Getting his start in aggregates nearly 50 years ago, Vulcan Materials’ Tom Hill has established himself as a household name in the industry. Hill was inducted on March 24 into the Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame. Below are highlights from Hill’s induction speech, which can be viewed in full here.
ON BEING INDUCTED INTO THE PIT & QUARRY HALL OF FAME: This award – I’m very honored by it. I’m humbled. If you look at the past inductees in this Hall of Fame and the current ones tonight, this is a humbling place to be. For all of you here, thank you for your presence. For me, again, this is quite the honor. What I didn’t realize was that the past Hall of Fame members vote on us. The vote for me was really close. For those of you Hall of Fame members who voted often and numerous times for me, thank you very much. I appreciate your support.
ON THE REST OF THE CLASS OF 2025: To my fellow inductees: Wow. What careers. Over the past decades, you gentlemen have made my life better. I’m an operator. To those of you that served us and had the engineering marvels and the aptitude to make our life better, thank you very much.
ON THE SUPPORT HE’S RECEIVED FROM HIS WIFE: Thank you very much to my bride, Melanie. Honey, thank you for your love, thank you for your support and thank you for your patience. For those of you that are rock crushing guys, our brides or our spouses have to have patience. So, honey, thanks for years of patience and putting up with the rock business.
ON THE AGGREGATE INDUSTRY: The aggregate business is one of the most phenomenal businesses in the United States. We get to build America. Nothing gets built without us. We’re in the foundation of everything that gets built. We enjoy phenomenal friendships and a great industry, and along the way we make a little bit of money. What a great place to be.
The reason it is such a great industry is because of all my colleagues in the aggregates businesses and the supporting businesses that support aggregates. So, to all of my friends, thank you for making this industry great. It is you that makes it stand out. And for many of you who are here, thank you for the friendships that I’ve experienced with you over the past 30 to 40 years.
ON THE PEOPLE OF VULCAN: This award really belongs to my Vulcan colleagues. I get the honor of representing 12,000 employees of Vulcan Materials, and it’s quite the honor. But the work really comes down to the people that really make Vulcan great. So, to all of my Vulcan colleagues, thank you for your hard work, your tenacity and your success. This award actually belongs to you.
For more on the Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, click here. To learn about Tom Hill and his impact on the industry, read his Hall of Fame profile.
Related: Watch Vulcan‘ Tom Hill deliver his Hall of Fame induction speech
