A Note From ISSA President Chuck Ingram

Greetings Everyone!

I hope this finds you and your families well as we transition from the doldrums of winter into another spring paving season.  It seems that the off-seasons go by faster than they used to and we have hardly had a chance to re-energize from last year’s cycle.  The past two seasons have certainly been interesting and have not come without some unique challenges.  We all have endured the pandemic and the logistical issues associated with it and then dealt with the backside problems involving supply chain concerns, labor shortages and in many cases dealing with project deadlines that were in jeopardy of being met due to combinations of these unforeseen situations.  We should all be proud of the resiliency and resolve that our industry has shown to not only take on an unprecedented challenge and not just survive it, but to show our agency partners that we can thrive in these times.

And…now that we have built a game plan for the above-mentioned issues (that are ongoing), we now face some geo-political problems that will test us again.  Material shortages and increased costs will strain budgets.  Once again, one can only think that we are well positioned to help our agencies with cost effective solutions to their pavement preservation needs.

This past year was a very busy one for your Association.  As we spoke about resiliency a minute ago…we learned a lesson from the 100% Virtual World that we have been in and produced the first ever “hybrid” Slurry Systems Workshop.  After two years without putting on a live show, the Workshop returned to Las Vegas and welcomed 350 attendees!  While exciting, it did not come without some new challenges.  Planning for a large in-person event with Covid restrictions still in place was a roll of the dice.  In addition, we had to make these plans around going to a venue that we had not been to.  The Slurry Systems Workshop Committee and the staff at CM Services worked to develop a program that once again was a big success.  We had done a Virtual Workshop in 2021, so why not do one in 2022 in addition to the live event? Again, resiliency and resolve enabled us to bring our industry a level of training unlike any other.  Between the two events, we hosted over 800 attendees.  Most impressively, over half of them were agency partners.

The Annual Meeting a few weeks ago in San Diego was also a big success.  Many thanks to Program Chair Brad Pearce for putting together a very interesting and informative program!  The success of these two events helps keep your Association on very sound financial footing.  That enables us to take on some of the projects I will discuss in a minute.

Last year I listed some Committee goals and upcoming assignments.  Your Committees have been very busy meeting these challenges.  One of the biggest…and most long awaited project was the release of the highly anticipated Design & Inspector’s Manual!!  It is now available to Members for Free Download on the website!  Please use it to your advantage.  Hard copies are available for sale.  Contact Ali and get some copies for distribution to your customers!  The new addition of Designer’s Notes will compliment agency’s efforts in building their program.  Along with Bob Jerman, Debbi Deep, Tim Harrawood and Larry Tomkins I am proud to say this project is complete!  Many thanks as well go to Bobby Betsold with All States Materials Group for formatting the Manual and of course, to Ali Mostardo at CM Services for editing and Administrative help.

Some other Committee Action:

Marketing Committee

• Unveiled the new website this summer
• Rolled out new Marketing Toolkit and Outreach Toolkit for members to use to enhance their presence in the market and help agencies communicate better with customers
• Worked with Vario to produce new engagement & promotional programs and enhance the RoadResorce.org website
• Produced the awaited Micro Surfacing video…and provided a Spanish translated version

Quality, Education & Training Committee

• Formed a Technical Working Group to work w/FHWA on the production of the new Combination Treatments Web Based Training
• Produced 4 webinars on the ongoing FHWA Webinar Series
• Teamed with Vario to continue to provide material for their Webinar Series

Industry Relations Committee

• Has met with and formed new relationship with new NCPP Director Bouzid Choubane
• Worked with FHWA to secure 400 hosted attendees at the Virtual Workshop
• Leadership Development Team was instrumental to success of the Workshop

International Committee

• Identified several events to attend and contacted potential new members in the Latin American market
• Translated the ISSA Exams at the Workshop
• Translated the new Design & Inspection Manual

Slurry/Micro Committee

• Continues work on Full Gradation WTAT Study
• Worked w/NCAT on the Field Study Program

Crack Treatments Committee

• Making progress on updated A-165 Guideline Spec
• Beginning work on Crack Treatments Best Practices Manual

Chip Seal Committee

• Updating current A-175 Guideline and including sections for Fog Seals as well as Scrub Seals
• Developed plan to produce Best Practices Manual for Chip Seals

Membership Committee…NEW!

• Formed this past summer, Chaired by Jeff Roberts
• Tasked with meeting goals set forth in current By-Laws for all Membership levels
• Making good strides with Agency as well as Consultant Engineer memberships

You can see that we have been busy, indeed.  There are some new initiatives that we are excited about and will have more to report on as the year progresses.  The wrap up of the agreement we have with NCAT to evaluate the possibility of getting rapid, reliable and repeatable results to capture the residual asphalt content of mixes in the field will be complete in the first quarter this year. 

The most recent project we have undertaken is to sign an agreement with Dr. Andrew Braham with the University of Arkansas to develop college level instructional modules that detail all of the best practices of our disciplines for use in engineering programs at Universities nationwide.  These modules will be the property of ISSA once completed and will position us very well as we develop the next generation Pavement Preservation Pros!

In closing, I want to wish you all a safe and successful start to the new season.  I am proud and humbled to serve as President of YOUR association and ask that you feel free to reach out to me or any of your Board members at any time if you have suggestions on how we can better represent you and this great industry.

Thank You,

Chuck Ingram
ISSA President