The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) announced today that Ronald M. White, Chairman Emeritus of Gainesville, Va.-based Superior Paving Corp., is the 2015 inductee to the Asphalt Pavement Hall of Fame. White was honored today (Feb. 10) at a ceremony during the association’s 61st Annual Meeting in La Quinta, CA.
The Asphalt Pavement Hall of Fame was established to recognize and honor individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions of regional and/or national importance to the asphalt industry and whose work has led to innovations in the production and placement of asphalt, the usage of asphalt as a paving materials, and/or the general advancement and recognition of the industry.
“The Asphalt Pavement Hall of Fame is pleased to recognize Ron White for his outstanding leadership and for his many contributions to the asphalt industry both in Virginia and across the nation,” said Mike Cote, 2015 Chairman of the NAPA Board of Directors. “He has been a constant champion for quality and innovation in asphalt pavements.”
White, a native Virginian, got his start in the asphalt industry when a friend approached him about joining Superior Paving Corp., a new company started in Northern Virginia. Despite not having a background in the industry, White embraced the challenge and helped build Superior Paving Corp. to one of the largest asphalt producers/contractors in the state.
While helping to build Superior Paving Corp., White has also engaged with industry and governmental groups at the regional and national level, serving as National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) Chairman in 2007, Virginia Asphalt Association (VAA) President in 1991– 92 and 2005–06, and President of the Heavy Construction Contractors Association (HCCA) in
Northern Virginia in 1997. White has been a strong supporter of the state asphalt pavement associations and a believer in the importance of those state associations working in partnership with NAPA.
A true visionary, White has worked constantly to do what’s best for the industry today without ever losing focus on what positions the industry best for the future. White played a crucial role in setting the stage for the successful implementation of warm-mix asphalt in the United States. As co-chair of the Warm-Mix Asphalt Technical Working Group from 2008–2011 he partnered with FHWA to help secure research funding and an industry consensus around the benefits and value of warm-mix asphalt.
In 2012, White stepped into a new role as Chair of the Pavement Economics Committee, which was formed by NAPA and the state asphalt pavement associations to identify and fund necessary national scientific research and lobbying efforts to quantify and extend the advantages of asphalt pavements.
White is also committed to ensuring the industry has a trained pool of workers and leaders for the future. Since 2005, he has served on the Board of Trustees for the NAPA Research & Education Foundation, and he is chair of the HCCA Sidney R. Johnston Memorial Trust educational foundation. He also sits on the Executive Steering committee of the Virginia Education Center for Asphalt Technology, which was established in 2015.
Finally, it is due to the work of White that asphalt pavement has a place in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. He successfully led the NAPA initiative to ensure the museum recognize asphalt pavement in its permanent exhibit on the role and influence of transportation in U.S. society, including overseeing the production of the asphalt pavement installed in the America on the Move exhibit.
White’s significant contributions and leadership have been an outstanding benefit to NAPA, the state asphalt pavement associations, and the asphalt pavement industry as a whole.
