Paul C. Mellott Jr. has been on what is now NSSGA’s executive committee for 23 years, and he served the National Stone Association as chairman in 1996. But when his tenure as chairman was up, a friend encouraged him to get involved in another endeavor to add value to the industry.

That’s when Mellott, chairman and CEO of Mellott Co., took over ROCKPAC, which is now the 19th largest political action committee in the United States. Mellott has been the chairman of ROCKPAC for 15 years.

“Paul is ROCKPAC,” says John F. Steele Jr., chairman of Hilltop Basic Resources Inc. and vice chairman of ROCKPAC. “He has grown that thing. The one great thing about Paul is he knows everybody in the industry. He’s a great leader for ROCKPAC because he’s extremely energetic, he leads by example and steps forward.”

Gus Edwards, president of NSSGA, has known Mellott for the 16 years in which he’s been involved in the association. Edwards says Mellott’s industry contributions extend far beyond ROCKPAC.

“In addition to his outstanding service as chairman of the association board, he helped guide our members through a merger between the National Stone Association and the National Aggregates Association in 2001,” Edwards says.

“He’s been extraordinarily successful in building the industry’s influence on Capitol Hill. His work with STONEPAC and now with ROCKPAC has advanced the aggregates industry policy position and helped educate the public about what the industry does and how our products are used.”

Mellott, who is celebrating nearly 40 years at Mellott Co., helped mold his family business into one of the premier contract-crushing companies in the United States. He began handling contract-crushing leadership duties in 1991, and he helped launch an equipment distribution and manufacturing company in the same year.

“We had seen our quarry and ready-mix business grow in the boom years from 2004 to 2006,” Mellott says. “We had seen it grow so much that I was a little concerned, and we took an opportunity to sell those assets at a time in which companies were paying high multiples of EBIDTA. The sale of that part of our business in August 2007 was very timely.

In 2008, H.B. Mellott Estate Inc. and Mellott Enterprises Inc. officially merged to form Mellott Co.

Beyond having the foresight to guide his company as he has, Mellott has instilled a values-based leadership culture for his 200 employees built around safety, integrity, commitment, respect and excellence. He has reached out to his community in unique ways, too, such as adopting a local school 22 years ago.

“Now, we have a senior day, and we invite the senior class to visit our campus,” Mellott says. “Each student experiences a mock job interview with one of our managers and is graded on their performance. While on our campus, we give them a complete tour of our facilities with presentations on what we do and what skills are needed within our company.

“I love the industry,” Mellott adds. “It’s given me and my family and our employees so many opportunities. I respect the people in our industry and their commitment to mutually beneficial partnerships.”