that is what I would do if I were to be hired for the position. Long story short, I was hired for the job. What are your goals as executive director for the first 90 days? My goal as the new executive director is to better understand the industry — understand the association members, the producers of the product, the suppliers of the product, the contractors, the workers that are laying the product down, the ones that are manufacturing or maintaining it, and some of the customers as well as the cities and counties. I’m going to try to visit as many members as I can in person. I want to know who the members are, what’s going on with their business and what their ultimate needs are. I’m off to a good start but still have a long way to go. What can members do to help you reach your goal? When I reach out, they can make themselves available so I can come visit and learn from them. If there are things they think will help benefit the association and the industry, I want to know about it. Everybody has a different perspective, and as we counsel together, we’ll be able to make better decisions. With the Olympics coming to Utah in 2034, there is much to do for the state to prepare. So, if there’s ever a time when we, as an association, need to be aligned, it’s now. What are the biggest issues facing the industry? Although I am just starting, I have identified a number of issues that I’d like to address: 1. Different organizations — municipalities, cities, UDOT, private companies, developers — are coming up with different specs when it comes to asphalt. It wasn’t always this way, and that creates a challenge. continued on page 11 2. The use of RAP within asphalt varies widely. UDOT has a 15% RAP mix component, and there are a lot of states that are going up to 30% without any issues. Increasing RAP is a huge cost savings, plus, environmentally, it has a lower footprint on carbon emissions. We need to be on the same page — from producers and contractors to installers and the end user — with specs and consistency as much as possible. There are different applications when you look at, for example, Southern Utah versus Northern Utah. 3. Recruiting skilled workers in the industry is going to be really critical. One of the common things that I hear as I’ve met with association members is, “I can’t get enough CDL drivers and enough workers.” We have some ideas on things that we can do with the local universities, high schools and tech schools that can potentially create a pipeline for students who would love to work in this trade in this industry. 4. Communications. The training that we provide is monolingual. It’s all English, and we really need to shift to where everything’s done in Spanish and English. 5. Increasing safety, especially with flaggers. Flagger training and flagger safety is so important because they’re working in the riskiest place. 6. Making sure that all members have a voice, from the largest producer to the smaller mom-and-pop operations. What accomplishment are you proudest of? Marrying my wife, Angela. I married way above myself. She’s a sweetheart. She’s amazing! We have been married for 34 years. We have six kids: four girls and two boys. They range from 28 down to 18. I want to know who the members are, what’s going on with their business and what their ultimate needs are. 8
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