Industry ambassadors enter Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame

Pit & Quarry inducted its 2017 class to its Hall of Fame. From left: Kim Snyder, Mark Towe, Wes Bartlett and Jonathan Bartlett. Wes and Jonathan spoke on behalf of Robert Bartlett at the event, and Paul Detwiler Jr. could not attend.

Four inductees were enshrined March 6 into the Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame as members of the 2017 class.

The induction of Robert G. Bartlett (National Stone Association), Paul Detwiler Jr. (New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co.), Kim Snyder (Eastern Industries) and Mark Towe (Oldcastle Inc.) took place at the Encore Las Vegas ahead of ConExpo-Con/Agg 2017.

The members of the 2017 class join 20 other industry leaders who were previously enshrined in the Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame.

Representing Bartlett at the ceremony were his son, Wes Bartlett, daughter-in-law Tricia Bartlett and grandson Jonathan Bartlett. Wes and Jonathan delivered acceptance remarks on behalf of the beloved former president of the National Stone Association (NSA), who died early last year. Bartlett served NSA from 1986 to 1997.

“I’m honored on behalf of my dad,” Wes says. “[Robert Bartlett] was very passionate about this industry. He would love to see all of you take it to the next level and continue on with his legacy.”

Detwiler joined his son, Paul Detwiler III, in the Hall of Fame, making the two the first father-and-son duo represented within it. Considered the ultimate quarry operator by his peers, Paul Jr. was instrumental in expanding his company into one of the top aggregate producers in the United States.

Snyder, who spent several years at New Enterprise following New Enterprise’s acquisition of Eastern Industries, enters the Hall of Fame following a 40-year career in the aggregate industry. Appreciated for a management style that created well-grounded and highly committed teams, Snyder was vital to the efforts that led to the successful merger of NSA and the National Aggregates Association (NAA) in 2000.

Towe, who also played a role in bringing NSA and NAA together, enters the Hall of Fame nearly two decades after he helped bring to life The Rocks Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The gallery features an interactive exhibit that illustrates how rocks are vital to the everyday lives of the general public, emerging at a time when the public knew very little about the aggregate industry.

For more on the Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame, visit www.pitandquarryhalloffame.com.