At the 18th combined Annual Meeting of the Asphalt Emulsion Manufacturers Association (AEMA), the Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association (ARRA), and the International Slurry Surfacing Association (ISSA), nearly 230 registered attendees joined together virtually, February 15-18, 2021, to hear from industry experts, witness transitions in leadership, and honor award winners.
Program Chairs Bob Huitt, Russell Standard; Jonathon Pease, Rock Solid Stabilization & Reclamation; and Dave Welborn, Ingevity worked together to provide a memorable experience for attendees which included no overlapping sessions, a virtual exhibit hall, and sponsored Networking Sessions for attendees to catch up with their colleagues.
To start the meeting off, attendees heard from a compelling keynote Mark Breslin of Breslin Strategies, Inc. focusing on Growth Mindset and Engagement. The General Session continued with a presentation on building success with pavement preservation in Limerick Township, PA, by Whitney Brady, Russell Standard. Dr. Andrew Braham, University of Arkansas, shared with attendees the steps PPRA is taking through their sustainability efforts.
Tuesday’s General Session started with Tracy Taylor, Alignment Government Strategies, sharing with attendees the best way to host congressional site visits. Following Taylor’s presentation, Judith Corley-Lay with the National Center for Pavement Preservation (NCPP) shared the work NCPP has completed in 2020, and their goals as they move into 2021.
Wednesday’s General Session provided attendees with additional industry updates. LaToya Johnson, FHWA, shared with attendees “FHWA’s Pavement Preservation Strategic Plan”, which was then followed by a presentation on the NCAT Test Track, by Buzz Powell, NCAT.
The General Sessions closed on Thursday with Vario Consulting’s Lindsay Matush and Grace Stansbery giving an update on RoadResource.org, its successes and growth over the last year, and describing how to use the website as both an educational and marketing tool.
During AEMA’s Technical Sessions, Aaron Walker, Ingevity, shared with attendees AEMA’s new L.E.A.P. Leadership Development Program, which is set to launch in 2022; following this, Gaylon Baumgardner, Paragon Technical Services, gave an update of IBEF; Sallie Houston, VSSI, presented on “Women of Asphalt: Promoting, Advocating, and Mentoring; and lastly, Stormy Brewster, Marathon Petroleum presented on “An Attempt at Predicting Asphalt Emulsion Performance from Asphalt Chemistry”.
ARRA’s Technical Sessions saw a mix of technical and business-related presentations. Jason Wielinski and Megan Yount with Heritage Research Group started with a session on “Comparing Field and Lab CIR Mix Properties: Findings from Indiana SR 234”; followed by Darren Coughlin, Coughlin Company, Inc., and Don Matthews, Pavement Recycling Systems, speaking on “Using Polyurethane Binder with Recycled Plastic in Cold Recycling of Roadways”. Next, Brian Moore with FMI Corporation presented on the “Outlook on Heavy and Highway Construction Markets”; followed by Joe Tantarelli, SafeStart, with a presentation on workplace safety protocols.
During ISSA’s Technical Sessions, Dr. Adriana Vargas-Nordcbeck, NCAT, gave an update on NCAT Field Testing; Debbi Deep, Ingevity, shared a presentation on a “Full Gradation WTAT Study”; and Rex Eberly, Bergkamp Inc., gave a presentation on how Bergkamp handles equipment training during COVID-19. In addition, Josh Bowen, Intermountain Slurry Seal, shared the 2020 ISSA President’s Award-winning project, Glacier National Park Pavement Preservation Project.
Each association held their Business Meeting and Awards Ceremony separately this year, due to the virtual nature of the event. AEMA recognized 18 new plants as AEMA Excellence in Manufacturing Award recipients and the 50 renewed plants. AEMA also recognized winners of the Past President’s Award for Emulsion Excellence (Effingham County Board of Commissioners, Ergon Asphalt & Emulsion, EOM Operations, Hudson Construction, and Ranger Construction Industries) and Ralph Maddux of Hudson Materials Company as the AEMA Recognition of Achievement Award Winner.
ARRA recognized winners of the Recognition Awards for Excellence in Cold In-Place Recycling (Jeremy Ciesiel, Ogle County, IL) and Excellence in Full-Depth Reclamation (Monica Flournoy, Georgia DOT). In addition, ARRA partnered with Roads&Bridges for the ARRA/Roads&Bridges Recycling Award which included two winners for Full Depth Reclamation Award, Hat Creek Construction and Allan Meyers, and two winners for Cold In-Place Recycling Award, Midstate Reclamation & Trucking and Asphalt Paving Systems.
