Welcome to a new year for the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association (UAPA)! In many ways, 2021 is a pretty significant year for the association. It’s the year we hit 10 years since UAPA was initially conceived and signed into existence! What a decade it has been! And while I have not been around for all of those 10 years, I’ve been here for most of it and I simply can’t imagine a better place to be as a result. In many ways, it’s hard not to grow just a little nostalgic as I look back and think about all that has been done the past 10 years as UAPA was formed, developed, and grown in to what it is today. In many ways, the time has simply flown by and I am not sure where it all went, but in many other ways — significant ways — I have seen the dedication and the countless days, hours, and precious minutes of time and work that friends, colleagues, leaders, and many others have put into this association over 10 years. It’s humbling as I stop and think about it as I write this — UAPA is nothing, and would be nothing, without all of these countless individuals and the support of their organizations these many years.

So how should we celebrate UAPA’s 10th birthday? Cake? Candles? A party? All great things, for sure! But what I think you will find in this issue of On the Road is a pretty clear example of what UAPA always does — we work. And not only do we work, we work hard. As you review the project of the year nominees and winners, you’ll see that in this issue. Quality work matters. I think what you will also see is the opportunity to not rest on our proverbial laurels, but to look forward with a certain synergy towards our partnership with the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT). From the interview with Carlos in this issue, it should become clear to all of us that we have far to go as UDOT, industry, and many others address and excel at the opportunities that are now presenting themselves to us as one of the fastest-growing states in the entire country. And opportunity is exactly what I think of as I reviewed the excellent answers that came out of our Industry Roundtable discussion and celebration found in this issue. Workforce, environment, knowledge and skill transfer, innovation, and the further maturation of the association all came to light during that discussion — have I given us enough to go after in the next 10 years for UAPA?

Ten years in; 10 good, challenging, hard, but yet 10 great years in. I am so humbled and proud to be a small part of this industry in Utah. It’s a bit strange to use both of those adjectives in the same sentence, but I can think of no other way to describe how it is that I feel about this association, which, in the end, is truly nothing more than its members, its people, my colleagues, and my friends. Together, we celebrate. Together we have more yet to do. And perhaps that’s the best part of our collective celebration — we all know there are many greater and more challenging things yet to come. Not issues, but opportunities; so let’s do what we have always done and get to work (and maybe just celebrate a little!).

Happy birthday UAPA!