A Letter from ISSA President, Brad Pearce:

I hope this letter finds everyone doing well as we head into the holiday season and near the end of another successful year in the Pavement Preservation industry!

This time of year, usually allows us to slow the pace a little and look back on all we have accomplished during the busy season and year behind us as we start making plans for next year.  I feel that our industry has had a very successful 2024 as it continues to grow and prosper.  I think we have succeeded as an industry in getting the word out about pavement preservation and it seems that more and more agencies have been showing an interest in learning about and using our treatments.  Now it is on us to keep the momentum going.

The ISSA Board of Directors has been working on a new strategic plan that will be the basis for our plans and goals as we proceed into the coming years representing the pavement preservation industry.  The most important resource at our disposal is the incredible people at all our member companies and throughout our industry that drive our association along with our partners at AEMA and ARRA.  The more we can increase participation throughout our groups, the more successful we will be in the future.  I would ask every member to look for ways to get involved with the efforts of the associations that represent our industry.  Whether it is by serving on a committee, serving on a board of directors, or simply attending and participating in the meetings and events sponsored by our associations, the collaboration and sharing of experience and knowledge helps us all grow and improve as an industry.

Here are a few of the ongoing initiatives ISSA has been working on in 2024 and will continue with into the coming years:

• 2025 Slurry Systems Workshop – This workshop is the premier training and educational event in the pavement preservation industry. Registration for this meeting recently opened on September 9, 2024.Your workshop committee has been hard at work updating and improving on an already stellar curriculum. If you have not attended before, please make plans to do so in 2025.
• 2025 AEMA-ARRA-ISSA Annual Meeting – All three associations will be meeting together once again to discuss and learn about the future of the pavement preservation industry and the current and future initiatives that drive it. Committee chairs from all 3 associations are hard at work preparing an engaging and interesting program.
• AR DOT/FHWA/ISSA Web-based training – Arkansas DOT, FHWA, and ISSA subject matter experts have been meeting together with AP Tech to develop new web-based training modules for the various ISSA treatments and combination treatments. Once completed, these training modules will be a resource to teach best practices for all our disciplines to anyone involved in or interested in learning about pavement preservation.
• The ISSA Design and Inspection Manual for Slurry Surfacing Systems has recently been introduced as a mobile application that can be accessed easily on your phone or tablet. This is an invaluable resource for contractor field personnel, inspectors, and project designers, that can now be accessed easily in the field. This application is available to ISSA members through the “Members Only” portion of the ISSA website (www.slurry.org).
• ISSA representatives continue to meet regularly with our PPRA partners to update the RoadResource.org website with current information and improvements to the user tools. The goal is to keep this information and site as current and user friendly as possible, so that it can continue to be a valuable resource that promotes and improves the use of pavement preservation treatments.
• The ISSA Lab Technical Team is constantly reviewing and updating our Technical Bulletins and Guidelines to make sure they match up to “real world” current practices and provide clear guidance to industry partners in proper testing, design, and inspection procedures.
• We are making plans to start developing LCAs, PCRs, and EPDs for our treatments. The plan is to eventually have an EPD tool available for use by ISSA members to meet future project requirements and highlight the sustainability benefits of our treatments.
• The ISSA Technical Response Committee, headed up by our new Technical Director, Chris Hollenback, is always available to assist with questions or issues through the “Ask an Expert” link on the ISSA Website (www.slurry.org).
• ISSA Forum Calls, held several times throughout the year, are an opportunity to ask for technical assistance or simply discuss current issues and challenges facing you or your team, and see how others in the industry deal with similar situations or problems. The more attendees we have on these calls, the more industry experience we have to draw on as a group to help solve the problems we all face on a day-to-day basis.

These efforts are all made possible through valuable time that is volunteered by our members and their member companies to help our industry grow and improve for us all.  Please consider joining in these efforts as you can, and I assure you that your membership value will grow through participation and interaction with the amazing group of people that make up our industry and our three associations as part of PPRA.

I hope you all enjoy some time to with family and friends through the coming holiday season, and I wish all of you, your families, and your friends all the best for the coming new year!

Sincerely, 
Brad Pearce
ISSA President