Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Executive Director Message - November 2017

End of the Road School, but Not the End of Top-Notch Educational Opportunities

Dear Members and Friends of UAPA,
As most of you have likely heard, the Utah League of Cities and Towns (ULCT) will not longer be hosting the Road School in St. George each spring. While such change is often difficult, I want you to know that ULCT remains a great partner of the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association (UAPA) and that just because one opportunity is no longer available that other opportunities do not exist to meet your needs.
Below I’ve offered a brief summary of what UAPA currently provides to both members and potential members of the association. We’ve built this association around providing the best educational opportunities to you, and that will not change moving forward. In short, I hope you will take advantage of these opportunities and, in the meantime, let me know how UAPA can best meet the needs of the great opportunities that were provided through the Road School. Road School will be missed, but I am confident that by working together UAPA can continue to provide great opportunities for networking, social outings, and education in the road construction industry here in Utah.
I am grateful for all you do for this association. I look forward to seeing many of you at the 2018 Utah Asphalt Conference in February. Until then, please do not hesitate to let me know if there is anything I can do for you.
-Reed

The Utah Asphalt Conference
The Utah Asphalt Conference (UAC) takes place each year in the early spring. The 2018 UAC will be on February 21-22, 2018, at the South Towne Expo Center in Sandy, UT. The UAC offers over twenty-eight educational breakout sessions with CE credit hours available for PE license renewals. Tracks at the conference include Pavement Preservation; Asphalt Basics; Construction and Engineering; Safety, Aggregates, and Asphalt Production; and Industry, Innovation, and Design. In addition to the educational sessions, the UAC offers the chance for attendees to network with roughly one thousand attendees and close to one hundred exhibitors with thirty thousand square feet of equipment on display both inside and outside of the exhibit hall.
Registration for city and county employees begins at $125. Conference partners include the Utah Department of Transportation, the Utah Chapter of the APWA, the Utah League of Cities and Towns, and the Utah LTAP. More information regarding The Utah Asphalt Conference can be found by visiting the website for the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association’s website at: www.utahasphalt.org

The Southern Utah Asphalt Seminar
The Southern Utah Asphalt Seminar (SUAS) takes place each year in the fall at the Dixie Center in St. George, UT. This year’s conference will take place on the 13th (networking golf outing) and 14th (conference) of November.
This regional event is open to attendees from across the state and typically covers four to five educational sessions (CE credits for PE license renewal available) along with regional spotlights from local government representatives and Region Four of the Utah Department of Transportation. Educational topics for this year’s conference include emulsions; patching best practices; road preparation prior to paving; and hot plant operations with a tour.
Registration for all attendees is $75. More information regarding the Southern Utah Asphalt Seminar can be found by visiting the website for the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association’s website at: www.utahasphalt.org

The Uintah Basin Asphalt Summit
The Uintah Basin Asphalt Summit (UBAS) takes place each year later in the spring, typically towards the first part of April.
Similar to the Southern Utah Asphalt Seminar, the UBAS is a regional one-day educational event that is open to attendees from across the entire state. The date for the 2018 Summit has not been set, but the event is typical held in the new county convention center in Vernal, UT. The UBAS also offers CE credits for PE license renewal.
More information regarding the Uintah Basin Asphalt Summit can be found by visiting the website for the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association at: www.utahasphalt.org

UAPA Lunch and Learn Series
Throughout the entire year, the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association (UAPA) offers free Lunch and Learn seminars for city and county employees. Topics presented this year included asphalt binder history and basics; micro surfacing; paving and compaction principles; and APWA specification revisions.
These events typically take place in the months that UAPA is not hosting a larger educational event or the two months (July and December) where holidays fill up the calendar. Similar to the larger events UAPA holds, these events are education-based and are not a sales pitch for attendees to use one product or process over another.
All UAPA Lunch and Learns are free to attend with lunch provided by the association. More information can be found on these events by visiting the website for the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association at: www.utahasphalt.org