Leading the Celebration

This content first appeared in the Spring 2025 print edition of NAPA Quarterly. Subscribe here.

NAPA Chairman Pat Nelson likes to say he got into the asphalt business the old-fashioned way.

“I married the boss’ daughter,” he laughed, recounting a 30-year career spent at Lehman-Roberts.

“It was probably a little self-serving in that he wanted his future son-in-law to have gainful employment. It didn’t take me long to really fall in love with the industry, but the thing I fell in love with most was the people,” Nelson said. “I love what we do. I love that we get to build. I love that we help people get to schools and hospitals and churches and synagogues every day.”

That love and pride in what the industry does led Nelson to appreciate how Lehman-Roberts’ asphalt mix plants and pavers are building and rebuilding the critical infrastructure of the nation.

“There’s nothing in this country that doesn’t move somewhere on a truck. All those Amazon boxes don’t mysteriously appear on your front porch. It’s because a truck drove across asphalt to get it there,” he said. “It’s pretty amazing that our relatively small industry gets to have such an outsized impact on the communities where we live and work.

“I love what we do. I love that we get to build. I love that we help people get to schools and hospitals and churches and synagogues every day.”

– NAPA Chairman Pat Nelson

“At Lehman-Roberts, we say our mission is to help communities where we live and work to thrive. The first way is that we provide the infrastructure that acts as a catalyst for thriving communities.”

Nelson sees a lot of value in taking that perspective to Washington, DC, to share it with the legislators charged with funding infrastructure. He has made no secret about it being a major priority for NAPA during his Chairmanship, which will mark the last full year of the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act.

“I want to begin to weave into NAPA’s DNA a regular drumbeat of advocacy that becomes a part of our identity,” he said.

AN INDUSTRY WORTH CELEBRATING

“There’s really a giving spirit within our industry,” Nelson says. “And whether it’s talking about work zone safety, safety in general, or mental health, there’s no trade secrets there. We’re all invested in those things and we can help each other.” Nelson said he sees evidence of that spirit across the industry, from the smallest companies to the largest.

“There’s something about the culture that permeates the companies in our industry and those values seem to bubble to the top at almost all the member companies,” he said. “Whether they’re huge public companies or mom-and-pops, they value hard work, doing the right thing for their communities, and doing the right thing for their employees.”

The industry’s investment in workers pays off in other ways, too, Nelson said, the asphalt industry has countless examples of generational families who continue to serve in values-based companies.

“There’s just something unique about our industry and I think it comes back to those core values,” he said. “I wish I knew what that secret sauce was. I’ve never put my finger on it but I do think it’s worthy of noting and celebrating.

“It’s also worth issuing a challenge to not lose it as the industry continues to consolidate. Let’s challenge the industry to continue pouring into the younger folks that are coming up our ranks and make sure we continue to treat people like human beings. Let’s make sure that we preserve that for the next generation.”

OPPORTUNITY ADVOCACY

With a new administration in place and dozens of lawmakers in Congress with little to no knowledge about the complexities of surface transportation funding, Nelson ascends to the Chairmanship with an excellent opportunity to set the stage for the country’s next highway bill.

Nelson said he’s excited about the direction the NAPA Government Affairs team is heading, citing a banner year for NAPA PAC in 2024 that saw NAPA members host more Congressional plant tours in one month than in any previous year in recent memory.

“We can’t make Congress do it, but we can sure swing for the fences, and the way to do that is to have a voice in the room.”

He also said he is doing his homework, having reviewed the last five highway bills dating back to 1998’s Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). His research gave him insight on how continuing resolutions have filled gaps in the past and how those temporary funding agreements have often hamstrung progress.

Nelson said while avoiding the pitfalls of previous highway bills is foremost in his mind, he can only make sure that the industry is heard on the issues that affect it most.

“We can’t make Congress do it, but we can sure swing for the fences,” he said. “And the way to do that is to have a voice in the room.”

PAVING THE WAY FOR COMMUNITY

Lehman-Roberts has a storied history reaching back to its founding in 1939, when it paved its first street in Memphis. Sister company Memphis Stone & Gravel officially joined the family in 1972, and the two companies were acquired by Granite Construction in 2023.

Together, they have earned three straight Operational Excellence Awards for Community Involvement on the strength of their employee-led community service projects, which kick off each January with a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.

“We believe that our communities are healthiest when the city is healthiest. It’s really a faith-based principle for me, personally, but I believe that it rings true. We invest in what we call Mission Partners who are particularly gifted in those areas,” he said.

“On MLK Day, it’s all hands on deck for a day of service with some of those mission partners. This year, it was 15 local non-profits. We also host additional service projects with others throughout the year as well. The thinking is that if we can be a partner with them to help them be successful, then we’re all winning. It’s an investment back in our business: Our area of the Mid-South is prospering so we don’t only see it as altruistic.”

Supporting communities also includes the team members of Lehman-Roberts and Memphis Stone & Gravel. Nelson said the passing of a worker in 2021 revealed to him the severity of the construction industry’s high rate of suicide.

“It’s a huge problem in our industry,” Nelson said. “It might even be a more direct danger to workers than work zone intrusions.”

Nelson said he learned about the depths of the construction industry’s issues with mental health from Ajax Paving Industries of Florida President Vince Hafeli. Nelson said Hafeli brings an authenticity to his work that he’d like to emulate while NAPA Chairman. He was particularly encouraged by Hafeli’s implementing of mental wellness practices at Ajax based on what he learned during his graduate work on mental health in the construction industry.

“Vince is particularly passionate about this issue because of his own personal story,” he said, referring to Hafeli’s book, Mental Health and Suicide: My personal story and the stories of those left behind, with a deep dive into the construction industry. “I appreciated his willingness to be vulnerable enough to share that. When I think about why he’s making an impact in our industry, it’s really his vulnerability and conviction.

“Those are great leadership principles, whether you’re talking about mental health and suicide, or work zone safety, or continuous improvement in our organizations: Being humble and sharing ‘Here’s what I learned and here’s how we’re going to try and do it going forward.’ That’s a great model for leadership.”