Pub. 1 2018-2019 Issue 3

2 WHAT IS THE UTAH ASPHALT CONFERENCE? Reed Ryan Executive Director The Utah Asphalt Pavement Association EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE W e are well into the year 2019 now and things are really beginning to pick up for both the associ- ation and for our industry in general (as if it ever really slows down!). January always tends to be a harder month for me as I am always anxious to see what projects the year will bring and when they will start. Other than my daughter’s birthday, the one thing that tends to also save me from the dregs of January is all the preparation that goes into the Utah Asphalt Conference (UAC). For me, the UAC has really grown into something that we should all be proud of over the past several years. As always, I am grateful to stand on the shoulders of giants and, in the case of the UAC, we simply must give thanks to the Utah Local Technical Assistance Program (Utah LTAP) who carried, as an organization, the torch of the UAC for many, many years. Simply put, without the solid foundation that our LTAP office laid for us, we could not have turned the UAC into what it is today. So, what is the UAC today? My hope is that you will see it as I see it. As not only a place to see friends and colleagues, to network and to share, but as a place to both improve and challenge yourself. Those that know me best, know that my personal goal for the UAC is tomake it, and by relation UAPA, the best conference and association in the country. As I come into the UAC each year, I am consistently asking myself what can I do better? It’s not that I do not think we have something special because, in fact, we really do. But, the minute we stop saying it (or we) can’t get any better is the very minute we lose something because there aremany others who are bothwilling, able, and ready to take our spot. Tomany, the UACmay just be another con- ference and another day on the job, yet to others it is a real opportunity to improve and to be better. That’s my challenge to you this year. Learn something. Contribute something. Or engage in something new this year at the UAC. Get better not because you think it is a good idea, but because you absolutely have to, knowing that the overall quality of themajority of the road infrastruc- ture in Utah belongs to us. We own it. We build it. We maintain and we preserve it. This is how I view the UAC and I proba- bly always will so long as I have chance to influence it through UAPA. I am proud of what we have built together, recognizing our past while always looking forward. So, what is the UAC? Join me on the 26th and 27th and come and find out. 3 Enjoy the conference! ......................... Reed • March – LnL in Cache Valley • April – LnL – Scrub Seals; Possible Spring Regional Conference in Uintah Basin • May – LnL – Production or Construction Demo • June – TBD • July – No LnL • August – UAPA Golf Classic and Scholarship Fundraiser • September – TBD • October – TBD • November – UAPA Fall Asphalt Conference (St. George) • December – UAPA Membership Appreciation Event CALENDAR “Get better not because you think it is a good idea, but because you absolutely have to, knowing that the overall quality of the majority of the road infrastructure in Utah belongs to us.”