Pub 3 2020-2021 Issue 1

12 “The educational opportunities are excep- tional. The industry isn’t slowing down.” Q: What is your outlook for the 2021 con- struction season? “Our industry is bright. I’mnot sure I would have said that a year ago, but the industry didwell in 2020, and I think it will do even better in 2021.” “Another year of growth. Funding is good. The outlook has been good. Overall in the construction industry, it’s good. For Utah, we’re in a pretty good place. Our legisla- ture sees the value of building andmain- taining roads.” Q: From the new Biden Administration on down, we are hearing terms such as resiliency and sustainability used more and more — what do you think this means for your organization and in our industry? “We’re in an industry that is recyclable.We need to tout that, andwe need to educate the public and our legislaturemore.We need to shine a bigger light on the fact that we’re being good stewards.” “Recycling.We can recycle everything in our industry.” Q: Any developments in industry happen- ing now or on the near horizon that you feel will offer significant advancements to any aspect of the pavement industry? “Improving quality of products—like bal- ancedmix. Great technological advance- ments are coming. Balancedmix design will be instrumental.” Q: When thinking about our shared industry what keeps you up at night? “We have some huge hurdles.We need to use crude produced products for our asphalt. Permitting issues. Making sure that our supply chain is stable and that we use those supplies wisely.” Q: Five or 10 years from now, what is your hope for the asphalt pavement industry generally and in Utah? “The 10-year goal is transcending the borders of Utah.We’re a reliable source for building better roads. I would like to see us share our resources with others.” “I hope that in 10 years’ timewe have made progress on bringing up the next generation in this industry.We need to make asphalt sexy.” “I’d like to see us be that whole state resource, where our presence is equally strong in the northern and southern regions.We’remaking good strides.” Q: Some of you have grown up in and around this industry; others of you have come from a variety of life experiences and choices that led you to this point. Tell me, what initially drew you to this indus- try — specifically for those of you who came from another path and, if you grew up in the industry, what keeps you here? “We’ve all had various paths to this indus- try. I came frombuilding houses. That was incredibly rewarding to see some- thingwhere therewas nothing. I transi- tioned into this industry because I like to seewhat I do impact people for the better. And that’s what keepsme around.” “I lovewhat I do; there’s tremendous job satisfaction in this industry and the opportunities are so broad.” “There’s a lot of job satisfaction. Driving on a road that I had a hand in building is a good feeling.” Q: If a high school student came home today and told their parents, “I want to build roads and work in asphalt,”what do you think the initial reaction of their parents would be? How might we work to change that perception? “There’s a lot of young folk with steep student debt. This field provides many opportunities for good, solid careers. There’s a lot of good people building our roads, we need to do a better job of connecting the dots. We need to get the word out.” Q: Over the last couple of years, I have participated in a lot of national and regional discussions and meet- ings regarding the workforce related challenges our industry is and will be facing — during that time, a lot of ideas tend to focus on what I would call the “meta” which does great in identifying our needs, but not so great in achieving actual results. In your opinion, what are some more meas- urable and achievable results that we could be taking to address the work- force development issue? “Unify our voice and have that voice heard. Think holistically about what’s right for our industry and our organization. Get buy-in. Thismakesme excited.” 3 continued from page 11