Dear ASA Members:

It’s the start of summer, and I know many of us – my family included – are taking a break to recharge, reconnect, and prepare to reengage with the balance of the year ahead.  I hope that you find the opportunity to do the same – both with your family and with your company over the summer months.

    My leadership coach is a former army green beret and West Point graduate. We discussed the maxim in our last coaching session that, “You aren’t promotable if you aren’t replaceable.”  It’s such a simple statement, but there is a huge amount of truth to the statement. One of the great things about the officers that are leading ASA, including incoming ASA President, Rusty Plowman, is we, as an organization, have embraced this philosophy for a long time, with our history of amazing ASA Presidents who have developed an incredible follow-on team that is in the wings. I can assure you, the slate of officers coming forward is of absolute rockstar quality, and great things are on the horizon for this organization.

    With that encouragement, one of the best things you can do for your company and for ASA is to renew your membership in ASA and encourage your chapter members to promptly renew their memberships. We have had substantial legislative and legal successes this year, and those efforts require a budget to support the same.  Likewise, your local chapters also require funds to operate, which are directly supported by your membership dues. As we have said before, ASA projects nationally, but the engagement is at the local/chapter level. The more you put into ASA with your time and effort, the more you will get back out of ASA – both at the chapter and national level.

I encourage you to spend a little time in Contractor’s Compass this month and our focus on safety and OSHA issues. It is my prayer every day that everyone on the Lone Star Paving team makes it home safe and sound, and I am sure we all share that thought in our own companies. No task that we undertake is worth putting the safety of our teams at risk. I think you will find the topics and articles this month to be quick reads, and that you will take a few thoughts and ideas from them to improve your company.

    Thank you again for the opportunity to have served as your 2021-2022 National ASA President. I have been deeply humbled by the opportunity, and am excited for what the future will bring with Rusty Plowman at the helm as ASA President!

Sincerely,

Brian K. Carroll