At the IBTTA Maintenance, Engineering and Road Operations Workshop, Vince Hafeli of Ajax Paving Industries of Florida did something our industry rarely does out loud. He talked about the night he drove down a dark road behind an asphalt plant intending to end his life, and the phone call that turned him around.
Vince had built a successful career, and by all outward appearances, he was at his professional peak. Privately, however, he was living through the worst year of his life. He grew up believing what many men in this field were taught: men don’t talk, and pain is weakness. That belief nearly cost him everything.
The numbers are hard to ignore. Vince called on us to imagine a stadium of 100,000 people. From the general population, about 14 would die by suicide. Fill it with only male construction workers, and that number jumps to roughly 56. Every 90 minutes, our industry loses a worker this way.
But Vince didn’t leave us in despair. He offered a path forward. In interviews with executives across the country, one point drew unanimous agreement: leadership must be the first to say, “We are going to do something about mental health”—and then continue to stand behind that commitment.
Organizations that treated mental health as a one-time initiative or announcement routinely fell short. The ones that made meaningful progress had leaders who kept the conversation going—not every day, but consistently enough that employees understood it was more than a moment or a message. It was a real priority, backed by an ongoing commitment.
It's a story about grief, guilt, and the cost of staying quiet, but also a story about what changes the moment a leader decides to speak.
Watch Vince Hafeli's full keynote here
If you or someone on your crew is struggling, call or text 988 — the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline — anytime.