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CALENDAR
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Annual CalAPA Golf Tournament set for Thursday, Sept. 22 in Industry Hills Click HERE to sign up! Contact Sophie You of CalAPA at (916) 791-5044 for sponsorship opportunities. *SAVE THE DATE!Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference & Equipment Expo Oct. 26 & 27 in Sacramento. Contact Sophie You of CalAPA at (916) 791-5044 for sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities.
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SOCIALIZE
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| CHOOSE ASPHALT | |
Asphalt is used on about 94 percent of paved roads in America. Why? Because it's smooth, quiet, safe, durable and 100 percent recyclable. Visit the Asphalt Pavement Alliance website learn more about why asphalt is the right choice now more than ever. |
| GET TECHNICAL | |
Are you an engineer, designer or technical professional who makes decisions on pavement type selection? The DriveAsphalt website has technical reports and other resources may be just what you're looking for. Click HERE for more information.
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| CalAPA | | |
California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA)
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 981300
West Sacramento, CA 95798
Main office:
1550 Harbor Blvd., Suite 211
West Sacramento, CA 95691
(916) 791-5044 (phone)
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| BACK ISSUES | |
Did you miss an issue of the California Asphalt Insider? No problem! Past editions of the newsletter are available at the CalAPA newsletter archive page.
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| MAGAZINE |
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CalAPA produces a highly regarded magazine, California Asphalt, and an annual membership directory. To view current and past issues of the magazine, click HERE. For advertising sales information, click HERE or call Kerry Hoover with Construction Marketing Services at (909) 772-3121.
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| STAY INFORMED |  |
Click HERE to receive California Asphalt Insider each week via e-mail FREE! Or visit our website at:
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WATCH
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Click HERE to visit our video page.
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This weekly bulletin contains the latest news and information of interest to the asphalt pavement industry in California. Please feel free to distribute this newsletter to others who may be interested in asphalt pavements. |
 | Annual CalAPA Golf Tournament registration now open; event set for Sept. 22 in Southern California | Registration is now open for one of the most popular industry events of the year, the annual CalAPA Golf Tournament at the fabulous Industry Hills Golf Club at the Pacific Palms Resort in Industry, Calif. This event sells out every year so early registration  is strongly recommended. Click HERE to visit the sign-up page.
The golf tournament is sponsored by the CalAPA Southern California Contractors' Committee. Proceeds from the event help support CalAPA's workforce development efforts, such as its annual International Road Federation fellowship and providing free passes to CalAPA conferences for college students who are aspiring materials engineers.
There are numerous sponsorship opportunities to help CalAPA members build their brand and support a good cause. Proceeds from the event benefit CalAPA scholarship programs.
For more information, contact Sophie You of CalAPA at (916) 791-5044.
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| | If you don't have fun at the CalAPA golf tournament, check your pulse! |
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| Commentary: Transparency goes both ways
| A recurring theme in government these days is "transparency." In other words, for agencies to be open, accessible and "transparent" in how they conduct the people's business and spend taxpayer dollars.
One agency that is wearing this concept on its sleeve is the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the largest consumer of asphalt in the state, which states in its departmental "Vision" statement that it strives to be a "performance-driven, transparent and accountable organization."
An impressive-sounding mission statement is one thing, but for it to truly have credibility it must be backed up by the actions of real people every single day. And in areas where a company, organization or individual falls short of the stated expectations, it is up to bosses, co-workers, stakeholders, customers and others to speak up and hold each-other accountable.
The California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA), which represents the asphalt industry, similarly has "transparency" embedded in its DNA. This newsletter, for example, is accessible to anyone, including members, non-members, agency personnel, academia and others who have an interest in our industry. Similarly, our website, conferences, training classes and other services are widely available, even outside California and overseas.
Our association has a strategic plan, now in its third iteration,  that was developed by members and for members. The plan goals and activities that support the goals are included in every meeting package that is sent out electronically to every statutory board member so, even if they can't make a meeting, they can see what is going on and how their money is being spent. Detailed financial reports supplement this information. Learn more about the CalAPA Strategic Plan HERE.
