Robert J. Dodge Professional Image Award

Recipient must be a member of International ITE; possess demonstrated technical competence and excellent people skills; must have a demonstrated record of service to the profession, the organization, and his/her community; who by personal demeanor and example projects the best image of what a transportation professional should be.

2007 Award Winner: Mr. Larry Meisner, PE

Larry Meisner, PE of Kimley-Horn was recognized as the recipient for the Robert Dodge Professional Image Award for the year 2007. Mrs. Nurry Dodge, Robert Dodge's widow, represented their family.

Larry has been a long-time member and supporter of the NC Section and southern District of ITE, serving on the Board of directors from 1992-1994 and as President of the Section in 1994. He has served on the Transportation Planning Council and numerous coordinating committees for the section's annual and mid-year meeting.

He has 32 years experience in transportation planning. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 1970 and attended graduate school at UNC-Chapel Hill. His career has advanced from analyst, project engineer, project manager to practice builder. He has specialized in transportation planning, environmental studies, public outreach, and traffic services for land development.

He has served as a great mentor particularly when it comes to client relations, public involvement, and commitment to ITE. Larry is an avid sailor,a nd has two grown sons, both of which he and his wife Jerri are immensely proud.

Larry was not able to attend the meeting, but sent his warmest regards to the membership as he is ushering his firm's regional growth with a move to open their newest office in Beaufort, SC.

Congratulations to Larry Meisner of Kimley-Horn for winning this award!

Past Award Winners

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R.V. Moss Lifetime Service Award

Recipient must have been a Member or an Affiliate Member for at least 15 years; should possess demonstrated technical confidence; should have made significant contributions to the profession and ITE through participation in committees, workshops, speakers’ bureaus, seminars, fundraising, meetings and local arrangement committees; and through elected office at the Section level or higher.

2007 Award Winner: Mr. Bruce G. Leonard, PE, PLS

The 2007 RV Moss Lifetime Service Award was presented to Mr. Bruce Leonard, PE of Kimley-Horn. Present to make the award was Mr. R.V. Moss (President 1969) for whom the award is named..

Bruce is a graduate of Duke University with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He is registered both as a professional engineer and a registered land surveyor, and has been published in several professional publications. His involvement on projects ranged from roadway design, traffic operations, parking planning and design, site engineering, environmental engineering, signal system design and implementation, and transportation planning.

He has served as President of the Southern Section of ITE in 1982 (the predecessor to District 5) and was a member of the Board of Directors in 1985 and 1986.

Bruce has made many valuable contributions to the profession during his career. He has a quest for knowledge that exemplifies "life-long learning." Bruce has served as a professional mentor to a number of engineers. He retired from Kimley-Horn in 2007.

Congratulations to Bruce Leonard of Kimley-Horn for winning this award!

Past Award Winners

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Jay Quinn Technical Excellence Award

Jay Quinn Technical Excellence Award Recipient must be a non-engineer Affiliate Member of the North Carolina Section who has been active in programs and activities of the Section and has made a significant contribution to the Section.

2007 Award Winner: Ms. Leigh Ann Couch

The 2007 award was presented to Ms. Leigh Ann couch, of Carolina Traffic Devices. Leigh Ann's husband JP, was present during the award presentation.

Leigh Ann has made significant contributions to the Section and has been instrumental in the growth and success of NCSITE through her vendor involvement at Annual Meetings, Local Meetings, and Workshops. She played a key role in the successful Carolina Panther event in Charlotte when the company was just getting off the ground. She and the company have been supporters of NCSITE every since. She represents Carolina Traffic Devices Inc., a distributor of crash cushions, water-filled barriers, message signs, arrow boards and other highway products.

She attends every meeting where we office space for vendors, and has always supported NCSITE through leasing vendor space and sponsoring events. She is willing to help whenever asked, and always offers great ideas.

Congratulations Leigh Ann Couch of Carolina Traffic Devices for winning this award!

Past Award Winners

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Contribution to Transportation Award

Recipient is an individual not affiliated with NCSITE in any capacity who has contributed significantly to transportation through professional and/or political activities.

2007 Award Winner: Mr. William A. "Beau" Mills

The 2007 Contribution to Transportation Award was presented to Mr. William A. "Beau" Mills. Beau's wife, Kathy, was present during the award presentation.

Beau was a federal employee on special assignment as a Senior Policy Adviser to NC Governor Jim Hunt, focusing on transportation, economic development and environmental issues. he was also the Governor's liaison to the State legislative Commission on Smart Growth. Before joining the Governor's Office he spent eight years in Washington DC, as an employee of the US Environmental Protection Agency.

In 2006, Beau was awarded an Eisenhower Fellowship, spending 5 weeks in China learning about economic and development policy, with a special emphasis on transportation. A native of North Carolina whose family is from Polk County, he has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master's in Public Administration from the University of West Florida.

