Martin Marietta again leads NSSGA’s awards of excellence program

Hatton, Onslow and other teams earn industry recognition

A pair of Martin Marietta sites—Arkansas’ Hatton Quarry and North Carolina’s Onslow Quarry—have earned remarkable distinction from The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA).

 

During a ceremony in the fall, teams from both operations were bestowed with a Star of Excellence distinction, a distinguished award presented to a team that has received multiple Gold Awards across different NSSGA award categories within a five-year span.

Both sites received the 2024 Gold Community Relations Excellence Award in addition to being honored with a previous Gold distinction: a 2022 Environmental Excellence Award for Hatton Quarry and a 2020 Safety Excellence Award for Onslow Quarry.

After his team earned the Star of Excellence, Hatton Quarry Plant Manager Salomon Hernandez credited each of his people for making the award possible.

“Having a group like we have at Hatton makes me proud and blessed to be a part of a team that excels,” he said. “The team consistently works to give back to our area. Why? Because we are such a small community, where everyone knows everyone. That drives us to play a positive role in our neighborhood and make a positive impact.”

Hernandez went on to share that community events help fuel the local economy, which helps ensure hometown businesses and organizations are healthy.

“We do a lot of community outreach with local schools, foster care organizations and state parks,” he said. “This year, we held an event where we served food to local men and women who served in our armed forces. Feeding our local veterans breakfast was definitely a highlight of our year.”

While they may be more than 1,100 miles apart geographically, the same sentiment was shared by the team at Onslow Quarry.

Onslow Plant Manager Thomas Menture said he knew his team was a shining example of all-star community work.

“We are proud to consistently be successful within the industry,” said Menture. “Our close camaraderie makes us feel like ONE team.”

Throughout the past year, Onslow held several meaningful community events, including student field trips, fossil-collecting events, Toys for Tots drives and mock rescue training events with local first responders.

“All this means so much,” Menture said. “We love being accepted in our community as a good neighbor.”

While impressive, the Star of Excellence distinctions are not the only awards Martin Marietta received in 2024.

In total, company operations earned scores of certificates and recognitions, including nearly 100 for outstanding work in safety, community relations and environmental excellence.

“Yet again, Martin Marietta performed incredibly well with teams across the company earning honors for their excellent commitment to safety, our communities and the environment,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jim Nickolas, who served as NSSGA chair throughout 2024.

Joining Hatton and Onslow quarries with a Gold Community Relations Excellence Award was Charlotte Quarry in North Carolina; more than 25 Martin Marietta sites earned silver or bronze in the category.

Equally impressive, 65 Martin Marietta sites earned a medal for Environmental Excellence, with three sites – Iowa’s Ames Mine, North Carolina’s Burlington Quarry and Virginia’s Midlothian Quarry – earning Gold-level honors.

East Division Vice President of Environmental Services and Land Brian North said he was beyond impressed by the company’s performance in NSSGA’s environmental awards program.

“I believe these awards reflect our leadership and our plant managers’ commitment and dedication to true environmental stewardship rather than just environmental compliance. This is a theme we have promoted for many years, and we are proud of the success we have had while displaying one of the company’s core values,” North said. “For me, being part of a company that is willing to go the extra mile beyond the minimal expectations of environmental compliance and having support from upper management demonstrates our commitment to being world-class in every area of our business. Congratulations to all of our winners!”