The tributes poured in for nearly an hour during a special ceremony for Mike Acott, who is retiring as president of the National Asphalt Pavement Association after 34 years in the industry.
He was a young British man who came to Maryland by way of South Africa in 1985, where his leadership included helping that country to resurface its roads. He joined NAPA as director of management/technology in 1985 and in 1992 became its leader.
Becoming U.S. citizens was one of his and spouse Denise’s proudest moments, Acott told about 950 NAPA members at their 64th annual meeting. He credited his staff and volunteers for many of the successes seen by NAPA and the industry.
But most of the ceremony in Marco Island, Florida, centered on testimonials from many others on Acott’s long and impressive list of achievements, from defending the asphalt industry when it came under attack, to building long-lasting alliances in the industry.
In 1998, for example, Acott was interviewed by NBC’s Dateline, which sought to portray NAPA and the asphalt industry in a negative light over a proposal to mandate the use of crumb rubber in asphalt, according to moderator Ron White, chairman emeritus of Virginia-based Superior Paving Corporation. But Acott was prepared to counter the reporter’s critical questioning.
“Fully armed with the facts necessary to support the industry’s position. Mike was able to map an effective defense,” White related.
In fact, Acott’s colleagues had their own video camera rolling on the NBC cameras during the interview, segments of which were played for NAPA members at the ceremony on Tuesday. The NAPA-filmed footage from that interview two decades ago was eventually used to produce NAPA’s own video – which was so supportive of the industry that the association used it as promotional material.