Beau joined the North Carolina Metropolitan Coalition as Executive Director in 2001. The Metropolitan Coalition, an affiliate of the League of Municipalities, is made up of 25 of the largest cities in the state. Its goal is greater emphasis on urban needs in statewide policy focusing on transportation, economic development, downtown revitalization and public safety. As the Chairman of NC Go, Beau is a staunch ally for promoting transportation in North Carolina on a statewide and local level.

Beau strongly supports adequate financing for transportation improvements in North Carolina to keep pace with a growing population. Beau has been quoted as saying "Citizens want to know that they get behind the wheel, they are driving on safe roads and are surrounded by solid infrastructure. Our lawmakers have a responsibility to stop transferring money out of the Highway Trust Fund and instead spend this money and their time implementing transportation policies that will improve our state's infrastructure."

Beau supports reducing the $65 Billion 25 year projected transportation needs gap in North Carolina by eliminating transfers from the Highway Trust fund, increasing Highway Use taxes, and allowing local options taxes so that local governments can raise revenue to address local transportation needs and priorities for the next 25 years.

Beau and his wife Kathy have two children.

Congratulations to Beau Mills of the NC Metropolitan Coalition for winning this award!

Past Award Winners

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Paul D. Cribbins Cup

2007 Award Winner: UNC-Charlotte ITE Student Chapter

Awarded to the outstanding student chapter within the Section (currently three: NCSU, NCA&T, and UNC-Charlotte)

Past Award Winners

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Young Professional Award

Awarded to a Member or Affiliate, under the age of 35 years, who, over their young professional career, has contributed to the advancement of the transportation profession and the North Carolina Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. Recipients should exhibit such personal traits as integrity, honesty, professionalism and leadership. Individual professional accomplishments such as transportation innovations, technical research, paper writing, and NCSITE organizational work, including meeting participation and committee work, can be considered.

2007 Award Winner: Ms. Sarah M. Smith, PE

The 2007 Young Professional Award was presented to Ms. Sarah M. Smith, PE. Sarah's husband, Kevin, was present during the award presentation.

Ms. Smith has a bachelor's and master's degree from the University of Virginia and she was very active in the student section of ITE at UVA. She is currently the mountain Planning Group Supervisor in the Western Planning Unit of the Transportation Planning Branch at NCDOT.

Sarah is an active member of the Transportation Planning Council of NCSITE. She has worked diligently on the mid-year meetings and has been instrumental in securing speakers and organizing the last minute details to ensure that everything went smoothly.

She has served NCSITE as an Affiliate Director. She has also volunteered in the he past to help out as the student chapter liaison for the NC State student chapter. She assisted the chapter for over a year and really got them more involved in routine NCSITE activities, and assessed what the student chapter needed from NCSITE and brought that back to the Transportation Planning Council.

She is very committed ITE member. She has a quiet, likable, professional personality and she can be counted on to do what she says she will do.

Congratulations to Sarah Smith of NC Department of Transportation for winning this award!

Past Award Winners

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New Member Award

Awarded to a New Member or Affiliate of our North Carolina Section, who has contributed substantially to the advancement of the Section through any of the following responsibilities, and not limited to: Council involvement, committee involvement, special projects, conference planning, meeting participation, presentations at NCSITE sponsored meetings. A New Member would have less than five years of professional membership with our Section to qualify, and would represent the future leadership of NCSITE. Recipients should exhibit a teamwork approach to their NCSITE responsibilities, excellent leadership and professionalism skills, integrity, a willingness to learn, and an excitement for NCSITE activities and growth potential.

2007 Award Winner: Mr. Bobby C. Croom, Jr., EI

The 2007 New Member Award was presented to Mr. Bobby Croom, Jr., EI. Bobby's wife, Monica, was present during the award presentation.

Bobby began with the city of Raleigh by conducting traffic counts while in college. After graduation, he worked full-time in the traffic control center. It was during this time that he solidified his decision that civil engineering was his lifetime career. He then went on to manage the city's SafeLight program. This program has reduced crashes by an average of 50% at protected intersections. Recently he was promoted to the Senior Traffic Engineer position with the City of Raleigh. Bobby has recently moved to Asheville to become the city's Assistant Traffic Engineer.

Since becoming a NCSITE member, Bobby quickly became involved in the Traffic Engineering Council. He began taking leadership roles in the Council as the co-chair of the Late Night Flash Task Force. He was an active ember in the Clearance Time Task Force, and the Modeling/Sim Users Group. He has been instrumental in organizing several local meetings, documenting practices for the Annual Meeting, and providing a lunch 'n' learn program. He was also the Chair of the Traffic Engineering Council for 2006 and 2007.

Bobby and his wife Monica have two small children.

Congratulations to Bobby Croom of the City of Asheville for winning this award!

Past Award Winners

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