A Year In The Chair

This issue marks 12 months as the editor for Asphalt Contractor Magazine.

Ayear ago, I took over as the editor for this publication from Jessica Lombardo, who spent the previous decade with the brand and within this amazing industry. It's no secret that my success here wouldn't have been possible without her help in the transition, and even now, she continues to be an amazing support. At that time I didn't know anything about the asphalt business or the paving world, and I didn't really have a very deep understanding of our country's infrastructure for that matter. It's very interesting what can change in the matter of a year.

Passion Projects

If you've been paying close attention to the articles that I write both here and on our parent website ForConstructionPros. com, you might have picked up on the sorts of things that I am passionate about. One of those themes is sustainability, and the other is labor.

While I've covered plenty of stories on technology, products, and some best practices too, I am very taken up with how the future is being shaped by the direction and influences of sustainability and labor. That’s because sustainability isn't just an industry or political buzzword. Actual policy, product, and practice is currently being implemented with it at the center, and the generation coming into the industry is playing a major role is this trend.

The next generation of labor is more environmentally conscious than any previous generation before them. And they're conscious in another way, too. Labor's "class consciousness" is more awake and active than it has been in the past 30 years. I will continue to cover these two topics in the years to come, as they develop, change, and impact our industry.

Getting My Hands Dirty

Until this summer began, one of the biggest hinderances to my job education was a lack of hands-on opportunity with the real work of the asphalt world. As soon as the plants started kicking on and people were paving, I've tried to get out there and get my hands dirty. Thankfully, I've already had some awesome experiences in Long Island, N.Y.; Philadelphia, Penn.; and a handful of other places yet to come this season.

One of the biggest things that I've drawn from these in-person, on the ground moments, is that the work is full of dynamic decision making. Each site I've been to has had problems arise, right there in the moment, while I've been there trying to learn things. Unexpected breakdowns, no-shows, bad weather, and you name what else. The difference-maker is the ability to change strategically and effectively, adapt to the problem, and find an efficient solution. If you don't know what to do in case the plan fails, all the planning in the world can go out the door quickly, i

Everyone approaches these hiccups in their own way, and each time I'm with a different crew I've learned new things about how to tackle problems as they come. Maybe next time it will be with yours, because I'm always looking for my next chance to get out there!

See you on the road.

E ITORIAL

E Brandon Noel bnoel@acbusinessmedia.com

C E Jessica Lombardo jlombardo@acbusinessmedia.com

M E Gigi Wood gwood@acbusinessmedia.com

S E C

T IRONPROS Charles Rathmann crathmann@acbusinessmedia.com

S E E IRONPROS Michael Cheng mcheng@acbusinessmedia.com

A IENCE A M Angela Franks

PRO CTION

S P M Cindy Rusch crusch@acbusinessmedia.com

A April Van Etten

A ERTISING SALES Amy Schwandt aschwandt@acbusinessmedia.com

S R Sean Dunphy sdunphy@acbusinessmedia.com

S R Kris Flitcroft kflitcroft@acbusinessmedia.com

S R Tadashi Soma tsoma@acbusinessmedia.com

AC SINESS ME IA

C E O Ron Spink

C O JoAnn Breuchel

C R O Amy Schwandt

S C G I Jason DeSarle

C Sean Dunphy

P A Ronda Hughes

P O IT Nick Raether

C Marina Mayer O M S Bethany Chambers

C M S Jess Lombardo

G E Jim Bagan

CIRC LATION S SCRIPTIONS

P.O. Box 3605, Northbrook, IL 60065-3605 (877) 201-3915 | Fax: (847)-291-4816 circ.pavement@omeda.com

LIST RENTAL

S A M Bart Piccirillo | Data Axle (518) 339 4511 | bart.piccirillo@infogroup.com

REPRINT SER ICES

Tadashi Soma (800) 538-5544 ext. 1267 | tsoma@ACBusinessMedia.com

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