Author: Danielle Pesta

Dave Thomey, who has a history of leadership within the aggregate industry, served Martin Marietta during his induction year as a contributor. Thomey’s focus is community and public relations within the state of Maryland, with his outreach efforts serving as a significant part of his industry legacy.

“I do a lot of public speaking, but I start off every talk with: ‘If you forget anything else I tell you, remember the world as you know it does not exist without our product,’” Thomey says. “Secondly, we at the local level want to work with you, our surrounding community, to make our world a better place.”

Thomey previously served Maryland Materials as executive vice president, and he is a former chairman of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA). He received NSSGA’s Barry K. Wendt Memorial Commitment Award in 2021.

“There’s an old saying in the aggregate industry that I’d rather pay a PR man than a lawyer,” says Bernie Grove, a longtime Genstar executive who was enshrined in the Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame in 2014. “I think that probably describes Dave’s contribution. He gave the aggregate industry a different reputation than it previously had.”

According to Grove, Thomey’s contributions in community relations covered everything from dust and explosives to truck traffic and the strategic use of overburden.

“Dust and explosives were probably the biggest issue,” Grove says. “He (Thomey) was very out in front and encouraging operations to control their dust.”

Edward L. ‘Ted’ Baker served Florida Rock Industries in capacities such as CEO and chairman during a career that spanned nearly a half-century.

Baker was the biggest driver behind Florida Rock’s growth, taking an enterprise his father started during the Great Depression and expanding its reach across the Southeast tremendously during the 20th century.

“He was instrumental in taking the company public and instrumental in its growth,” says Ted Baker II, nephew of the Hall of Fame inductee. “He spent his whole career there and grew it from a little company to a pretty large public company when it sold in 2007.”

Vulcan Materials ultimately purchased Florida Rock that year in a deal valued at more than $4 billion, but not before Baker diversified his company and grew it through his own strategic acquisitions over many years. “He’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met,” says John D. Baker II, the younger brother of the Hall of Fame inductee who at one time served as Florida Rock president. “Intuitively, he had great judgment about making moves. He was an amazing people person. Even when we had 10 or 15 plants, he knew most of the workers in the plant. They all adored him.”