Western Emulsions - Technical Marketing Team

Bob McCrea has worked in the emulsion industry specializing in resurfacing emulsions and chip seal designs since 1987.   Mr. McCrea is a professional engineer who spent 17 years with the U.S. Forest Service responsible for highway design, facility design, road transportation system management and maintenance.   He is a Member of A.S.C.E., is past president of the California Chip Seal Association and one of its Lifetime Achievement Award recipients.   Mr. McCrea is a past Industry Co-Chair for the Fog and Rejuvenating Sub-Task group for the Caltrans-sponsored Pavement Preservation Task Group.   Mr. McCrea is a graduate of California State Poly Technical University Pomona.

Serving Southern California and parts of Arizona and Nevada, Bill McMillan started his career in the asphalt emulsion industry in 1970 as a transport and distributor truck driver for Aptco and Schedule Maintenance Companies.  In 1987, Mr. McMillan became Western Emulsions’ first distributor truck driver and since 1992 has been part of the company’s technical sales and field support division,. In the 21 years with the company, he has gained extensive knowledge and experience in the applications of asphalt emulsions.

Serving Southern California, Kevin Donnelly brings significant local government experience to Western Emulsions customers from his former role as Transportation Division project manager for the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department.   Mr. Donnelly developed his expertise in asset management and network level road system planning and funding through leading that county’s Pavement Management System and Annual Road Maintenance Annual Plan (RdMAP) since 2000.    Prior to serving as project manager, Kevin held management positions supporting the county with complex research for its GIS system, pavement preservation and asset management, and developing presentations for its elected officials and other local, regional and state agencies.

Serving the Arizona market, Joe LaRusso brings 20 years of relevant pavement and asphalt emulsion experience to Western Emulsions. Joe was the founder and Executive Director of the IL Pavement Preservation and Maintenance Association, has assisted in implementing pavement management programs on state, county, and local levels, and has been in involved in all aspects of technical development, manufacturing, sales/marketing, and multi-state contractor application of asphalt/emulsion products. Joe has been active in AEMA, ISSA, and ARRA, regional User-Producer Groups, MPPP, several state APAs, and was on the IDOT Superpave Technical Committee. Joe received his Bachelors from the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Serving San Diego and Imperial Counties, Larry Liston has assisted Western Emulsions with technical sales and field support since 2004.  Mr. Liston began working in road construction in 1960 as a member of the Operating Engineers union.  During that time, he worked for most of the large construction companies in the San Diego area: at a rock plant, an asphalt plant, and on sealing & paving crews.   In 1972, Mr. Liston worked in management at Hanson's San Diego plant in the emulsion plant later becoming emulsion plant manager and then sales manager for asphalt and rock products.  

Serving southern Nevada, Kenny Frank joined Western Emulsions in 2008. Originally from Redding CA, Mr. Frank earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Arizona where he studied Psychology and Business. In addition, he competed on the University’s cross country and track teams, serving as a team captain for the track team in his senior season.

Rusty Smallwood is our Regional Sales Manager for the Texas Panhandle, West Texas, and New Mexico.  He has been in the asphalt industry since early 2002, having served as the Facility Manager and then Technical Marketing Representative for SemMaterials in Lubbock, TX. During his career in the asphalt industry, he has been involved in all aspects of the manufacturing of emulsions and hot applied asphalts, as well as marketing, application, and consulting in the field. Mr. Smallwood earned his MBA from Wayland Baptist University.

Sean Pellersels is our Regional Sales Manager serving the Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota markets.  Mr. Pellersels started his career in the asphalt industry nearly two decades ago as in marketing with Koch Materials.   He has been a board member of the Wyoming Contractors’ Association-Associates Division and past president of the Montana Contractors’ Association-Associates Division.   A Kansas native, Mr. Pellersels is a graduate of Kansas State University.

Serving the Arizona market, Evan Henninger came to Western Emulsions in 2009 from SemMaterials in Idaho.   He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University with a BS in Business Administration majoring in International Business with minors in both Management and Marketing.  Also while at Oklahoma State he worked under coaches Eddie and Sean Sutton as a Graduate Assistant.   Mr. Henninger is the current co-chair of the Pavement Preservation Committee of the AGC-Arizona Chapter and a frequent presenter on the topic of asphalt surface treatments.

Serving the New Mexico region, Scott Daugherty joined Western Emulsions’ team after retiring from McKinley County, where he served as Road Superintendent responsible for the overall construction and maintenance of 570 miles of regional roadways.   Mr. Daugherty was born in Kansas, raised in El Paso, TX and currently lives in Northwest New Mexico with his family.