President's Message - UAPA Newsletter - November 2014

Time flies when you are paving into November and making sure we complete as much work as we can before the snow arrives.  At this time of the year, it’s not hard to realize that we are in a very seasonal business.  That realization comes with certain challenges for resources in terms of both equipment and people.  

Part of our charge as an association is to help our members better tell our story to the next generation of our workforce and future leaders of our industry.  I had the opportunity last month to talk “Asphalt” with some Utah Valley University Construction Management students.  It was great to see that there are many young people that have interest in our industry; we need, as members of UAPA, to strive to help educate and give these folks opportunities to join our ranks.

Later this month we will present our first Southern Utah Asphalt Pavement Seminar.  The response so far from members has been great.  I would challenge all of you to reach out and invite our city, county folks, engineering firms, testing labs and all others associated with our industry to attend with us.  Waylund Ludlow and Reed have done a great job planning this event.  I look forward to seeing many of your there.

Thanks, for all you do as members to support our group.  We have many people attending meetings with UDOT, APWA, Questar Gas, and others every week helping tell the story of our industry and helping build and maintain a better infrastructure for everyone to enjoy.  For that, I thank you!

-Craig Fabrizio

Staker Parson Companies

UAPA President 2014-2015

Executive Director Message - UAPA Newsletter November 2014

The frost in the air and a few flakes here and there must mean that the construction season in Utah is quickly coming to an end in the next few weeks.  By most accounts, it has been a good season full of challenges and opportunities.  And while things may be slowing down on a lot of fronts, there are still a number of things happening with UAPA that you should be aware of – here a just a few of the highlights:

• The first-ever Southern Utah Asphalt Pavement Seminar will take place on the 18^th of November at the Dixie Center in St. George.  This one-day conference promises to deliver excellent educational sessions while also bringing in the Mayor of Washington City and the Director of Region Four for UDOT.  We’re excited to help this event become a success year in and year out and with over one hundred (100!) people already registered, I’d say we are off to a great start!

• Following on the heels of the Southern Seminar, the 2015 Utah Asphalt Conference seems to be lurking right around the corner and both the Steering Committee and the Planning Committee are in full swing developing another great agenda and event.  We’ve already sold a number of booths to returning vendors who rate our conference as one of the best in the entire nation!  I’m excited to see what the conference this year will bring, and I am happy to take your input on how we can make it even better as we move forward.

• As an association, we continue our engagement with various other entities, owners, and associations.  We’re proud to be a member of the Utah Transportation Coalition and we look forward to what promises to be a productive legislative session for the state of Utah in 2015.  Similarly, we continue to engage Questar Gas in ongoing task group meetings striving to find common ground in developing better rates for asphalt suppliers and producers.  As always, we’re proud to partner with the APWA and are pleased that UAPA has been offered a seat at the Specifications Committee for the APWA.  We’ve also worked closely with UDOT to make a change to the Binder Certification Program this year that should help with mix design submittals in the off season, and we continue to work with the DOT on a number of other issues including the DOT’s move to an IRI specification; the microsurfacing specification; longitudinal joints; and SMA.

As always, I am very thankful for everything this association does for our communities and our industry.  I am thankful for the commitment of many individuals who have put forth and sacrificed many hours on behalf of UAPA.  It is amazing to see that as a collective, we are making a difference.  There’s always plenty to do and things to improve, and I am thankful to be working alongside so many of you to make a difference each and every day!  In a season of Thanksgiving, I offer my sincerest gratitude for all of you! Thank you!

-Reed