The U.S. Forest Service honored the 2010 Engineer of the Year award recipients at a ceremony held in Washington D.C. Monday, April 4, highlighting the scope and scale of the contributions that engineers make to every program across the agency.
This year’s four recipients display a wide-ranging set of work assignments and responsibilities, and fulfill vital roles in their respective areas. Collectively, these four recipients are responsible for elements of construction, recreation and heritage, contracting and contract management, vehicle and fleet operations and administration, training and technical guidance in their respective assignments. The four recipients for 2010 are:
- Lynn Hicks, Managerial Engineer of the Year. Hicks is the Engineering, Heritage and Recreation Staff Officer for the National Forests in North Carolina;
- Alan Yamada, Technical Engineer of the Year. Yamada is the Engineer Program leader at the San Dimas Technology & Development Center near Arcadia, Calif.;
- Charles Warren, Engineering Technician of the Year. Warren works as the Senior Construction Engineer for the Region Six office, covering the Pacific Northwest;
- Shonni Hanks Nelson, Engineering Technology Applications Employee of the Year. Nelson is the Regional Fleet Program Manager for regions Six and 10, covering the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
Associate Chief Mary Wagner and Deputy Chief Joel Holtrop provided clear perspective for the awards, highlighting the depth and extent of the contributions made by Forest Service engineering. In their remarks they each spoke with great admiration about the engineering organization. Wagner reinforced that the honored recipients were representative of the large number of highly-skilled and qualified engineers who work in the agency.
Holtrop further emphasized the important roles that engineers continue to play in the overwhelming successes the agency has displayed with Recovery Act projects. He believes the Forest Service’s engineering organization is second to none in the quality and consistency of the work they produce.
Potential recipients for the awards are nominated by their peers nationwide every year, making the awards that much more special to those selected.
