Rab Summers Elected 2008 TRBA President

(Editor's note: R.T. "Rab" Summers of Summers-Taylor, Inc. in Elizabethton is serving as the 2008 TRBA president. Here are excerpts of his acceptance speech from this year's Annual Meeting.)

...Some of you are probably wondering what I am doing up here. You are thinking that surely I have served as TRBA President before - he's been around forever. Actually, I haven't! I served as president of the Tennessee Asphalt Pavement Association in 1978 - 30 years ago - but never TRBA. I think I have been to more conventions than anyone in this room - even more than (TRBA Director of Member Services) Regina (Bell). Regina - why is it that I have all this grey hair and you don't have any? I just don't understand it!

My first memories are as a boy of 5 or 6 years of age coming to the convention. In those days it was easier for children to miss school, so many parents brought their children along. I grew up at the conventions with the children of other road building families, but many of them are not in the business today. The convention was the main family vacation that our family took each year. I would say that I have been to at least 40 TRBA conventions over the years. I honestly cannot remember very many details of any speech in that many years - except I do remember a couple that seemed to go on forever. That will not be a problem tonight...

The past few years have been very hard for our association. It seems like we have been under attack from a multitude of directions: no-growth advocates that do not want anything built; the administration; the press - you know the crowd. I think that TRBA has done a good job the last two years of changing ourselves to adapt to these new challenges and we must continue to change. We have a new set of bylaws that brings our association rules to current standards and allows for better participation by new board members. We have sold the upper two floors of our building and put the money in the bank. We are on very sound financial footing.

We are also very fortunate to have an excellent staff working for us every day - Kent, Regina, Tara and Stacy. They make being president so much easier and more enjoyable. Most members have no idea what it takes to run an association such as this - the four I mentioned do, and we are lucky to have them.

I want to encourage all of you to be active in TRBA. Now that most of us are doing Internet bidding...most of us do not come to Nashville like we used to. This makes meetings like this, our Mid-Year Meeting, the regional meetings and special events like The Day On The Hill more important. We need your involvement in the business of the association - especially the committees - to make TRBA successful. The most important way that we can support TRBA is to stay active politically. We have to know our state legislators - our representatives and senators - and come to Nashville for our Day On The Hill when we have it. Johnny Coleman started this event two years ago, and it has helped tremendously. Your support this year is probably the single most important thing that you can do for your company and industry.

We all know that there is a funding crisis at TDOT. Will it be addressed in 2008? Most of the politicians in Nashville say no. This is an election year and people do not vote for more taxes in an election year - so they say. A group of us have already had meetings with legislative leaders about the funding gap and they all admit that the gap is there. Kent has been the organizing force behind a coalition that is trying to address the crisis - yes, crisis. There is always a great reluctance to take on any controversial subject like raising user fees on gasoline or other options. Our industry will not initiate a funding increase, but would support such an initiative from the governor or the legislature. The governor in early February said in a speech that he knows that there must be more money put into the DOT - but not until next year. Kent and the TRBA Board of Directors will be constantly monitoring the situation in Nashville, and if the window presents itself we will support an increase with all of our ability.

This is your association and it will be only as good as all of us make it. Even with as many TRBA meetings I have been to, I have always learned something - without exception.

Thank you for the opportunity to be your President. Please be ready to help when you get the call from Kent or me. We will need everyone's help this coming year.

Thank you all very much.

Tennessee Road Builder

March/April 2008