It was with great sadness that the Concrete Institute of Australia learnt of the recent sudden passing of Institute Life Member since 2005 and our much-loved colleague Kevin Abrams. He was a Councillor of the Institute for 26 years and NSW Committee member for 34 years.
Kevin began his involvement with the Concrete Institute of Australia in 1985 when, as an employee of C&CA, he was made Secretary of the NSW Branch. He remained in this role until he left C&CA in 1992, however, Kevin remained on the NSW Committee. He then sought a position on the National Council and was elected in 1993 and later became President of the NSW Committee in 1997. In 2001, Kevin was duly elected to the position of National Vice-President when unforeseen circumstances saw him elevated to National President the same year.
He was Conference Secretary for the 1991 Biennial Conference in Sydney and Chairman of the Organising Committee for the 1999 Biennial Conference, which was also held in Sydney. Kevin served as Convenor of the Membership Committee for some 12 years and had a huge influence on the changes to membership benefits and activities of the Institute.
One particular area Kevin championed for nearly two decades was the Awards for Excellence in Concrete. As convenor of the Recognition of Excellence portfolio for over 10 years, he not only championed the Awards, but put an emphasis on adding prestige to the Institute’s Life & Honorary Memberships, and to the National Engineering Bursary. From 2019 on, Kevin served as Chair of the Awards for Excellence in Concrete judging panel and was Chair of the Institute’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2020. Through Kevin’s drive these have all been nationally and internationally recognised.
Having been a Councillor of the Institute for 26 years and NSW Committee member for 34 years, Kevin was made a Life Member of the Concrete Institute of Australia in 2005. And he continued to serve the Institute with the same passion and enthusiasm he had from day one. Kevin had a wonderful way of embracing our history with a view to the future, balancing experience with change, and bringing together the old with the new.
Kevin was influential in changing the way we structure recognition, membership, operations, and educational resources and there is no-one who has embodied the essence and spirit of the Concrete Institute of Australia more. He will be greatly missed.
About the author
Desi Corbett
Desi is the Editor of Concrete in Australia and at the helm of our magazine for eight years. She was behind the Institute's weekly news bulletins from 2016-2021 and is now writing our focused news items. Desi has been an engineering news and features journalist/editor across all disciplines since 2013 - part of a 30-year career writing for a wide range of industries.