick manholes. After high school, Ray went on to earn a Bachelors of Science degree in Construction Management from Colorado State University. In January of 1995, he started full time with the company as a crew foreman in New Mexico. In 1997, Ray became superintendent of the directional drilling crews in Denver. He expanded the directional drilling into a full service trenchless division. 

Ray Swerdfeger is president of K.R. Swerdfeger Construction, Inc., in Pueblo, Colorado.

Steve Dockendorf

Director at Large

Steve started his career as a laborer and fuser for NPL Construction Company in 1980. Over the next 38 years, Steve has held various positions with NPL: foreman, safety director, general superintendent, area manager for Minnesota, regional manager in the upper Midwest, and now vice president of operations for NPL's Minnesota region. In addition to his role in Minnesota, Steve is also vice president of safety for all of NPL.

Steve Dockendorf is vice president of safety and Minnesota operations with NPL Construction Company.

Randy Hayes

Associate Member Director

(Elected by the Associates)

Randy Hayes is the corporate sales director for Vacuworx, headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His sales responsibilities encompass all of North America, including the United States and Canada. In addition to managing a growing sales team, he works closely with national and strategic accounts. He has been an active member of DCA for over a decade.

Randy Hayes is the corporate sales director for Vacuworx in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Vince King

Associate Member Director

(Elected by the Associates)
Vince King, vice president of sales, North America. Employed with McElroy Manufacturing since February of 2012 and active with DCA since the fall of 2013. The last two years he has been able and enjoyed attending four of the main conferences throughout the year, and plans to continue. During conferences, Vince attends as many of the committee meetings as possible and enjoys providing input and learning about all of them.

Vince King is vice president of sales, North America for McElroy Manufacturing.