2018-2019 Honorary Awards

During the National Conference, ASHE recognizes five individuals who have contributed to the organization and the engineering community.   Individuals are nominated by the sections and selected by the National Nominating Committee.

For full information about these Awards, see the documents in the Operations and Resource Center.

Become a Member of ASHE

Anyone with an interest in the highway or transportation industry is welcome to join ASHE. There are no requirements for training or professional status.

Membership give you the chance to join others with similar interests in a generally social setting, but ASHE sections also offer varios training opportunities, including accredited training for professionals with continuing education requirements

2019 Lifetime Acheivement Award

Calvin Legett

Calvin Leggett has given 31 years of endless support of our organization at Section, Regional, and National Level.

His oversight into forming Region 8 bylaws and giving structure to our region along with recommendations to improve sponsorship, membership, and legislative involvement is invaluable to our Section and Region. He is in constant contact with our Section I Region on matters relating to ASHE National, discussing upcoming issues, asking opinions, and following up on matters relating only to the enhancement of our organization.

Mr. Leggett’s important role in the State of North Carolina’s transportation funding along with his approachability and knowledge of the highway industry has proven to be a valuable resource for the ASHE Organization.

At the National level, Mr. Leggett has been successful in raising the political awareness of the organization to an unprecedented level.  As Chairman of the National Legislative Review Committee, he has assembled a grass-roots network throughout the membership, kept the National Board and the Local Sections informed of legislative activities that affect our organization, developed position papers, and drafted communications between the National President and various elected officials.

This award is for ASHE Members only and the Region/Section should consider members that have contributed to ASHE. There will be one ASHE Member of the Year Award presented each year based on the highest composite score of the following six ranking criteria:

RANKING CRITERIA:

  • Notable achievements with ASHE within the past year (30%)
  • Impact to ASHE (20%)
  • Personal time for the good of ASHE (15%)
  • Respect of their ASHE peers (10%)
  • ASHE offices held (10%)
  • Letter(s) of Reference (10%)
  • Year the nominee joined ASHE (5%)

Nominated by the ASHE Carolina Triangle Section

Nomination Form

2019 Member of the Year Award

Donna McQuade

The ASHE Northeast Florida chapter would not have functioned to the levels that it has within the past year without Donna’s leadership, dedication, and steadfast involvement.  This past year, Donna sat on five committees which include Sponsorship, Membership, Golf Scholarship, ASHE/DBIA Clay Shoot, and Programs, sat on the board as Treasurer, and has committed hundreds of hours to ASHE.  Donna’s relationships with local construction and engineering companies have helped both membership and sponsorship maintain high levels of involvement and participation.  The Northeast Florida ASHE Section currently has 207 members and has 24 company sponsors with the most platinum (highest level) sponsors in recent history with four at $1,000. Donna played a big role in raising $17,500 (the most ever) at the 17th annual scholarship Golf Tournament where proceeds went to three $2,500 scholarships and the remaining amounts going to the University of North Florida (UNF) Operating Fund for Competitions and Travel.  Donna not only served as the financial controller for the committee ensuring budgets and goals are met but she also was a leader in big decisions within all committee meetings throughout the year.  Donna’s role on the ASHE/DBIA Clay Shoot committee helped ASHE raise over $9,000 where the proceeds went the UNF ASHE student chapter and the UNF Operating Fund for Competitions and Travel. For the Programs committee, Donna sits at the registration table at every event which includes monthly lunch presentation, happy hours, and the annual Holiday Party.  She makes sure that everyone is greeted with a smile and that all payments are collected and any new members are added the ASHE emails blasts which helps grow our membership.

This award is for ASHE Members only and the Region/Section should consider members that have contributed to ASHE. There will be one ASHE Member of the Year Award presented each year based on the highest composite score of the following six ranking criteria:

RANKING CRITERIA:

  • Notable achievements with ASHE within the past year (30%)
  • Impact to ASHE (20%)
  • Personal time for the good of ASHE (15%)
  • Respect of their ASHE peers (10%)
  • ASHE offices held (10%)
  • Letter(s) of Reference (10%)
  • Year the nominee joined ASHE (5%)

Nominated by the ASHE Northeast Florida Section

Nomination Form

2019 Robert E. Pearson/Person of the Year

Paul D. Degges

Mr. Degges was awarded Tennessee Tech University’s Engineer of Distinction Award.  This prestigious award is the highest honor bestowed to an external stakeholder by the TTU College of Engineering and recognizes friends and alumni for their professional success over a long and distinguished engineering career. Winners of this award are selected based on the candidate’s outstanding professional record, distinguished service to the profession, interest in and dedication to the Tennessee Tech University College of Engineering, and the candidate’s personal reputation for outstanding character and citizenship.  Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville is Paul’s alma mater, and he currently serves on TTU’s Advisory Council for Engineering and the College of Engineering Strategic Directioning Team.

