VAA Spring/Summer 2020

VAASPHALT.ORG 07 Someone once asked me, “What do you think is the best part of the Virginia Asphalt Association?” Immediately, I rattled off things such as technical knowledge, various conferences, and our strategic relationship with VDOT. I realized, however, those are the benefits of being a part of VAA, not what makes me enjoy being part of it so much. It took a second for me to realize that the real answer was the sense of family that occurs when you are surrounded by the great people that make up the membership and leadership of VAA. Our industry was founded on family values. Many of the companies, even those that are part of large multi-national corporations today, were at one time family businesses. These values can be witnessed not just within VAA, but in asphalt and construc- tion associations across the country. Many of our current members are still family businesses. As a result of this background, it is easy to understand why VAA feels like family. While I have only been involved in Virginia’s paving industry for 19 years, I have seen relationships grow into marriages, children born and grow into young adults, those young adults obtain careers in our industry, and the unfortunate heartache which comes with family loss. Generational differences present opportunities for evolution as family members’ involvement changes over the years. It truly is a special and unique characteristic of our industry. This leads us as an industry to our next challenge. As our companies and organiza- tion evolve and often become part of acquisitions and consolidation, how do we maintain that feeling of family? How do we make sure VAA maintains family values but embraces evolution and opportunity? A family atmosphere is something I believe is a necessity if you want your organization to be great. I grew up around a family business, one that, while much different than asphalt, has a lot of the same idiosyn- crasies. Sometimes you love each other, sometimes you fight, and sometimes you just have to be the shoulder someone can lean on with no words. It doesn’t matter what the business is—family is family. One of the most significant issues we face is getting people to join the asphalt industry and the construction industry in general. However, I think the bigger question is, how do we create an atmosphere that draws people to want to work with us? As we continue to learn about the various generations (i.e., Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z) that make up our workforce, we need to determine the incentives that motivate each. What will get these very different groups pulling in the same direction and excited to be a part of our companies? I believe that no matter what David M. Horton, 2020 VAA Chairman; Division Manager, Virginia Paving Company CHAIRMAN’S PERSPECTIVE Family is Everything generation you are and what your view of a family may be, we all want to be part of something bigger, something that makes our hard work worth it in the end. VAA has taken a significant step with the creation of VECAT and the work that has been done with VDOT and Virginia’s Community Colleges. But, training people in our industry is only one step. We need to continue to work on making our industry attractive to new employees and, more importantly, how to keep them in our industry once they are hired. I ask you all to take a minute and remember what brought you into the asphalt business, or even better, what kept you in our industry. Who mentored you, was it family or just someone willing to give you some extra time when you started? Were you thanked, or were you appreciated? How did that make you feel? I can answer all of those questions, and most importantly, I know exactly how it made me feel. It made me feel like I was family! Let us all make those we come in contact with feel like family; our industry will be better for it! Our industry was founded on family values. Many of the companies were at one time family businesses.