Sessions - NAPA 2026 Annual Meeting

Review each session in detail prior to attending the 2026 Annual Meeting. These unmissable sessions will help you advance your knowledge, inspire your leadership, and spark your curiosity.

Sheldon G. Hayes Award Presentation
The Sheldon G. Hayes Award is presented annually to the highest-rated highway pavement using 50,000 tons of asphalt or more. These projects go through three rounds of rigorous testing in a two-year process to evaluate the quality of the paving project. The winning project has the top-rated pavement constructed in 2024. The award is named for Sheldon G. Hayes, a founder of NAPA and the association’s first chairman. Hayes spent his entire career striving for better construction techniques and improvements in the quality of asphalt pavements.

Practical Solutions for Navigating Today’s Digital Jobsite
Digital transformation is actively reshaping construction, quickly moving from theory to jobsites. This workshop convenes industry innovators to demystify digital tools and AI, focusing on strategies that you can implement immediately. Panelists will share how technologies like predictive analytics, integrated fleet management, and mobile stationing are driving measurable return on investment (ROI), enhancing efficiency, and creating a competitive advantage.

Discover digital tools for immediate operational improvements, how to connect data for seamless communication and smarter decision-making, and actionable steps for digital adoption to ensure your company stays ahead – whether starting fresh or scaling up.

Keep Chasing Tennis Balls: Maintaining Momentum & Joy in Our Pursuits
Be inspired to embrace a playful yet profound approach to life and work – to ‘keep chasing tennis balls.’ This workshop empowers you to pursue becoming your best self by staying curious, engaged, and passionate. When you discover your core motivations, what you do best, and where your greatest passion lies, you gain strength even in the face of significant challenges.

Celebrate the chase and unlock how to experience endless energy, contagious courage, and boundless joy in your professional life, at home, and at play.

The Next Step in BMD: AASHTO’s Tiered System to Mix Design
Balanced mix design (BMD) continues to evolve, and a major step forward is the new AASHTO standard, introducing a tiered implementation system. This workshop walks through what's new in the standard, how it differs from earlier frameworks like approaches, and what it means for both agencies and contractors. Learn how the tiered system supports flexible adoption, promotes innovation, and helps align mix design practices across the industry.

Understand the structure and intent of the new AASHTO BMD standard, learn how this evolution supports nationwide BMD implementation, and receive a worksheet to identify your state’s current efforts within the tiered system.

Recruiting & Retaining the Next Generation
The construction industry faces the urgent challenge of closing the workforce gap and engaging with the next generation. This interactive workshop equips leaders, HR pros, and supervisors with practical strategies to attract, develop, and retain new talent. Learn to modernize your approach by adapting efforts to better align with the values, motivations, and communication styles of the emerging workforce. Through engaging discussion and scalable best practices, move beyond traditional recruiting to create a workforce ecosystem that grows from within.

Get actionable tools – like authentic digital storytelling, structured mentorship, and peer-led recognition – that help move your company toward retention through a strong culture of belonging.

Research Findings: Recycling PFAS Containing Pavements
NAPA facilitated an FAA research grant award to the University of Florida to investigate whether recycling PFAS-containing pavements is protective of the environment – this workshop focuses on those critical research findings. Background: PFAS (‘forever chemicals’) are found just about everywhere and in everything. Their presence in pavements – especially on airfields due to firefighting foams – carries high regulatory scrutiny and potential Superfund liability. To assist the industry in understanding and minimizing these liabilities, NAPA has engaged with EPA and FAA and actively promotes legislation to protect ‘passive receivers’ of these materials.

Learn about the outcomes of the UF study and hear how NAPA is assisting the industry in managing the environmental and regulatory challenges surrounding PFAS.

Incentivizing Sustainability-Related Best Practices in Public Procurement
This workshop, driven by the Innovative Procurement Task Force, explores recommendations for procuring agencies to support contractors’ competitiveness in low-bid scenarios that incorporate environmental product declarations (EPDs). We explore pathways for DOTs to adopt life cycle thinking when using cradle-to-gate EPDs. A key discussion centers on how agencies can incentivize sustainability-related practices that help contractors reduce the global warming potential (GWP) on an EPD, which can also benefit production efficiency and lower project delivery cost. Examples include increased use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), secondary fuels, onsite renewables, and warm-mix technologies.

Gain insight on a framework that encourages innovation while justifying long-term infrastructure investment.

Return on Goodwill: Small Acts that Create Magical Moments
Join this interactive workshop to hear author and changemaker Sam Demma share his insight that genuine generosity always generates a positive return – the subject of his upcoming book, Return on Goodwill. Through inspirational, real-life stories and practical exercises, attendees will discover how everyday moments of kindness, empathy, and service can spark meaningful connections and lasting impact.

Leave with tangible strategies to proactively create more ‘magical moments’ in your work, home, and community.

Nationally recognized PDHs may be claimed for attending educational workshops and applicable general sessions at the NAPA Annual Meeting. Each hour of participation earns one PDH. A maximum of 9.50 PDH hours can be earned at the Annual Meeting. Attendees must maintain their own record of attendance. NAPA will confirm an individual’s registration at the request of a licensing or certifying agency. Anyone seeking PDH credits should check with their state licensing board to ensure that self-reported credits will be accepted by their board.