The Management Award was presented to Tom Traylor, CEO of Traylor Bros Inc, Evansville, Indiana. A former president of the Beavers and current Trustee of the Beavers Charitable Trust, Tom literally grew up in the construction industry. Both his father and grandfather were engineers, with Tom’s father William founding Traylor Bros in 1946. Graduating from MIT with Civil Engineering degree, in 1961, Tom started his career with the family business while completing his Masters at Stanford. Beginning as a heading engineer for the Westside Tunnels project, in Seattle, Tom held positions of increasing responsibility, culminating with his appointment as President and COO in 1979. Under his guidance Traylor Bros has evolved from a regional contractor into a leading national heavy-civil organization.
Jay Carlson of Obayashi Corporation, San Francisco, California, received the Supervision Award. During his forty-year career, Jay has managed a wide variety of major projects. Starting as a miner, he learned the trade from the bottom up, moving rapidly up the supervisory ladder. He joined Morrison Knudsen in 1968 as a project manager and estimator, bidding tunneling and mine development projects throughout the US. Two years later, at the age of 28, Jay returned to the field as a project manager for Harrison Western on several underground projects and was eventually named the company’s Tunnel Division Manager. In the thirty years since, Jay has run tunnel projects for Thyssen, SJ Groves & Sons, Dillingham, Impregilo (SA Healy), Aecon and most recently Obayashi.
The Engineering Award was presented to Ron Heuer of McHenry, Illinois. Since starting in the tunnel business Ron has been involved in over 900 tunnel projects, in the US and internationally. Studying under Ralph Peck (T&TI, p30), Ron earned a BSc in Civil Engineering, a Masters in Geology and a PhD in Civil Engineering (Geotechnical) at the University of Illinois, where he also went on to serve as Associate Professor of Civil Engineering from 1975-78. Since 1975 he has been a consultant on underground construction projects specializing in geotechnical engineering and engineering geology.
Bob Pope Sr, president of Mining Equipment Ltd, Durango, Colorado, received the Service and Supply Award. With 20 years of prior experience in the construction equipment business, Bob formed Mining Equipment in 1981 to serve the underground civil and mining industries. Under his guidance, the business has become a major global supplier of rail-mounted plant, ventilation systems and mine hoists.
Following the Awards ceremony, James Waltze, Chairman and CEO of Griffith Company, was installed as the 2008 President of the Beavers. Serving with Waltze in 2008 will be Senior Vice President Tom Draeger of Bechtel Corporation; Vice President Mike Phelps of Kiewit Corporation; and Secretary-Treasurer Ron Wells of Stacy and Witbeck Inc.
From left: Bob Pope, Tom Traylor, Jay Carlson and Ron Heuer Bob Pope, Tom Traylor, Jay Carlson and Ron Heuer
