The Good Neighbor Award has never been about scale. It's not measured in square footage, gallons, or linear feet. It is measured in intent. In the choice to show up when there is nothing to gain except the satisfaction of doing something right. It's measured by the impact it had for the client, and, more importantly, the members of the community itself.
That is why Love’s Asphalt is the recipient of the 2026 Good Neighbor Award.
Seeing The Need Clearly
When Parish Proud of Acadiana reached out to ask if Love’s Asphalt could support Scott Middle School, the request was modest. Teacher parking. A bus lane. The kind of scope that could have been handled quickly, quietly, and minimally.
Instead, Kris Love, owner and founder of Love's Asphalt Solutions, chose to treat it like top priority project. Before any commitments were made, Love’s team visited the campus. What they found was not unusual, but it was telling.
The school’s parking areas had not been restriped in years. Lines were nearly erased. Grass had crept through cracked pavement. Traffic flow was unclear. Even basic safety markings were difficult to distinguish.
“This wasn’t just faded striping,” Love said. “It was [surfaces] that had been neglected for a long time.”
Because the school needed full access during the week, the work would need to be completed on a weekend. That constraint set the tone for everything that followed.
Choosing To Go Bigger, Not Smaller
Sometimes less is more, but when doing a good deed, well, more is more. Initially, the request focused on a limited area. Teacher parking and a short bus loop, but Love knew what mobilizing a crew meant. Asking people to give up a Saturday isn't that unusual, but asking them to show up tired, after long weeks in the field was going to be tough, he thought -- as they'd been extremely busy in the lead up.
So, he had an interesting thought, right then and there.
“If I’m going to bring my guys out on a weekend,” he said, “we’re not doing the bare minimum.”
Rather than reducing scope, Love’s Asphalt expanded it.
The team committed to restoring the entire campus layout. Approximately eighty parking spaces. More than twenty directional arrows. Specialty markings and more.
And then there was the basketball court.
“They asked if we could take a look at it,” Love said. “Once we saw it, there was no way we were leaving it untouched.”
The Work Behind The Gesture
The project required real preparation, just like any high quality project. Before any paint was applied, crews spent hours reclaiming the surface.
Overgrown grass was burned back and cut away. Pavement was cleaned, with wire brushes in some areas, and blowers cleared debris that had accumulated over years of not receiving proper and professional maintenance. Only after that, did striping begin.
Across the campus, the team applied yellow (five pails), white (two pails), and blue (two pails) paint across the parking, bus lanes, crosswalks, several ADA accomodations and, yes, even the basketball court, which was fully repainted, transforming it from a faded afterthought into a bright, usable space for students.
All of the work was completed in a single Saturday. By Monday morning, the campus looked fundamentally different, and when the families of students saw it, they were moved and impressed.
Why This One Mattered
For Love, the decision to donate time and labor was not casual. It was deliberate.
“It’s not easy to give away six or seven thousand dollars worth of work,” he said. “You still have to pay your guys. You still have to run a business.”
But this year, he felt his company was in a position to give more than a check. He wanted to give something back to the community which he regards as critical in the success they've had as a local business.
“I wanted to give our expertise,” he said. “If it wasn’t for this community trusting us, we wouldn’t be here.”
That trust went both ways. Parish Proud of Acadiana and its partner organization, Love Our Schools, do not reach out blindly. They work with companies that have earned a reputation for reliability.
“They trusted us to do it right,” Love said. “That meant a lot.”
Perhaps the most telling part of the project was not the paint or the layout, but the response from Love’s team. The striping crew had just come off weeks of overnight work. Long hours. Minimal downtime. When asked to come in on a Saturday, they did not hesitate.
“They were tired,” Love said. “But they handled it with professionalism and attention to detail.”
Four crew members completed the entire project. No shortcuts. No rushed work. No visible difference between this job and a paid commercial contract. That consistency is part of what the Good Neighbor Award is meant to recognize.
A Moment of Reflection
After the work was complete, the school’s principal called.
“I can’t believe how this is done,” Love recalled. “You went above and beyond.”
Only afterward did Love consider submitting the project for an award. Even then, he hesitated.
“This one meant more to me than any other award,” he said. “Because it wasn’t about business development. It was about giving back.”
He asked Parish Proud of Acadiana for a letter of support, with one condition. If they were not fully satisfied, he would not submit it. They were.
In the letter written by the Executive Director of Love Our School (Lafayette, LA), Millicent Nugent, she stated, "Upon evaluation of the completed project, we [were] very pleased with the quality of work, and the school is already benefiting from the added safety [this] contribution has provided."
What the Award Represents
Love’s Asphalt has won technical awards before. Large jobs. Small jobs. Production-heavy projects. This one was different.
The Good Neighbor Award recognizes a contractor who understands that community investment does not have to be loud to be meaningful. That professionalism does not stop at the edge of a paying jobsite. That reputation in a community is built as much on character as it is on success.
At Scott Middle School, Love’s Asphalt left behind a symbol of their place in their area, and brought a refreshed appearance for those that spend every day providing care and education to their young students. Their work restored order, safety, and pride to a place that serves hundreds of families every day.
That is what being a good neighbor looks like.