The government of the United States has long recognized the value of trade associations to elevate standards of industries and professions, which is why they are granted non-profit tax-exempt status. But with that status also comes transparency and accountability expectations, including filing annual tax returns that are publicly available. The CalAPA Board of Directors, like all trade associations, must report to the Internal Revenue Service that the board has reviewed and approved the tax returns before they are filed.
In addition, associations such as CalAPA must have documented policies and procedures in place, such as anti-trust and conflict-of-interest policies, that are reviewed periodically to ensure they are followed. Our anti-trust statement, which is posted on our website and read at every CalAPA board meeting, is HERE. Some associations, including CalAPA and its national partner, the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), go a step further, adopting a "Code of Ethics" to reinforce the values that cascade down to our goals and activities. The CalAPA Code of Ethics is HERE.
The association has made a concerted effort to demystify our operations and educate important constituency groups, including neighbors, environmental activists, regulators and elected officials. When we say we want to be sustainable and environmentally-conscious, we should be able to demonstrate that commitment with tangible examples, such as environmental controls on equipment used in our industry, and procedures followed during plant and pavement operations. This educational effort is never-ending. (See lead article above).
One such example of our commitment to transparency occurred
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| | Members of the California State Assembly Transportation Committee attend an asphalt plant tour earlier this year in Sacramento. |
in June when eight members of the Assembly Transportation Committee were invited to tour a Teichert asphalt plant in Sacramento. A story about that tour is HERE.
CalAPA strives to make valuable technical information and best practices as widely available as possible. Regional technical committee meetings are attended by industry and agency personnel, as are our conferences. The planning committees that develop the content for the conferences are made up of industry and agency representatives, as are the programs themselves. The PowerPoint presentations delivered at the conferences are on-line for anyone to access HERE.
Another prominent example is the Joint Training & Certification program, a collaboration of industry, academia and Caltrans, which is scheduled to begin holding classes later this year. Eventually all industry and agency lab technicians will be held to the same standard, and learn the same information -- often side-by-side -- which should further strengthen transparency and build trust. A newsletter update on that program is HERE.
This open approach was not invented by CalAPA but rather our members, who are practicing it every day and have elevated the concept into the association that represents them. CalAPA will continue to conduct itself in a transparent manner for the betterment of the industry, which will in turn create value for our public owners and other consumers of our product.
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| These guys get it
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As has been reported previously in this space, local agencies are stepping into the transportation funding void in Sacramento by bringing forward their own plans to generate much-needed money to fix roads. Click HERE to read our most recent article on the subject.
The efforts of those agencies are being augmented by local  grass-roots efforts such as one that has sprouted up with a Central Valley emphasis. Dubbled "Save California Roads" and with a social media handle @FixCalRoads the Facebook page calls attention to the road funding crisis both locally and statewide. Click HERE to visit the page.
The efforts augment the "Fix Our Roads" grassroots efforts supported by CalAPA and many other organizations. Click HERE to visit their website.
The state Legislature returns to work today after its summer recess, so this would be a good time to get in touch with your local elected officials to let them know that transportation funding should be among their top legislative priorities. Some resources can be found on the CalAPA Legislative Action page HERE.
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| Tech Term of the Week
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Each week we highlight a word, acronym or other reference commonly used in the asphalt pavement industry in California.
LIQUID ASPHALT: An asphalt material having a soft or fluid consistency that is beyond the range of measurement by the normal penetration test, the limit of which is 300 maximum. Liquid asphalts include cutback asphalt and emulsified asphalts.
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| Quote of the Week
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"In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."
Theodore Roosevelt |
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We hope you enjoy CalAPA's Asphalt Insider. We are committed to providing you with the most up-to-date information on technical issues, regulation, news and events in California that may impact the asphalt pavement industry. Click HERE to contact us with any comments or suggestions.
Sincerely,
Russell W. Snyder, CAE Executive Director California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA) |
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