VAA Virginia Asphalt Fall/Winter 2020

VAASPHALT.ORG 07 If you had asked me twelve months ago if our industry was essential, I would have said sure; I always knew we were essential. However, in my heart, I felt very few outside of our industry viewed us that way. In March, Virginia’s economy was halted due to shutdowns mandated as coronavirus deaths increased, but our industry was tasked to carry on. We were asked to keep working and to be an outlet for the newly unemployed to find work. The State’s eyes were looking to construction and the asphalt industry to keep Virginia moving forward, but we had to find ways to do our work safely. We had to grapple with risks that had never been a concern before. Issues had to be solved that just days or weeks back were no problem. We had to find new ways to work. It was imperative that a safe and comfort- able work environment be created for employees. To solve many of these problems, industry turned to something much more important than being “an essential business,” we turned to our “essential employees.” They often say crises and disasters are the fires that stoke innovation. I saw it first- hand amongst our workforce. It started as coworkers coming together to solve problems such as the shortage of sanitizer. Employees from all ranks were scouring the internet, connections, and friends to find the required disinfectant. Some even started making it at home so that their crews could continue to work as friends and relatives around them were being laid off. The innovation did not stop there. As the focus to create safe environments contin- ued, we saw coworkers brainstorm new ideas and improve on old ones. We have developed minimalistic portable handwash stations, used plexiglass to create barriers when we cannot be six feet apart, and found new ways to handle paperwork and load tickets to minimize the risk of transferring the disease. Terms like ZOOM, BlueJeans, and Teams have a different meaning to all of us now than they did twelve months ago. Our workforce’s willingness to accept these new options has been a critical component in keeping everyone safe while still allowing a form of person-to-person communication to continue. David M. Horton, Division Manager, Virginia Paving Company CHAIRMAN’S PERSPECTIVE Keep Moving Forward Let’s not forget about the personal sacrifices our workforce has made along the way. Suddenly, employees had to balance work stresses with children at home fulltime due to canceled school. They had to find new solutions to personal problems. We know that our industry can be dangerous, but new questions and concerns that each employee had to answer were coming from their coworkers, their children, and their spouses. They continued to work through it all, continued to make safety and quality a priority, and, most importantly, continued to be the force that drove innovation, and Virginia, forward. They are the “essential” in “essential business.” As an industry, we have always persevered during the most challenging times, and we must stay positive and keep moving forward. As Aristotle wrote, “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” They continued to work through it all, continued to make safety and quality a priority, and, most importantly, continued to be the force that drove innovation, and Virginia, forward.