The 2024 AEMA-ARRA-ISSA Annual Meeting held on February 19-23 brought nearly 400 members, agencies, and non-members to Palm Harbor, Florida. Coming together collectively for the 21st consecutive year, the Asphalt Emulsion Manufacturers Association (AEMA), the Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association (ARRA), and the International Slurry Surfacing Association (ISSA) did not disappoint attendees for their first time back to Florida since 2016.
Program Chairs, Matt Kennedy, AEMA, Bryan Ray, ARRA, and Jeff Roberts, ISSA, spent months planning this Annual Meeting. They worked together to find innovative speakers for the joint general session along with planning their own individual technical sessions.
Keynote Dr. Ivan Joseph, Vice President of Wilfrid Laurier University, kicked off the General Session with the theme of resilience on Wednesday morning. Next, Brent Hutto, Truckstop.com, educated attendees on current supply chain issues. Attendees then heard from Austin Potts, Polk County, FL, on their pavement preservation program. Finally, attendees received updates from AEMA-ARRA-ISSA industry partners. Presenters included Antonia Nieves, FHWA, Pete Grass, Asphalt Institute, Mark Ishee, FP2 President, Dr. Adriana Vargas, NCAT, and Rick Church, AMAP Executive Director.
Wednesday afternoon was dedicated to ISSA’s Technical Session. The session started with attendees hearing from the 2024 ISSA President’s Award Winners. First, Matt Ferguson with VSS International presented on their large project win for their work with the City of San Diego. Next, small project winner Justin Guiles, Vestal Asphalt Inc, shared their work within the Town of Owego, NY. Next, Dr. Vargas shared information on using recycled materials in pavement preservation. With sustainability at the forefront in the industry, Dr. Andrew Braham, University of Arkansas, provided an update on the sustainability initiatives. Lastly, attendees heard from Troy McCain of Hernando County, FL on two agencies’ perspectives of pavement preservation.
On Thursday morning, the Awards & Recognition Breakfast took place. During this time, the AEMA, ARRA, and ISSA Boards were recognized, including retiring and new board members for ARRA and new officers and one new board member for ISSA. AEMA, ARRA, and ISSA also awarded various winners for their respective awards.
Following the Awards & Recognition Breakfast was ARRA’s Technical Session. Kicking the session off was Bill Evans, Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, and Mike Hemsley, Paragon Technical Services, sharing an innovative FDR approach that Effingham County, GA used which included fly-ash. Next, attendees heard from Michael Concannon, Pavement Recycling Systems, and Nassim Sabahfar and Alex Machupa, Western Federal Lands Highway Division. They discussed their experiences using CIR in Yellowstone National Park. Matt Teto, indus, then shared information on paver-placed asphalt recycling using an engineered process. Finally, Blair Heptig, Kansas Department of Transportation, educated attendees on the HIR projects in Kansas.
AEMA’s Technical Session concluded Thursday. Members of AEMA’s Leadership Development Team which included Amy Blaide, Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Nat Borsh, Russell Standard, Aaron Roy, Nouryon, Chris Talley, Ingevity, Ernesto Santillan, Ergon Asphalt & Emulsion, & Jamie Wing, Ingevity, looked at the future of asphalt emulsions. Then Asphalt Institute’s Mike Anderson looked at the progress towards the development of national performance with related specification for emulsified asphalt binder. Next Andy Clayton, Blueline Transportation/Enviroad discussed emulsion paddle viscosity. And finally, Justin Suda, Elijah Bickl, and Tony Kucharek with McAsphalt Industries Limited shared the advances in high-float emulsion residues.
The 2024 AEMA-ARRA-ISSA Annual Meeting could not have been made possible without the support from various sponsors. Thank you to the following:
Green Sponsors:
· Caterpillar Inc
· Wirtgen America
Gold Sponsor:
· BOMAG
Silver Sponsors:
· Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions
· Russell Standard
· TRCC
Lanyard Sponsor:
· Caterpillar Inc
WiFi Sponsor:
· Rock Solid Stabilization & Reclamation, Inc.
Mobile App Sponsor:
· Highway Rehab Corporation
Videographer Sponsors:
· Asphalt Materials, Inc.
· FAE, USA
Bronze Sponsor:
· Albina Asphalt
· Arkema
· Astec Industries
· Dalworth Machine Products, Inc
· Global Emissionairy
· Ingevity
· Nouryon
· VSS Macropaver
· Vance Brothers
· Walker Industries
· Zigong International Marketing LLC
Golf Beverage Cart Sponsors:
· Albina Asphalt
· Westen Emulsions
Golf Breakfast & Luncheon Sponsors:
· BASF
· BOMAG
Golf Contest Hole Sponsors:
· Astec Industries
· Terry Asphalt Materials
The 2025 AEMA-ARRA-ISSA Annual Meeting is heading to Rancho Mirage, California, March 3-7. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year.
Let's Connect
