TOPEKA – The Kansas Contractors Association’s board of directors named its new 2016 officers and elected several new board members during its 93rd convention held recently in Kansas City, Mo.

KCA board officers are Todd Carlile, Liberal, president; Kelly Briggs, Manhattan, vice-president; and Curt Mauler, Great Bend, treasurer. New members elected to KCA’s 14-member board are Chris Rech, Emporia; Scott Anderson, Topeka; Chad Girard, Topeka; and Curt Kitson, Hays.

Mauler, president of L&M Contractors, has been in the bridge construction industry for 20 years. Previously, he worked for five years for a consulting engineering firm where he concentrated his efforts on bridge design. Mauler received a master’s degree in civil engineering at Kansas State University and has professional engineering licenses in the states of Kansas and Arizona. He is the past chairman of the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife Paula have two daughters and live in Great Bend.

Carlile, president of J&R Sand Company in Liberal, Kan., has been involved in the construction industry since 1981 through his family-owned business, which began in 1959. Carlile has been an active member of the Oklahoma Asphalt Pavement Association for more than 20 years. He and his wife Kelly have two daughters and live in Liberal.

Briggs is currently the president of Bayer Construction, an employee-owned business. His family has been in the construction industry for three generations. He has served as past president of the Kansas Aggregate Producers Association and currently serves on several public advisory boards in Manhattan, Kan. He and his wife Rhonda have three kids and reside in Manhattan.

Rech, who has been in the construction industry for more than 30 years, is the area manager for A.M. Cohron & Son in Emporia, Kan., where he oversees work in Kansas and Oklahoma. Rech has been with Cohron for 17 years. Previously, he served on the Emporia-Lyon County Planning Commission and is currently the president of the Hetlinger Developmental Services board of directors. Rech also has been active with the KCA structures division and legislative committee.  He resides in Emporia.

Anderson is the chief operating officer for Hamm Companies of Perry, Kan., and has more than 20 years experience in the construction industry. Anderson started his career on the finance side of business as a CPA for Contractors across NE Kansas. Later, he served 13 years as the chief financial officer for Hamm Companies before accepting the role as COO, where he manages the company’s operations. Anderson received a bachelor’s degree from Emporia State University. He and his wife Tammy have three sons and live in Topeka. 

Currently serving his fourth year as president of the APAC-Kansas, Shears Division in Hutchinson, Girard spent 12 years working in Missouri for APAC in several positions, including vice president for construction for APAC-Missouri and APAC-Kansas. Girard began his career working part time at Shears, Inc. during high school and college. After graduating from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in science, he began working full time for Shears in 1996. Girard and his wife Tessa have two boys and reside in Wichita.

Kitson is a district sales manager for Monarch Cement and has worked in the construction industry for more than 35 years. Kitson has served on the Kansas Ready Mix Association board of directors for 20 years. He and his wife Jennifer have two children and live in Hays.