Registration is now open for one of the most highly anticipated asphalt industry events of the year -- CalAPA's "Summit at the Summit" Executive Leadership Forum June 11-13 at beautiful Lake Tahoe. The on-line registration page is HERE.

The event, being held at the luxurious Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa & Casino in Incline Village, NV., will bring together asphalt industry leaders in a spectacular setting for inspiration, insight and rejuvenation, with a diverse lineup of activities guaranteed to have something for everyone. The event will also mark the official launch of CalAPA's charity, the California Asphalt Education & Research Foundation, which will support workforce recruitment and development activities, and other people-centric causes.

The event will kick off June 11 with an optional charity golf outing at the stunning Incline Village Championship Golf Course. That will be followed by a gala welcome reception featuring a special appearance by McAvoy Layne, otherwise known as "The Ghost of Mark Twain." A former teacher, he loves engaging kids from 9 to 99 with the wit and wisdom of one of America's most celebrated authors.

June 12 activities include a CalAPA general membership meeting program, with presentations on workforce issues and insight from CalAPA committee leaders. A dinner caps the day featuring a gourmet menu and entertainment from "Chicago" Steve Barkley, who has made audiences laugh from coast to coast and has worked with some of the biggest names in comedy. His website is HERE.

The June 13 General Session will kick off in the morning with remarks by California Transportation Commission Chairman Carl Guardino, delivering a SB1 report card, and Miguel Galarza, president of Yerba Buena Engineering & Construction, and secretary of the Contractors State License Board. Recognized nationally for his leadership, Galarza will deliver a TED Talk-style presentation on how he built a successful business from the ground up, and took time to mentor others along the way. The program also will feature insight from longtime Utah Asphalt Pavement Association executive director Reed Ryan, who recently took the helm of the national Asphalt Pavement Alliance. Economist Crystal Howard of Crystal Waters Consulting, co-author of CalAPA's exclusive Asphalt Market Forecast for California, will provide a mid-year update no c-suite executive will want to miss. Other presentations on the regulatory environment, and Environmental Product Declarations, will round out the program. A timed agenda of activities, speakers and topics is HERE.

Not to be outdone, the Women of Asphalt California Branch will be putting on their first "Wine & Line Dancing" event during the Summit, and other activities will be announced later. CalAPA has negotiated special discounted lodging rates at the Hyatt Regency in Lake Tahoe for Summit attendees, but rooms are limited and will be offered on a first-come, first served basis. The deadline to secure discounted room rates is May 13, or until the discounted rooms are sold out, which ever comes first. Details on accessing the special lodging rates are on the event web page HERE. The event is designed to be family-friendly, with plenty of time in the schedule for attendees to take advantage of the varied activities that makes Lake Tahoe a popular vacation destination, from boating, biking, hiking, shopping and more. For ease of sharing, a one-page flier of the event is HERE.

For additional information, or for sponsorship opportunities, contact Sophie You of CalAPA at (916) 791-5044.

CalAPA member CRH, one the nation's largest construction materials companies, announced last week the acquisition of Santa Rosa-based BoDean Company, Inc. It is the company's first acquisition in California.

In the April 5 announcement, the company also announced that it had acquired Northgate Ready Mix, LLC. "These acquisitions represent the first entry by CRH’s Materials Solutions business into the state of California and enhance CRH’s ability to provide integrated solutions to customers in the attractive Northern California market," the company said in a press release.

BoDean, a longtime CalAPA member, was featured in a 2017 issue of California Asphalt, CalAPA's association magazine, for the heroic response by BoDean employees to devastating wildfires that struck the North Bay community. That issue is HERE.

“We are delighted to welcome all BoDean and Northgate employees to the CRH family,” said Scott Parson, President, Americas Materials Solutions, CRH, in the press release. “The construction market in California is one of the largest in the United States and presents CRH with attractive opportunities for development and growth. As North America’s leading integrated supplier of aggregates, asphalt and ready mixed concrete we look forward to helping build, connect and improve Northern California and serving customers with our unique combination of building materials, products and solutions.”