ISSA presented four awards, including the Agency Pavement Preservation & Sustainability Program Award, which went to the Missouri Department of Transportation – St. Louis District; the Excellence in Pavement Preservation Award, which was won by the City of Peoria, Arizona; the Preservation Performance Award which was presented to the City of Sioux Falls, SD and contracting member Missouri Petroleum; and the ISSA President’s Award, which was awarded to Intermountain Slurry Seal, Inc.
The 2021 AEMA-ARRA-ISSA Annual Meeting could not have been made possible without its generous sponsors. The Green Sponsor, which helped sponsored the attendee gift, was Wirtgen Group. Ergon Asphalt & Emulsion Inc and Roadtec, Inc were the Virtual Platform Sponsors. Networking Sessions were sponsored by BASF, Russell Standard, and Terry Asphalt Materials, Inc. Attendees Care Packages were sponsored by ingevity and ULTRAPAVE. Coffee on Us was sponsored by Bergkamp, Superior Tire and Rubber, and VSS Macropaver. Lastly, there were 10 General Sponsors that included American Pavement Preservation, BLS Enterprises, Inc. Caterpillar, FORTA, Heatec, Intermountain Slurry Seal, Inc. KAO, Nouryon, Walker Industries, and Western Emulsions.
As AEMA, ARRA, and ISSA look forward to the future, please mark your calendars today for the 2022 AEMA-ARRA-ISSA Annual Meeting, February 21-25, in La Jolla, California.
Association Boards Welcome New Presidents, Board Members
During its 48th Annual Meeting, AEMA elected its officers and Board of Directors for the 2021-2022 term. Bob Huitt, Russell Standard, was elected as President of AEMA. Huitt is Senior Vice President for Asphalt Materials. AEMA officers also elected include Vice President Dan Koeninger, Terry Asphalt Materials, Inc, and Secretary/Treasurer Matt Kennedy, McAsphalt Industries Ltd. Remaining in the role of Past President is Mark Ishee, Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Inc.
Directors installed for 2021-2022 include Greg Arntson, Albina Asphalt; Arlis Kadrmas, BASF Corp.; Rick Madison, Ingevity; Jeremy Thomas, Suncor Energy USA; Emmanuel Cornet, Colas S.A; Scott Dmytrow, Prism Worldwide; and new director Scott Watson, Paragon Technical Services.
During its 45th Annual Meeting, ARRA elected its officers and Board of Directors for the 2021-2022 term. Jonathan Pease, Rock Solid Stabilization & Reclamation, was elected as President of ARRA. Pease is CEO and Founder of Rock Solid Stabilization & Reclamation. Stepping into the role of Vice President is Kimbel Stokes, The Miller Group, Inc., and Jason Wielinski, Heritage Research Group will serve as Secretary/Treasurer. Rounding out the officers, Eric Baker, Astec Industries, will serve as Past President.
Elected for the 2021-2022 term, ARRA directors include Marco Estrada, Pavement Recycling Systems, Inc.; Chris Gallagher, Gallagher Asphalt Corporation; Trevor Moore, The Miller Group; David Peterson, Caterpillar Pavement Products, Inc.; Bryan Ray, Allstates Pavement; Mark Stahl, Wirtgen America; and new director Nick Ware, Alpha Milling company. Steve Cross, PE, will continue as ARRA’s technical director.
During its 59th Annual Convention, ISSA elected its officers and Board of Directors for the 2021-2022 term. ISSA elected a new President, Chuck Ingram, who is Business Manager at Slurry Pavers, Inc. Dave Welborn, Ingevity, was elected as the new Vice President; Brad Pearce, Viking Construction, was elected as Secretary, and finally Eric Reimschiissel, American Pavement Preservation, was re-elected as Treasurer. Completing the officers is Larry Tomkins, Ergon Asphalt & Emulsion, who moves to the immediate Past President role.
The 2021-2022 Board will include re-elected directors Fabio Mendez, MPI Ltda.; Tim Harrawood, Vance Brothers, Inc.; and Jason Lampley, Doolittle Construction.; Chris Oakes, Pavement Solutions, Inc. and Doug Olsen, Western Emulsion. ISSA appointed two new Board Member this year, Justin Guiles, Vestal Asphalt, Inc., and Jeff Roberts, VSS International. Bob Jerman continues his appointment as ISSA’s technical director. Dan Patenaude, indus, retired from the Board after four years of service.
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