VAASPHALT.ORG 27 OCTOBERFEST: A MULTI-DAY INDUSTRY GATHERING Tigre Hammond, Member Relations Specialist, Virginia Asphalt Association Oktoberfest: the two-week, carbohydrate-filled festival of beer and merriment held in Munich, right? Sure, that Oktoberfest might be fun, but the Virginia Asphalt Association (VAA) puts their own spin on the event. Kicking off the VAA Octoberfest at the beautiful Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia, the activities were a little different from those you might see in Germany. However, the goal was the same: for people to gather and enjoy each other’s company. While the promotion of asphalt is VAA’s purpose, at the association’s core it is about bridging the people who make up its member companies. VAA takes pride in planning and hosting events such as these to bring members, industry partners, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and government officials together to foster relationships and promote forward-thinking discussions. The three days in Williamsburg were brimming with events, starting off with the VAA Board of Directors meeting and dinner. The next day, the sixth annual VDOT-VAA Discussion with the Department meeting was held in the Burwell Ballroom at Kingsmill Resort. To start the meeting, the Virginia Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Division Administrator Thomas Nelson addressed the group about federal infrastructure and highway reauthorization. Brian Diefenderfer, the Virginia Transportation Research Council’s Principal Research Scientist, followed Nelson, speaking on climate challenges, the Buy Clean Initiative, and sustainability efforts within our industry. Dr. Diefenderfer opened this conversation in response to our industry’s biggest challenge: implementing technologies that will reduce the carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. Many attendees, representing a variety of large national and international companies, could share about the work underway to produce Environmental Product Declarations; Environment, Social and Governance Statements and other formal plans to reduce their carbon footprint. For others, the process of establishing more company-wide environmental consciousness is new, and implementation can be slow. This meeting allowed for many senior leadership and management employees in OCTOBERFEST: A MULTI-DAY INDUSTRY GATHERING the industry to hear, learn and discuss these critical topics with other decision-makers. Next, VAA Vice President David Lee, on behalf of the Asphalt Paving Alliance, awarded plaques commemorating the 2021 Perpetual Pavement Award: By Conversion. Award winners included Ken Arthur, Boxley Director of Asphalt Plants and Development, and Kerry Bates, VDOT State Construction Engineer, for their work on continues on page 29 △ Luck Stone winning foursome and Prize Sponsor Carter Machinery
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