2010 Greater Iowa Asphalt Conference has Record Attendance!

The Greater Iowa Asphalt Conference (GIAC) held March 3rd – March 5th at the Des Moines Airport Holiday Inn boasted its biggest attendance ever this year, with nearly 500 attendees! The three day event also featured: top-level presentations, sixteen exhibitors, six hospitality rooms and a tremendous level of excitement about quality asphalt paving. The attendees were a wide mix of IDOT, county, municipal and consulting engineers and inspectors along with contractors from the president of the company to the screed man. Everyone was able to find something that fit their interest and level of expertise from the four distinct tracks offered at the conference.

A pre-conference asphalt design class held Wednesday afternoon had over 70 attendees and a pre-conference safety class was attended by over 30 safety specialists. The Thursday session was started by keynote speaker, Kent Stock, former Norway, IA baseball coach and the inspiration for the movie, The Last Season. His message of “How do you want to be remembered?” was echoed throughout the conference by the expert speakers who challenged the attendees to design, inspect, and build quality asphalt pavements to leave a legacy to their followers. This message was culminated in the 2010 Quality Paving Awards Luncheon presided over by Asphalt Paving Association of Iowa (APAI) President, Dan Lewis, Interim IDOT Director of the Highway Division, John Adam, and IDOT Director of Engineering, Mitch Dillavou. Congratulations to the winners of the Quality and Smoothness Awards!


The afternoon session was broken into four tracks with local and national experts discussing paving issues regarding specifications, rehabilitation, safety, and best practices on local, city and county projects. A raucous reception was held in the atrium with vendor introductions and grand prize giveaways. The evening culminated in a hilarious fashion with hypnotist Brian Powers and his volunteers. The hospitality rooms welcomed those who were interested in learning more about their products into the wee hours of the morning.


Friday morning found the attendees bright-eyed and excited about the excellent line-up for the morning session featuring sessions on porous asphalt roadways, the most interesting asphalt projects in Iowa, the new life-cycle cost analysis brochure on overlay alternatives, “How asphalt will save the planet” and finally, the grand prize giveaways provided by our excellent sponsors.

The enthusiasm for this conference, the educational program and the camaraderie of the asphalt family was palpable for three days in March. The Asphalt Paving Association of Iowa and Iowa State University would like to thank the attendees, speakers, presenters, and exhibitors that make the Greater Iowa Asphalt Conference great!

  
Click here to view more photos of the Conference.