A link to the full press release is HERE. The CRH website is HERE.

A series of activities are planned for national Work Zone Safety Week, which is scheduled for April 15-19, with a national "Go Orange" day set for April 17. The entire month of April also has been designated as Distracted Driving Month, to remind motorists to always be safe behind the wheel.

The National Asphalt Pavement Association, a CalAPA partner, has assembled a page of resources to help get the word out about this important safety campaign. It is HERE. A Caltrans "Be Work Zone Alert" page of resources is HERE.

In 2021, 956 lives were lost in roadway work zones. The asphalt pavement industry and its public agency partners are committed to preventing these needless tragedies by educating motorists about the importance of driving safety in highway work zones, and at all other times as well.

As we have said in this publication many times before, everyone wants good roads, but they're not worth dying for.

CalAPA Executive Director Russell Snyder participated in a meeting last week with the leadership of the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) and the executive leadership of the State Asphalt Pavement Associations, Inc. (SAPA), to discuss various ways the two organizations can coordinate and communicate for mutual benefit.

NAPA Chief Executive Officer Audrey Copeland hosted the March 4 meeting at NAPA's headquarters in Maryland, and other representatives from NAPA and SAPA attended in person or via remote technologies. The SAPA contingent included John Hickey, executive director of the Oregon Asphalt Pavement Association (and current SAPA Chairman), Russell Snyder, executive director of CalAPA (and current SAPA vice chairman), and Kevin Monaco with the New Jersey Asphalt Pavement Association, and immediate past chairman of SAPA. Also in attendance was Kevin Burke, executive director of the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association, and current SAPA Treasurer; and Erich Ponti of the Louisiana Asphalt Pavement Association, current SAPA Secretary. Bruce Barkevich, a past SAPA chairman who was the first to initiate the regular NAPA-SAPA meetings when he was SAPA Chair, also participated.

NAPA and the state asphalt pavement associations coordinate closely in numerous areas, including technical, environmental and political. The state associations also pay into pooled funds that pay for research, development of marketing products and various educational materials.

"It’s a great meeting to stay ahead of issues, discuss opportunities, and find alignment in our collective efforts to advance the asphalt pavement industry across our nation," NAPA said in a social media post that included the photo above.

To learn more about NAPA, click HERE. To learn more about SAPA, click HERE. 

Each week we highlight a word, acronym or other term commonly used in the asphalt pavement industry in California.

ASPHALT OVERLAY: One or more courses of asphalt construction on an existing pavement. The overlay generally includes a leveling course to correct the contour of the old pavement, followed by a uniform course or courses to provide needed thickness.

Each week we highlight a key point or best practice of interest to asphalt paving crews, inspectors and others working in the field. We welcome suggestions. More tips can be found in our "Asphalt Parking Lot Construction Checklist" HERE. Information on the CalAPA "Quality Paving Certificate" program is HERE.

CALL BEFORE YOU DIG: Call 8-1-1 prior to construction when planscall for any type of excavation so that the location of underground utilities can be verified and marked. More information on the 8-1-1 program in California can be found HERE. 

Each week we highlight a term that is specific to climate-change issues related to the asphalt pavement industry. This feature is intended to raise awareness of the asphalt industry's climate-change initiatives and the specialized terminology that goes with them. More information on "The Road Forward" asphalt industry climate initiative can be found HERE.

GREEN RATING SYSTEMS: Framework of sustainable guidelines and metrics for design and construction. 

"Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than any other."

– Brian Tracy

We hope you enjoy CalAPA's Asphalt Insider newsletter. We are committed to providing you with the most up-to-date information on technical issues, regulation, news, analysis, people, events and trends in California that is of interest to the asphalt pavement industry and our various agency partners. To subscribe to the newsletter, click HERE. For comments, questions or to suggest a story idea, click HERE.

Sincerely,

Russell W. Snyder, CAE

Executive Director

The California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA)®