Concrete Pavement Progress 4 www.acpa.org E D I T O R I A L RECENTLY, ACPA GATHERED IN NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, TO HOST OUR MID-YEAR MEETING. For those of you not in attendance, or who may have never traveled to Newport, it is a gorgeous seaside town! The picturesque weather, coupled with the charming portside location, made for a truly wonderful event. Moreover, our meeting was extremely productive, and that’s the reason we host these events—to create an opportunity where the greatest minds in concrete pavement design and construction, as well as government officials, can convene to share the best of what the industry has to offer. With these goals in mind, we were delighted to welcome U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, who spoke at our Government Affairs Committee Luncheon about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the advantages concrete pavement brings to the nation’s infrastructure system, and the Biden Administration’s pavement-related priorities.The members were engaged throughout the threeday event and reflected that ACPA’s team hit it out of the park. Coming out of this successful meeting, it’s clear that this association is headed in a positive direction, positioning itself to meet future challenges and opportunities—including communicating more effectively about sustainability, resiliency, climate change, workforce shortages, etc., to a broader audience. At the meeting, ACPA’s Board approved a Strategic Plan. The member-drafted plan represents more than six months of work from a committee that included voices from cement, contracting, equipment/materials distribution, State/ Chapter Executives, and staff. Thanks to all who served on the Committee: Sarah Bazey, Patrick Cleary, Steve Freiss, Ed Griffith, Tyler Jensen, Mike Lipps, Greg McCormick, Kevin McMullen, Greg Mulder, and Gordon Smith. Our new plan focuses on objectives to grow membership, strengthen the Chapter/State network, invest in data access that helps us better understand our markets and support our promoters at the state level, invest in emerging leaders, and achieve our mission of developing and protecting concrete pavement markets. Mid-Year Meeting Establishes Association Priorities U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Commit tee, speaks to ACPA members. Also at the meeting we held two workshops— Sustainability 501 and 502—styled as advanced, “graduate-level” discussions on the sustainability of concrete pavements. As everyone has come to appreciate about ACPA, we lead on concrete pavement technical expertise, and we are now more focused on communicating this technical expertise, including concrete pavement’s sustainability benefits, to all of our audiences. ACPA has secured the services of an experiencedmarketing team that will developmessaging about concrete pavement’s advantages. The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has done a wonderful job with the Road Map to Carbon Neutrality. The materials now need to be turned into something that the “boots-on-the-ground” (our members) can utilize. Our marketing team is actively working with PCA to address the messaging needs of the concrete pavement industry. We are the only national voice solely dedicated to concrete pavement. While we recognize challenges such as a tightening cement supply, inflation, and shortages, we remain as resilient as our workmanship and our product. BIL is offering a once-in-a-lifetime investment, so keep the work coming, and we will deliver. For those who attended our Mid-Year Meeting, we thank you for your collaboration and industry support. For those who missed us this time, we look forward to seeing you in Nashville, November 29–December 1. Laura O’Neill Kaumo President & CEO American Concrete Pavement Association Laura O’Neill Kaumo President & CEO American Concrete Pavement Association
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