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Paving
The Way In The 21st Century
Through a scholarship program, our endowed professorship, and a
new asphalt technology lab, The Asphalt Pavement Association of
West Virginia and West Virginia University with the support of the
West Virginia Division of Highways and The Federal Highway Administration,
have successfully launched asphalt technology into the twenty-first
century.
Great opportunities are now available for students through the
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at West Virginia
University:
Invest in the future of our industry today!
Help keep our asphalt technology programs
alive and strong.
Find
Out more!
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Dean Blake Memorial Scholarship
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A Tribute to . . .
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Dean
Blake
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The Board of Directors of the
Asphalt Pavement Association of WV, with support from the
WV Crushed Aggregates Council, announce
formation of the Dean Blake Memorial Scholarship . . .
a $50,000 endowment established in honor of the association’s
first executive director that will support student education
at the West Virginia University College of Engineering and
Mineral Resources. Contact APAWV for more information regarding
the scholarship or for information on contributing to the
endowment fund.
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Lucien Dean Blake,
II, of Frankfort, Kentucky, passed away due to complications
from Marfan's Syndrome at the Hospice Care Center at St. Joseph's
Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, on June 5, 2011.
Dean Blake was born in Charleston, WV, on June 22, 1939. A gifted
student and all-state multi-sport athlete, Dean attended Charleston
High School, graduating in 1957 as class president. Dean accepted
a scholarship to Virginia Tech, where he was a four-year player
on the varsity basketball team. He graduated with a degree in
industrial engineering in 1961. He married the former Judie
Young on June 30, 1962.
After graduation, Mr. Blake worked for the Department of the
Navy in Maryland on the Polaris Missile Project. He was charged
with developing a scheduling and management information system
for this massive project. In 1964, he accepted the position
of management analyst for the West Virginia Department of Highways.
Over the next 15 years, Blake dedicated himself to improving
efficiencies within the WVDOH, while aggressively pursuing adequate
funding for more and better roads. He was named the Deputy Commissioner
in 1977, and also served as Chairman of the Governor's Task
Force on Secondary Roads. Under his leadership, the state undertook
its most aggressive and fruitful secondary roads program in
its history.
Mr. Blake became the founding Executive Director
of the Flexible Pavements Council (FPC) of West Virginia (now
known as APAWV) in 1979. FPC was the first organization in
West Virginia dedicated to the promotion and improvement of
asphalt. In this role, Dean continued to lead the fight for
adequate funding for transportation on both the state and
national levels.
In 1983, Mr. Blake accepted the position of
Executive Director of the Plantmix Asphalt Industry of Kentucky
(PAIKY), where his mission continued to be to work for a better
product, improved quality, and to expand the asphalt market.
He was a registered lobbyist and a prolific writer on highway
related subjects. His experience, longevity and principled
leadership resulted in measurable benefits to the industry
and earned him the respect and admiration of all who knew
him.
He retired in 2008, and over the course of his career, he
saw many changes in the asphalt industry, and was an integral
voice through the "Asphalt Revolution."
He was elected twice by his peers to act as chairman of the
State Asphalt Pavement Association Executives (SAPAE). In
2004, the University of Kentucky's Civil Engineering Department's
Construction Management Founders Society honored him with
their coveted "Lifetime Achievement Award." The
National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) honored him with
its prestigious "Distinguished Service Award."
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