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www.rockproducts.com ROCK products • May 2015 • 11 TOP TWEETS! "graduated" from the Young Leaders. He said it was a great group of people and that the meetings had a lot to offer pro- fessionally. He was right, and after I attended several annual meetings, I decided to try and get on the steering committee. That eventually led to me being chairman of the Young Lead- ers, and that involvement helped lead to me getting more involved with the NSSGA as a whole, where I now serve as treasurer. What do you like best about the organiza- tion's annual meeting? I think a key to the continued success is that it offers some- thing for both first time attendees and those who have been to several annual meetings. Another benefit is that many of the activities and presentations are interactive, and geared to offer something not just to the industry professional, but also their spouse. My wife, Virginia, went to almost every YLC annual meeting with me. We both made friends over the years and both learned something at the meetings. Some of the key presentations we both remember and have used over the years were focused on communication skills, time man- agement and how to deal with different personality types. It became a trip we planned to make every year. What advice do you have for up-and-coming young leaders? Get involved. Go to the YLC meetings and be ready to learn and interact with other young professionals. You will learn things you can apply in your job, you will make new friends and you really will be part of the industry's future leaders. How does Natural Resource Partners empow- er its young leaders? We hire talented people that we believe can grow into more senior roles. We give them the tools they need to do their job, and we are there to assist them as needed, and help them advance in their careers while focusing on improving the bottom line. How is technology changing the way the aggregates industry works? I think it is allowing the industry to utilize more automation, increasing efficiency, while giving us the ability to more accu- rately track costs and productivity. It is allowing producers to more easily and accurately load customers, track shipments and coordinate activities between sales and production. This should all lead to improved results in profitability. In what ways can the Young Leaders "lead" the industry into the future? The Young Leaders Group needs to continue offering the types of seminars and activities that allow its members to develop leadership and management skills to improve their performance at work, and allows them to build a network of industry associates with whom they can exchange ideas and work to help them and their companies become more suc- cessful in the aggregates industry. The group has done this for years, and results can be seen in the board members of the NSSGA as well as the senior management of public and private companies in the industry.