A Message from AEMA President Todd Ryne

AEMA President Todd Ryne

Happy Spring, at least that’s what the calendar says.  If you joined us for the annual meeting in Cancun, you had a good taste of warm spring weather.  We had a great meeting along with our other PPRA organizations, ARRA and ISSA. 

Highlights of the General Session included:

• Inspirational keynote speaker, J.P. Dinnell, a former Navy Seal.;
• Panel discussions from Industry Organization Leaders and Industry Executives
• Vario Consulting conducted an illuminating session on using RoadResource.Org as an Educational/Marketing tool with user agencies.

Vario also highlighted the RoadResource.org Power User Training, which is taking place this month. To enhance the website the Marketing Committee and Vario are looking for your help with testimonials of successful pavement preservation projects.

At this year’s Awards Dinner:

• Neil Guiles was inducted into the AEMA Hall of Fame for his many years of outstanding contributions to AEMA and the industry. 
• Rankin County MS, TL Wallace Construction, and Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions were awarded the Past Presidents Awards for the Rankin County 2018 Pavement Preservation Program.      
• Andrew Braham, received the President’s Award for his work with the Young Members Committee and online training courses. 
• Mike Hemsley received the Recognition of Achievement Award for his significant years of service to the ITC and other technical committees.

The AEMA Excellence in Manufacturing Award was launched this year and given to 24 emulsion manufacturing locations.  To receive the award the operations are required to meet a comprehensive list of manufacturing, safety and operating requirements. 

Our outgoing President Mark Ishee was recognized for his excellent leadership over the past two years. Some of the accomplishments under his leadership included the launch of RoadResoure.org, creation of the Excellence in Manufacturing Award, and managing the transition to our new management company.  

Another new twist on this year’s annual meeting was short promotional presentations given by our generous sponsors.  The presentations were given during the general and association sessions rather than the exhibits used at previous meetings.

Our attendance this year was down compared to last year, partially due to the international location and higher cost. We will work hard to manage this in the future, so as many of our members can attend as possible. Our next two annual meetings will be in San Antonio, TX, followed by Tampa, FL.

Since the Annual meeting the third annual Manufacturers Volume Survey was sent to manufacturing members. We strongly encourage members to participate in this confidential survey.

Our members should also be aware that the AEMA Board completed our annual review of our association strategy.  We added objectives for Sustainability, expanding our cooperation with the International Bitumen Emulsion Federation (IBEF), and to renew our efforts for cooperation across the Pavement Preservation industry.

In closing, thank you for your membership and participation in AEMA. Please feel free to reach out to our board, committee members or CM Services with any questions or suggestions.