From left to right: Todd Martineau, Robert O’Brian, Mike Bishop, Christina Sandridge, Tony Thomas, Jonathan Williams, Matthew Swope, Anthony Washington, Rob Kraker, Daniel Peabody, Mac McWane, and Doug Easter.

The 2018 Best of the Best Class has been hard at work this spring and summer. We wanted to take this opportunity to bring you up to speed on what’s been happening with the program, as well as what’s up next.

First up was Session One back in early April when the group met in Charlottesville, VA.and took their Myers-Briggs Assessments. The results helped them gain a better sense of their personalities and identified personal development tools and tips they can use as they continue forward.

The group also met their mentors during this session. Mike Bishop, District Sales Manager with Vulcan Materials Company, and Charlie Bartocci, Cement/Aggregate Sales Representative with Roanoke Cement Company – both 2017 Best of the Best graduates – will be available to the participants as they continue through the program, offering guidance, advice and sharing their own experiences.

Fast forward to July, when the group traveled to Washington, D.C. for Session Two, which focused on Advocacy and Government Relations. The two-day session included a meeting with Andrew Tyrrell, NRMCA Executive Vice President, Government Affairs. The discussion centered around the top issues that could affect our industry in the near future. The following day, the group met with nine Virginia Congressional offices on Capitol Hill. The focus of those meetings was to raise awareness and reinforce the importance of infrastructure funding through the Highway Trust Fund, VRMCA’s opposition to the Timber Innovation Act and the Congressional Ready Mixed Concrete Caucus.

Session Three in mid-August will focus on Team Leadership. The 2018 program will conclude with the Best of the Best Class’s Case Study Presentations at the VRMCA Fall Convention in Virginia Beach in late October!

If you’re interested in learning a bit more about the 2018 Best of the Best Class, we encourage you to visit one of our social media pages – LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. We’ve been featuring brief bios of all six participants, so be sure to check them out!