The Asphalt Emulsions Manufacturing Association (AEMA), Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association (ARRA), and International Slurry Surfacing Association (ISSA) came together in Rancho Mirage, California from March 3-7 for their 22nd consecutive Annual Meeting. This Annual Meeting brought together contractors, suppliers, manufacturers, government agencies, and academia from nine different countries.
Program Chairs, Matt Kennedy (AEMA), McAsphalt Industries Limited, Bryan Ray (ARRA), Alpha Milling Group, and Chris Oakes (ISSA), Pavement Solutions, Inc., joined forces to put together a program that included innovated topics, job stories, and ways to keep our employees engaged and safe.
The General Session started on Wednesday with Aaron Witt of BuildWitt kicking off the Annual Meeting with his keynote presentation. Workforce development is the hottest topic within our industry, Witt and BuildWitt are doing their best to help the Dirt World attract, train, and retain the next generation. Attendees heard from Witt on the steps to take and how to build our industry. Next, Dr. Vince Hafeli spoke to attendees on mental health and how it relates to being an industry leader. Robert French with the City of Elk Grove, California then shared the three key areas the city focused on to achieve a successful pavement management program. Lindsay Matush, Vario, shared updates on RoadResource.org and how one agency has used various tools to transform their approach on network management. Lastly, brought back by popular demand, John Rathbun, Culter Repaving, moderated an Industry Panel which included panelists, Reed Ryan, Asphalt Institute; Dr. Adriana Vargas, NCAT; Dave Henderson, FP2; Bouzid Choubane, NCPP; Dan Koeninger, AEMA; Jason Wielinski, ARRA; and Brad Pearce, ISSA.
ARRA held the first Technical Session on Wednesday afternoon. Kicking off the session was Dr. John Harvey, University of California, Davis discussing the factors affecting the environmental LCA of cold recycling and its alternatives. Dr. Ben Bowers, Auburn University, shared information on the construction and initial performance of the 9th NCAT Test Track Cycle. Attendees heard from Leonard Mahserelli and Christina Pang, CALTRANs, on their cold recycling pavement program. Lastly, Amina Mannan and Roger Schlierkamp with GMU Pavement Engineering, spoke on implementing full depth reclamation for private projects which included unique insights for cost-effective pavement reconstruction.
The 2025 Awards Ceremony and Recognition Breakfast was held on Thursday morning. During the ceremony, AEMA, ARRA, and ISSA awarded various projects and recognized their past presidents and current Board of Directors. Keep a look out on their LinkedIn accounts over the next few weeks to learn more on each association’s winners. The Awards Ceremony also recognized the inaugural PPRA Network Award winners. The Horizon Award winners included Bryan Dhume, Madison County; Jorge Duran, Maricopa County Department of Transportation; Bradley Klinger, Fayette County Road Department; and Tyler Lawrason, Municipal District of Provost. The 2025 Network Hero Award was given to Mackenzie Kelley with Charleston County.
Following the Awards Ceremony and Recognition Breakfast, AEMA held their Technical Session. First, hosted by AEMA’s Leadership Development Team, attendees heard from a panel discussing the sustainable practices in asphalt emulsion, recycling, and applications. Panelists included Dr. Andrew Braham, University of Arkansas, Rathbun, and Art Baker, indus. Next, Dr. Braham, shared information on the comparison of lab-produced Asphalt Emulsions by manufacturing equipment type. Then, Jeff Weitzel, Arkema, highlighted the CDOT SH 149 Cold-In-Place-Recycling project which is the largest asphalt emulsions recycling project in the west. Aaron Roy, ChemCo, reviewed asphalt emulsion research summaries and takeaways. Finally, Scott Dmytrow, Pavement ACES, provided attendees an inside look at the new AEMA training program for agencies.
The last Technical Session was presented by ISSA. Attendees heard from VSS International’s Matt Ferguson on both of their 2025 President Award winning projects- Golden Gate National Recreation Area and The Sea Ranch Association. Then, Dr. Braham introduced the TREAT Mobile Lab to ISSA. Next, Jamie Wing, Ingevity discussed the full gradation wet tracks for slurry surfacing systems. Lastly, Matt May with Slurry Pavers, Inc. shared how powerful community outreach can be.
The 2025 PPRA Golf Outing took place on Friday morning. The outing brought nearly 80 golfers out for a day on the Pete Dye Course which overlooked the beautiful scenery and mountains. Prizes were given to the top three teams and for various contests throughout the course.
The 2025 AEMA-ARRA-ISSA Annual Meeting could not have been made possible without our wonderful sponsors. A big thank you to the following:
Green Sponsors:
- Caterpillar
- Wirtgen Group
Silver Sponsors:
- Bergkamp
- Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions
- Pavement Preservation Group
- TRCC
Lanyard Sponsor:
- Terry Asphalt Materials & Midland Asphalt Materials
WiFi Sponsor:
- Rock Solid
Mobile App
- Astec
Videographer Sponsor:
- Asphalt Materials
- Dalworth Machine Products
Bronze Sponsors:
- Albina Asphalt
- Arkema
- BASF
- Bomag
- D&H Equipment
- Ingevity
- International Tank Service
- Kao
- Nouryon
- Walker Industries
Golf Tournament Title Sponsor:
- EnviRoad
Golf Beverage Cart Sponsor:
- BASF
Golf Contest Hole Sponsors:
- Albina Asphalt
- Astec Industries
Mark your calendars for the 2026 AEMA-ARRA-ISSA Annual Meeting for February 17-21 in Austin, Texas. Registration is scheduled to open in late October.
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