Richard's Heart Felt Thanks

Dear Membership,

"Being joined, we are powerful." In case you didn’t know or remember Blair’s Williamson’s presentation at my retirement banquet at the Greenbrier, those words are engraved in Latin on the beautiful silver plate urns given to me from the membership as a memento of my many years with VAA. Leave it to Blair Williamson to come up with the perfect gift! My philosophy at VAA for the last thirty-five plus years has been just that; together you represent Virginia’s asphalt paving industry and you have the power to control your own destiny. The urns have a place of honor on the mantel in the front parlor of our house and we will think of VAA and the many fond memories of the past three and half decades each time we look at them.  

In the early 90’s I presented a paper at an international asphalt conference in Sydney, Australia and fell in love with the people and the country. It is where I met Maurice Akroyd, BP’s top asphalt expert in the UK (Mike Acott’s friend and mentor mentioned by Mike in the NAPA video and who became a life-long friend of mine) and many more people that would impact my life and career. Through the years I had the opportunity to visit Australia in a work capacity on several more occasions but there was never more than a day or so to see any of the country. With great regret, I would fly back to Virginia lamenting that I had not be able to see more of the land Down Under. Several members of the Board knew that returning to Australia for a true sightseeing trip has been number one on my bucket list for almost thirty years. Giving us the chance to finally SEE Australia is awesome! Thank you for making it possible for Merry Susan and me to fulfill my dream.  

Having the VAA Scholarship named after me is a very special honor and the candidates awarded scholarships in 2016 and 2017 have been outstanding. Considering my academic record at Auburn, there are a few professors who will turn over in their graves when word gets out that there is a scholarship with my name on it!

The VAA Board and membership did an outstanding job with my send off at the 2017 VAA Annual Meeting at the Greenbrier. I was both honored and humbled by the number of people who came, many who had retired from this industry long ago or moved to another state. The opening reception on Wednesday evening and the Past Presidents’ Dinner that followed were truly trips down memory lane, and felt more like a high school reunion than business functions. There is a special bond between those who have been President of VAA and I think we could have talked and shared memories long into the night.  

Wearing Auburn orange and blue colors for the Thursday night reception and banquet was a nice touch. There were people there in orange and blue for the first time in their lives and I know it was especially hard for the VT Hokies since Auburn and UVA share the same colors. No wonder, Auburn’s first football coach was a UVA graduate!  At the banquet, the music, photos from my childhood, teenage years, and time at Auburn were great, not sure where they got some of those, and most of the people there had never seen me with hair! C. J. Potts did an excellent job standing in for his father and I was honored that he and Julie chose to come from Indiana to attend my retirement on his birthday. Mal Kerley is always great and was the best VDOT Chief Engineer I dealt with over my 40 years working with VDOT on behalf of the highway construction and asphalt paving industries. His kind words and well wishes from some of VDOT’s past Commissioners were appreciated.  

Brian Prowell and I have been friends since his VTRC research days and he has the brightest research mind in this industry. When we are together we too often revert to "asphalt geek mode," which Merry Susan and Marcia find very boring, and there are more than a few examples that could be mentioned - like detouring down a back road in Tasmania because we saw a sign that said "tessellated pavement" and we wanted to know what that was. I had no idea he could be so funny!  

What father isn’t proud of his children? I was glad Taylor and his fiancé and Ali were able to be there for my retirement.  I encouraged my children to choose their own paths and be happy in life.  No one was more surprised than I when my daughter chose a construction management track at Virginia Tech and a career path in highway construction. Ali did an excellent job throwing "Big Cheese" under the bus but all in good fun. Fortunately, she takes after Merry Susan, as she is a rising star in Lane Construction Corporation.  

 

And then came Ron White.  Ron has been waiting for many years for one more shot at me and I was prepared for the worst (a story there, for sure!).  Ron has been VAA President twice and we have served together on innumerable committees, task forces, technical working groups, panels and other groups on behalf of the asphalt industry at the state and national level over the years.  We know each other well so Ron would know just where the soft spots are.  But Ron is such a class act that I knew he would blend just the right amount of humor, jabs, accolades, and truth to make his remarks entertaining, insightful, and spoken as a friend.  I don’t think he disappointed any of us.

When I stood at the podium and looked out on the Board of Directors, VAA membership, friends, family and spouses for the last time there was so much I wanted to say, so many people I wanted to thank, so many memories that came flooding back.  However, I knew that if I started I would not be able to finish without losing it.  I tried again the next morning at the membership meeting but there were just too many emotions and feelings that I still couldn’t do it without choking up.  Let me close by just saying that VAA has been more than just a job, it has been my life for more than thirty-five years and the source of many, many of my life-long friends.  I have always wanted you to be the best asphalt paving companies, Virginia’s asphalt pavements to be the best in the USA, and VAA to be the best state asphalt pavement association. Those were high ambitions considering where we started from but the industry leadership and framework was there, they just needed encouragement.  Together we have achieved so much.  The urns are the perfect gift because my philosophy through the good times and the bad has always been "together, we are powerful".  Thank you for allowing me to lead this organization and for all your support over the years.  I wish each and every one of you and you companies continued success and prosperity.   

God has blessed me tremendously over the years in my career and personal life. I look forward to seeing what He has in store for me in the next chapter of my life. May He bless yours as well.

My new email:  hqasphalt@outlook.com

Best regards to all,

 

Richard J. Schreck

Retired Executive Vice President, VAA