ASPHALTopics | Spring 2014 | VOL 27 | NO 1

LETTERS
FROM THE ED
by Doug Duke
Executive Director, OHMPA
Let’s get this party started!
Welcome to the new look Asphaltopics!
As part of the celebration of OHMPA’s 40th anniversary,
we wanted to give our publication a fresh new look.
To be frank, we’re considering it a work in progress and
we’re going to continue to refine the design through
the remainder of the year. However, I’m sure you’ll
agree we’ve done a lot of things well out of the gate
starting on the cover with a bold new masthead.
We methodically chose a font with an
appearance and feel more appropriate
for our industry. Like asphalt, it’s strong,
it’s black and it will do the job for many
years to come. I assure you, the life-cycle
cost analysis on it would be excellent!
Turning to the internal contents of the
magazine, we’ve chosen a pleasant editorial
copy font that’s easy on the eyes and makes
reading a breeze. Meanwhile, headlines are crisp
and clean and overall, everything has been tidied up
and compartmentalized in a way that will make more
and more sense with each issue we publish.
It’s been a tremendous team effort to bolster Asphaltopics
and we truly hope you like what you’re seeing. Ours is an
association magazine to be very proud of and our only
goal is to make it better. On that note, we’re open to any
feedback and new ideas and we welcome you to get
in touch if you have any comments or concerns at all.
We’re here to listen.
In the summer 2013 issue, I not-so-subtly hinted we would
be stepping things up this year in recognition of 40 years
of OHMPA. The re-branded magazine you now hold in
your hands is only a small piece of that effort. Our events
this year will also be upgraded starting immediately with
our AGM and Conference taking place at the Trillium
Westin at Blue Mountain in lovely Collingwood.
Watch for a more diverse and interesting line-up
of speakers, a unique video series honouring
OHMPA’s ‘founding fathers’ and a few
other surprises sure to make the event a
memorable experience. Further down the
road, we’ve got a few new tricks up our
sleeves for our Spring Operations Seminar
taking place on April 16th and our Road Tour
which is kicking off this year on April 24th in
the City of Guelph and will also visit Kingston
and Sudbury before returning to the GTA.
The anniversary celebrations will continue later this year
as we take our always popular summer golf tournament
to a scenic 36-hole Club Link facility in August. We’ll cap
the year off in true style with our Fall Asphalt Seminar
down in Niagara Falls.
Be sure to keep your eyes open for all the details as they
become available. OHMPA’s 40th anniversary celebration
is just beginning and you’re not going to want to miss
a thing!
SPRING 2014 7