SPRINGFIELD, IL — Attendees of the Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers' (IAAP) 53rd Annual Convention and Aggregate Miner Safety Conference recently gathered in Springfield, Illinois, to learn about the goods and services offered by 63 of IAAP’s associate member companies with booths in the expo. The event featured two days of educational workshops and social events.

The first day was capped by an opening reception, which offered time for convention attendees to visit the expo and participate in a live auction for concert tickets and overnight accommodations in Nashville, as well as a new Casino Night event where attendees played real casino games for prizes and enjoyed dinner and drinks while networking with others. Casino Night ticket sales raised $9,650 for the IAAP political action committee. On convention day, David Tabor (Hanson Material Service) successfully gathered all of the Clue Game clues and was the drawing winner for a $1,000 prize.

On day one, the Aggregate Policy and Clean Fill Training coincided with the full-day Aggregate Miner Safety Conference offering in-depth education on critical topics. These — and many other convention topics — were organized by IAAP member committees for the benefit of member companies. The "Illinois Environmental & Permit Programs Guidebook for the Mining Industry", a guide for operations managers and employees, was highlighted in one of the convention seminars.

During the opening session, IAAP Committee chairs reported their committee’s past accomplishments and future goals. Special recognition was given to retiring committee members who made career-long significant contributions including Mike Boyda (Vulcan Materials), who was a founding member of the PIE Committee, past Committee Chair, and still helps organize the Rocks, Minerals & Mining workshop for Illinois teachers.

Boyda also served on the IAAP’s Specifications & Technical Committee with another recognized retiring member, Brian Rice (Hanson Material Service) whose contributions to this committee included technical research, overseeing sub-committees on specific issues, and serving as Committee Chair.

The IAAP Public Information and Education Committee members sold 50/50 raffle tickets raising money for their educational efforts. Maryann Macklin (Macklin Incorporated) purchased the winning ticket and donated her $1,733 prize back to the PIE Committee, for a total of $3,467 to support the teachers workshop and public outreach.

The convention closed with a keynote address by Mark Krumenacher (GZA GeoEnvironmental) on the need and importance of industry advocacy and education. Krumenacher is a past recipient of the IAAP’s Industry Leadership award and author of "Quarry Regulatory Control and Permitting: Defending the Foundation of a Sustainable Society".