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The Edge Podcast - Making Work Fun with Jay Winford

Your essential guide to dominating the construction bidding and building world with the latest tech, market trends, and wisdom.

🎙️ The Edge — Episode 3

Guest: Jay Winford, P.E., Ph.D.
Host: Tristan Wilson
📍 President & Co-Owner, Prairie Contractors
📍 Former Chair of NAPA | Ph.D., Civil Engineering (Asphalt) | Board Member, Astec Industries

🧵 About the Episode

In this rich, wide-ranging, and unforgettable episode of The Edge, I sit down with one of the asphalt industry’s most respected and beloved leaders: Jay Winford. Jay takes us on a journey - from his family’s gravel business in Louisiana to the forefront of industry innovation and leadership. Along the way, he shares stories of wisdom, grit, humor, and humanity.

You’ll hear about:

• The mentor who “made work fun”
  
• Why low-bid procurement is broken
  
• How privatization could reshape infrastructure
  
• The emotional toll of field work (and what to do about it)
  
• The power of AI in construction
• What will a 21st century department of transportation look like? Hint: It may not be what you think
  
• And what “a decent profit, decently” really means
  

🧠 Who is Jay Winford?

Jay is the president and co-owner of Prairie Contractors, a leading asphalt paving producer and contractor in Louisiana. He holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Asphalt Pavements) from Auburn, served as Chair of the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), and sits on the Board of Directors at Astec Industries.

He’s a fierce advocate for mental health, industry reform, and people development — and one of the most engaging, wise, and generous voices in construction today. Jay makes things happen, learns, and has fun along the way.

⏱️ Episode Breakdown

Time

Topic

02:14

🎤 Jay’s introduction and background

04:57

Family ties and asphalt lineage: The Wilsons and the Winfords

05:40

Jay’s origin story: From gravel to graduate school

08:39

The chance meeting that changed everything

10:44

“The University of Lattie James” – mentorship and invention

14:34

Why our industry doesn’t write its own rules

17:40

Privatization: A model for speed, safety, and quality

23:23

Broken incentives in public sector construction

26:45

Consolidation, capital, and the future of small firms

29:00

Profitability, reinvestment, and the Harvard mantra

33:42

The mental toll of paving and the need for awareness

36:18

Storytelling and culture as competitive advantages

39:00

Sales tax on materials: “The greatest robbery of all time”

41:40

🛣️ Hot RAP: An overlooked innovation in asphalt

46:33

The two biggest risks facing construction: Funding and people

51:00

Investing in young talent and trade education

55:00

Celebrating Women of Asphalt and broadening the tent

57:04

The 401(k) impact and building generational wealth

01:00:05

📚 Book clubs, continuous learning, and reading habits

01:02:32

Jay’s take on AI: Bid modeling, lab automation, and training

01:06:31

The “Uber for Grandma” test — smart infrastructure decisions

01:10:01

Closing thoughts: Stories, legacy, and asphalt love letters

✨ Key Takeaways

• Mentorship multiplies: Jay’s story is a tribute to the impact a single mentor can have on a life and an industry.
  
• Systems are broken: Procurement, incentives, and specs often work against progress. Jay offers real-world alternatives. You’ll want to hear this if you work for agencies with incentives that are misaligned with the public and contractors.
  
• Culture matters more than strategy: From radios that call you “000” to biscuits in the breakroom, Prairie built a place people wanted to stay.
  
• AI is coming: Jay’s open mind to technology, from bid modeling to real-time lab testing.
• Talent & Funding: The industry’s two greatest risks.
  
• Profit isn’t greedy - it’s vital: "A decent profit, made decently" powers reinvestment in people, training, safety, and communities.
  
• Mental health is a crisis: The suicide rate in construction is alarming - and it’s on us to care for the folks in the field.
  

📚 Jay’s Reading Recs

• The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel — Douglas Brunt
  
• Biography of John Moses Browning — Nathan Gorenstein
  
• The Demon of Unrest — Erik Larson
  
• The Code Breaker — Walter Isaacson
  

📌 Resources + Mentions

• NAPA (National Asphalt Pavement Association)
  
• NCAT at Auburn University
  
• Women of Asphalt
  
• Vince Hafeli – Mental Health Advocate
  
• Astec Industries
  
• Lattie James’ legacy (via Prairie Contractors)
  
• ChatGPT — Jay’s co-author on a love letter 💌
• LaDOTD 2024 Assessment - By Boston Consulting Group
  

💬 Favorite Quotes

“He made work fun. That’s the greatest compliment I can give a man.”
– Jay Winford on mentor Lattie James

“The man who ceases to learn is doomed to failure.”
– A favorite saying from Jay’s father

“Make a decent profit, decently.”
– From Harvard YPO week — a mantra for life and business

“Asphalt contractors are joiners. We join everything. And we support everything.”
– Jay Winford, on the spirit of the industry

🎧 Listen & Subscribe

Check it out on YouTube for the full video conversation or find it on Spotify using the links below:

Would love to hear your thoughts on the episode! What resonated most with you?

Leave us a rating and comment below!