A Letter From ISSA President Larry Tomkins

Hello everyone,

Who is ready for 2020 to be over?  Ha.  This has been one of the most unusual years most of us have ever experienced or will ever experience.  So much has changed in the world in the last 10 months.  Facial masks, hand sanitizers, rapid testing, fist bumps, curbside pickups, cardboard sports fans, and Zoom calls are now a part of everyday life.  Even though it has been a very trying year, your board and committees have been very busy.  I can’t ever remember a year where we have had so much going on within the association.  Here are some of things we have been working on this year.

• Creation of Member’s marketing toolkit – we are developing brochures, social media templates, and print ads that could be utilized by our members with their company logos on them.
• Development of a Virtual Slurry Systems Workshop – due to the COVID crisis we were unable to hold an “in-person” workshop in 2021. 
• Completion of the Slurry Systems Designer’s/Inspector’s Manual – an overhaul of the original inspector’s manual.  We updated the manual with new information and added notes for designers to help them on the front end of projects.
• Redesign of our website, slurry.org – the objective here is to make aesthetic, content and organizational improvements to the ISSA website to make it a more engaging and useful resource for visitors and members.
• Creation of a Sustainability Committee with AEMA and ARRA – this committee was created out of necessity due to some of the regulatory requirements that are on the horizon for some of our treatments.  In the future, our members would be able to submit for Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).
• Creation of a Workforce Development Committee – this committee was created to generate ideas of how we can attract, train, and retain employees for our members.
• Involvement with the FHWA and Leadership Development Team webinars on micro surfacing, chip seals, and crack seals – these webinars have been unbelievably successful so far.  We have had almost 1,300 people attend our webinars in 2020!
• Development of a “Why Micro” video – this video will have a creative feel to it and hopefully will bring a call to action for agencies to consider micro surfacing.
• Development of a 2021-2024 strategic plan – during this planning meeting we developed 4 strategies:
• Be the industry leader for technical and education support
• Create and promote guidelines, technical bulletins and industry best practices resulting in durable, long lasting treatments that are widely utilized and become enforceable specifications
• Grow ISSA membership and increase participation in ISSA
• Grow market for ISSA member treatments
• Continued evolution of the Leadership Development Team (LDT) – this team has really been involved this year with webinars, recruitment of committee members, and collaborating with the AEMA LDT on submission of an article to TR News.

In closing, I would just like to say that it has been an honor serving as your President this year.  One of the most rewarding parts of my term as president, and of my years on the Board, has been the chance to meet so many of you, to establish some lifelong friendships and to understand what impact ISSA has made on your businesses or careers.

I could not ask to be a part of a more dedicated group of like-minded, passionate colleagues and friends than my fellow ISSA Board members. Thank you!!! You, the membership, are always at the front of their minds and with your support, ideas, and input, they will serve us all brilliantly. Our new incoming President, Chuck Ingram of Slurry Pavers will be a great leader for all of us!

And to the staff of CM Services, Ali, Anne and our head coach, Rick: Thank you! We must be the most fortunate trade association of any kind in this country to have a staff that is so hard working, dedicated, and invested in our success and future.  I appreciate everything you did to help me out this past year.

And to all of you: Thank you for your continued support. I have been honored to be your President this past year and to be a representative for our industry.

Thank You,
Larry Tomkins
ISSA President