Kevin Kelly, president and CEO of Indiana-based paving contractor Walsh & Kelly, took over as chairman of the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) at the group’s 61st annual meeting in La Quinta, California.
Walsh & Kelly operate five permanent asphalt plants and provides services including excavation, grading and paving in northern Indiana.
Kelly has served on the NAPA Legislative and PAC committees for the past nine years and acted as vice chairman of their MAP-21 Reauthorization Task Force. He also served as chairman of the NAPA Pavement Performance Task Group that created strategies for mix design and construction practices for maintaining asphalt performance and durability.
“This is an exciting time for NAPA and our industry. We have a number of important educational and research efforts that are bearing fruit, and the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act gives us the chance to work with road owners to deliver high-quality asphalt pavements to the driving public,” Kelly said.
While he lauded the FAST Act, Kelly reiterated to attendees what many in the industry have been saying since its passage: more work must be done.
“We need to keep working on getting a long-term adequate and stable funding. So the work in D.C. is not going to stop,” he says. “We need to keep working on trying to take care of the legislative initiatives that keep us going. It’s an everyday part of what we do and that’s something I’m sure going to be trying to continue.”
Kelly said pavement performance should also be a top focus for the asphalt paving industry.
“It’s not complicated. The pavement performance task force has got several good recommendations. Is it going to cost us a little more money? Yes it is. It’s going to cost more money, but the product is going to last longer and the DOTs and the owners appreciate longer life and durability more than they think about initial cost.”
Kelly also challenged the NAPA membership to become more involved in the association and take every opportunity to mentor and educate new folks in the industry.
“Get involved. You’re getting involved today—you’re here at this meeting. Take it a step further and go to the educational meetings. If you see something you like, get on one of the committees. Give some plant tours. Do outreach at home. These are all things that help to spread our word and the word of NAPA and our members when you’re out there,” he said.
“If you do good work and you do the right thing, people will notice and we’ll drive the market share. Lastly, teach others. We need to do that every day for all of our fellow colleagues. When you see somebody that needs a hand, help them. Don’t assume that they don’t know how to do it. More than likely they’re trying it the best they can. Give them a helping hand. Take the time to teach and take the time to make sure that the job get’s done right.”