The National Board requests that each Section give serious consideration to selecting a nominee for our Society’s most prestigious award, the Robert E. Pearson/Person of the Year Award, given annually during the National Conference. Membership in ASHE is not an eligibility requirement.

The Section should not consider a person solely because he/she has designed, built, or been in charge of many millions of dollars in highway work. This, they do, because they are employed to do so. While this information would provide the necessary background (resume) information, National is interested in what the person does or has done to advance or improve the highway industry.

There will be no more than one Robert E. Pearson/Person of the Year Award presented each year based on the highest composite score of the following ranking criteria:

RANKING CRITERIA:

  • Notable achievements related to the highway industry – more current events will be
    weighted more heavily (40%)
  • Involvement in highway-related societies and organizations (20%)
  • Personal time spent for the good of the industry (15%)
  • Respect of his/her peers (15%)
  • Statewide or broader impact to highway industry (10%)

Nominated by the ASHE Middle Tennessee section

Nomination Form

2019 Young Member of the Year

Laura Campos

Laura V. Campos, E.I.T. is a transportation/drainage engineer working for GAI Consultants, Inc., where Laura is a key part of the Drainage Department. In her 6 years of experience, she has shown her passion and commitment to the engineering industry by having successful project submittals, creating a group culture based on teamwork, emphasizing and practicing the importance of having constant communication with different disciplines and having excellent analytical skills.

Laura has worked in many reputable companies, including AECOM and Black & Veatch, among others. Laura jumpstarted her career in 2013, after graduating from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, with Black and Veatch as an office engineer. In 2014, she decided to execute a life changing decision and moved from Puerto Rico to Dallas, TX. Although it was a very difficult decision, she felt that it was the correct step to advance her career. She worked in the Land Development department in Dallas and Houston, TX before making another big leap and moving to Orlando, FL, where she started her career in Transportation as a drainage engineer. As a young drainage engineer, she had the privilege to be the project lead for a multimillion dollar project which made her learn quick how the transportation industry works. Around this time is when she was welcomed to ASHE Central Florida and was one of the best career decisions she has made.

Laura joined ASHE-CF as a 3-year director and moved on to be the Chair of the Programs Committee almost immediately. This vow of confidence that the board and members showed upon her was not taken lightly and she knew she joined ASHE-CF to work hard and leave a positive impact on the society.
Apart from her work life, she believes that everything in life needs balance so she has a very active personal life. Laura enjoys spending time with her friends as much as she can, loves to be outdoors, exercise and is a dog-lover.

These are reasons why Laura is a perfect example of what a “Young Member of the Year” should be. She knows that life is all about balance and loves her personal as much as her professional life. She has gone through many obstacles throughout her career. From having to move away from her family and home to choosing the right steps in her career path, each decision she makes shows the commitment she has for the engineering industry and her career.

This award has been established to recognize young ASHE members who have made outstanding contributions to the highway/transportation industry and their communities during the early years of their careers. To be eligible for nomination, candidates must meet the following criteria:

  • Must be 35 years of age or younger as of January 1, of the year the award is to be presented.
  • Must be a member in good standing and active with ASHE at the Section/Region and/or National level.

There will be one ASHE Young Member of the Year award presented each year based on the highest composite score of the following six ranking criteria:

RANKING CRITERIA:

  • ASHE activities (25%)
  • Professional/career achievements (20%)
  • Professional and technical society activities other than ASHE (15%)
  • Civic and humanitarian activities (15%)
  • Educational achievements (10%)
  • Letter(s) of reference (10%)
  • Completeness of the application (5%)

Nominated by the ASHE Central Florida section

Nomination Form