ISSA END OF YEAR PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE: 2022

Greetings Friends,

It is my sincere hope that by the time you read this we are all digesting not only a Thanksgiving feast that was shared by family and loved ones but the wrap up of a safe and successful season as well.  In our part of the world, Mother Nature took the guess work out of when the paving season should end.  Who else is looking at carry-over work?

2022 has been a very busy (and successful) year for your Association as well.  Beginning in January, after a year off due to Covid, we returned to Las Vegas for a live edition of the Slurry Systems Workshop.  Our new venue at Santa Fe Station worked out great and we look forward to a return trip there in a couple of months.  Jimmy Kendrick and the Workshop Committee have put together a great program with some new twists that guarantees to be a hit for our attendees.  Hope to see you there! 

The Annual Meeting in La Jolla, CA was also a big success.  A wide-ranging agenda put together by Program Chair Brad Pearce not only celebrated some award winning projects and programs instituted by agencies, and we heard some technical reports that certainly helped formulate some of our successes in the field this season as well.

In large part, the success of these two events each year enable your Board of Directors to budget and allocate funding for valuable projects each year that benefit all of us.  One such project with NCAT was wrapped up in early summer.  Some valuable lessons were learned in finding ways to achieve reliable residual asphalt content results in the field.  Additionally, we are working with Dr. Andrew Braham on the development of college level pavement preservation training that is already being implemented by several universities in their Fall curriculums.  This program will undoubtedly pay huge dividends in the future by bringing young engineers into our industry.  The PPRA/FHWA Webinar Series continues to draw big crowds.  Bi-monthly Forum Calls, hosted by Technical Director Bob Jerman, have been successful as well while discussing pertinent topics in our Industry.  We will be soon funding the development of EPD’s through the Sustainability Committee.  This is the first stage of assuring environmental certification of our systems.  This will be a huge benefit for all ISSA members once complete.  Your International Committee recently took the new translated marketing materials along with a new booth to the CILA Conference in Uruguay.  It is the largest conference for the asphalt industry in Latin America.  We have committed resources to promote ISSA and all of our disciplines in that market and Board Member Fabio Mendez and his Committee are representing your association very well.  Speaking of affiliations in the industry, ISSA has joined NCPP as a National Member and we have also laid plans for a 5 year commitment to APWA to exhibit at the National PWX Conference.  Also, there has finally been a decision made to move forward with the long anticipated development of a Combination Treatments Web Based Training Module and update the existing trainings.  There will be a group of ISSA Subject Matter Experts working to finally help bring that project to completion. 

These are some of the most impactful activities undertaken by your Board and other dedicated ISSA members. There are other initiatives underway and in the planning stages, stay tuned.  With 2023 right around the corner, the New Year promises to continue to challenge us with ongoing supply chain problems, workforce challenges, higher material costs and gaps in training that affect our agency partners in their budget development.  Please take advantage of the resources available through your association to assist you in facing some of these challenges.   

In closing, and on behalf of your ISSA Board of Directors, we wish all of you the safest and happiest of Holiday Seasons.  We look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Chuck Ingram
ISSA President