A Message from ISSA President, Jeff Roberts

Dear ISSA Members & Industry Partners,

I hope that your new year is off to a great start, and I wish each of you a safe and productive year ahead.  These are exciting times for the pavement preservation industry as we continue to see growth in demand for our products and services throughout North America and International markets. ISSA is proudly starting this new year with a new mission statement:

ISSA empowers industry, partners and owners to cost-effectively and sustainably preserve and maintain pavements. 

This mission statement is our commitment to our membership, and it drives our decisions on how we spend our energy and resources to bring value to every member. 

As President of ISSA, it is my honor to recognize the outstanding contributions of outgoing President Brad Pearce. Brad’s dedication, leadership and service to our industry has been felt by our entire membership. In addition to Brad, I would like to thank ISSA’s current Board of Directors – Chris Oakes, Justin Guiles, Dave Welborn, Tim Harrawood, Jimmy Kendrick, Dave Kiser, Matt May, Fabio Mendez, Stan Williams, Technical Director Chris Hollenback, and our incoming Board Members Matt Teto and Jamie Wing.  I would like to convey the Board’s appreciation to Dave Welborn and Rolando Perez who are retiring from the Board this year for their contributions to our success.  I would like to personally thank Dave for his many years of service on the Board, including his service as Board President in 2023, and his friendship and mentorship throughout our many years in the industry together. 

I would like to give recognition to Jimmy Kendrick, Jamie Wing and all ISSA volunteers who participated in this year’s successful Slurry Systems Workshop in Las Vegas which had a record number of 484 registered attendees.  This was an amazing accomplishment. I can remember when we reached 100 workshop attendees in the late 1990’s which was a huge milestone at the time.  What a long way we have come as an industry. 

One of the Board’s biggest accomplishments of the past year has been the development and rollout of our 2025-2027 Strategic Plan.  The key components of this plan are as follows:

• Improve engagement with our members and provide better access to ISSA resources.

• Demonstrate & promote the sustainability of our treatments and assist our members with the development of LCA & EPDs for all ISSA treatments, including the use of recycled materials.

• Establish ISSA as the technical and innovated resource for pavement preservation treatments.

• Develop and implement a marketing strategy to be the voice of the industry.

One of the most important challenges facing our industry moving forward is the State and Federal requirements for Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for our treatments.  Although these requirements are still evolving, ISSA is committed to assisting our members with demonstrating the environmental benefits of the products we deliver through the development of tools to assist our members with Product Category Rules (PCRs) and Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs).

To help address this challenge, ISSA is excited to announce the formation of the Sustainability Committee, which is dedicated to advancing sustainability initiatives within the industry. All interested members are invited to participate in this important committee, which will play a key role in shaping the future of sustainability in our sector.  This committee will collaborate to create industry average Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) for ISSA's treatments and later support the development of a Product Category Rule (PCR) committee. One of our long-term goals is to develop a tool for ISSA members that will help create project-specific Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).  I want to thank Art Baker of indus for chairing this important committee.  The success of this committee will be highly dependent upon the participation of our members, and your expertise and commitment will be instrumental in ensuring that the pavement preservation industry leads the way in sustainability.

I would like to thank ISSA Annual Meeting Program Chair, Chris Oakes and team for planning such an informative and successful event in early March. 

As I reflect on my time spent at the meeting, many thoughts come to mind.  The many friendships I have made in the pavement preservation industry over the past 35 years and the amazing career paths our industry provides its participants.  The long rich history and fellowship of the ISSA and many of the legendary personalities that helped form who we are as an industry and association.  Our current membership is rich with people who are eager to serve and share what they know about the technological advances which are rapidly moving our industry forward.  We have a very bright future ahead! 

Last, I would like to recognize ISSA’s Award winners VSS International, Inc. (President’s Award for Excellence), the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, District 3 (Excellence in Pavement Preservation Award), the community of Christmas Island in Perth, Australia (Preservation Performance Award), and Manufacturas y Procesos Industriales Limitada (MPI)(International Award).

These awards recognize contracting achievements that exemplify the highest standards of workmanship, materials, and adherence to best practices as defined by the International Slurry Surfacing Association. They also honor agencies and communities that have successfully utilized or championed ISSA pavement preservation technologies for many years, integrating them into their pavement network strategies.

I am especially proud to recognize Chuck Ingram of Slurry Pavers, Inc. as this year’s recipient of the Phil Tarsovich Lifetime Leadership award, which is presented at the unanimous discretion of the ISSA Board of Directors. This award honors individuals who have shown exceptional dedication to the pavement preservation industry throughout their careers.

Established in 2020, this award recognizes those with more than 25 years of experience in pavement preservation, significant contributions to ISSA through Committee and Board involvement, and a continued commitment to advancing the goals of this association.  Congratulations Chuck!

As we move forward into the 2025 season, I would like to challenge all ISSA members to participate in next year’s award nominating process.  There is no cost to nominate a project and doing so brings very positive recognition to your company and customers and the hard-working employees who are participating in the success of your projects. Also, every nomination provides our industry with a great success story that can be shared around the globe.

In closing, I would like to thank every member for each, and every contribution made to ISSA no matter how large or small.  Every contribution counts and your participation in our success is essential to our long-term sustainability as an organization.  Again, I wish each of you a safe, productive and profitable year ahead in 2025!

Sincerely,

Jeff Roberts
ISSA President