Group President Joe Vig has been named Grasstops CEO of the Year by the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA).
The Grasstops CEO of the Year award honors the chief executive officer who has been particularly active in recruiting those outside the aggregates industry in advocating for transportation, as well as setting an example for employees regarding the importance of participating in the grassroots program. Vig, a group president with Astec Industries, was presented with the award during NSSGA’s annual convention in Las Vegas, Nev., on March 4.
Vig’s contributions include meeting with numerous members of Congress and congressional staffers, as well as hosting elected officials at KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens’ manufacturing facilities, to discuss the need for reauthorization of the surface transportation bill and to find a sustainable source of revenue to fund the program.
Pam Whitted, senior vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs at NSSGA, said Vig has been a “tireless advocate” for surface transportation reauthorization, urging action before expiration of the current law and insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund.
“He has seized opportunities to talk to lawmakers about the importance of investing in our nation’s transportation infrastructure because an efficient and well-funded system is essential to economic growth, job creation, and preservation of the quality of life Americans enjoy,” Whitted said. “We want hundreds of advocates like Joe!”
2014 marks the third annual “Growing Forward” grassroots recognition program presented by NSSGA. The program was designed to build member participation in the organization’s advocacy efforts.
Since 2011, NSSGA has initiated several grassroots action plans resulting in an unprecedented number of contacts to lawmakers. From bipartisan passage of MAP-21, the two-year surface transportation reauthorization, to putting the brakes on regulations detrimental to the aggregates industry, “grassroots activists have made the difference,” Whitted said.
