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American Public Works Association Chicago Metropolitan Chapter On Thursday, March 18, 1993 the Chicago Metropolitan Chapter of the American Public Works Association honored its own at an annual awards luncheon. The luncheon was held at the Wellington Restaurant in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The Chicago chapter boasts over 1,300 members and is one of the most active elements of the 27,000 member American Public Works Association. Over 200 public works officials and representatives from public works-related businesses gathered to recognize and acknowledge the accomplishments of Chicago metropolitan area members. The Metropolitan Chapter is comprised of five branches including the City Branch, the Suburban Branch, the Fox Valley Branch, the Lake Branch, and the Southwest Branch. Chapter membership spans most of the six county metropolitan area. The award ceremonies honored recipients of international APWA awards, nominees for international APWA awards, Metropolitan Chapter awards, and Suburban Branch awards. Recipients of awards from the remaining branches were honored at separate ceremonies.
International American Public
Works Association Awards
In addition, the following chapter members were entered into competition for several international awards:
Honorary Membership Nominee The highest honor bestowed by the APWA. An award made in recognition of acknowledged and well established pre-eminence in the field of public works and/or contribution of special merit and benefit to the APWA. For this, and all international awards, the APWA accepts nominations from chapters throughout the United States and Canada. Nominees should have been a member of the APWA for the past five years unless they are of national prominence. Mr. Whitman has been a member of the APWA for over thirty years and has held almost every possible office ranging from the local chapter level to president of the Association. He has also served on numerous committees, councils, and task forces within the APWA organization. In 1981, he was elected a Top Ten Leader of the Year. Mr. Whitman is presently retired from his position as Director of Public Works and Village Engineer for the Village of Winnetka.
Life Membership Nominees An award to recognize long term dedication to the APWA and its goals. Life members receive all benefits of membership but are exempt from paying membership fees. There are three ways to become a life member:
April 1993 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 11
Robert Novak
Keith Peck
Meritorious Service Nominee
An award to acknowledge the important role that private enterprise plays in providing public works facilities and services and is given in recognition of outstanding achievements and contributions to the public works profession and not for service to the chapter. The award recognizes outstanding achievement based on a pattern of professional activities which have resulted in the enhancement of the quality, efficiency, or cost-effectiveness of service provided by public agencies. Nominees must be members of APWA employed in the private sector. Mr. Burke is president of Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. He received his Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate degrees in civil engineering from Purdue University. He is a recognized expert in urban hydrology, hydraulics, and stormwater management. He has provided his professional services to numerous projects and agencies including the villages of Rosemont, Willowbrook, Schaumburg, and Bensenville; IDOT; the Illinois Tollway Authority; and the Page 12 / Illinois Municipal Review / April 1993 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He has authored numerous technical papers and presented several seminars on behalf of the APWA. He is also an instructor at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.
Charles Walter Nichols Award Nominee
An award that recognizes outstanding and meritorious achievement in the field of public works sanitation which includes street sanitation, refuse collection and disposal, sewers and sewage treatment, and water supply and treatment. The nominee must be an active member of the APWA and a full-time employee of a local government agency. Mr. Marchi is the Director of Village Services and Village Engineer for the Village of Bloomingdale. He has been very instrumental in bringing sanitary sewer services to a large section of his community that was older, fully developed, and dependent upon inadequate private sewage disposal systems. His leadership and negotiating skills helped develop a unique financing method to fund the improvement projects. His engineering and management skills championed the projects from design stages to reality. The health and welfare of a large section of Bloomingdale has been protected because of Mr. Marchi's efforts.
Contractor of the Year Nominee An award recognizing outstanding performance by a contractor on a public works project completed during the current year. Innovative construction techniques, highly efficient scheduling, or unusual problems overcome are some of the criteria used in the selection process. Loitz Brothers provided traffic control measures that went beyond the requirements of contract specifications. They consistently demonstrated concern for the motoring public as well as the heavy pedestrian traffic that had to traverse the construction zone daily to patronize Homewood's business district. Coordination and staging of the work was an important element in this project. Loitz Brothers consistently completed each phase in a timely and organized fashion using qualified sub-contractors, appropriate equipment, and good communications with other contractors working on different aspects of the project. Ultimately, the project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget. April 1993 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 13
Top Ten Leader of the Year Nominee An award developed in 1960 to inspire excellence and dedication in public service by recognizing outstanding performance by public works engineers and administrators. Any non-elected, full-time employee of federal, state, county, or municipal government whose responsibilities include public works or public works related functions are eligible. Mr. Nathani has been employed for most of his career by the Illinois Department of Transportation. He has been with the Bureau of Local Roads and Streets serving as Federal Aid Engineer, Program Engineer, and now as Bureau Chief for the District One office. He is active in many associations and technical bodies including leadership positions in the APWA's Institute for Transportation and the Chicago Area Transportation Study's Executive Committee. He holds a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois. He has worked diligently, using his strong administrative and negotiating skills to resolve the numerous obstacles inherent in large transportation projects.
Chicago Metropolitan Chapter Awards
Local Project of the Year
City of Aurora An award for projects involving no more than two municipalities. Selections will be made based on innovative design or construction methods, timeliness of project completion, resolution of abnormal difficulties, steps taken to minimize inconvenience to citizens or other unique circumstances. Projects must have been substantially completed during 1992. Many excellent projects were nominated for consideration resulting in a tie, giving the award to two co-recipients. The City of Aurora and the City of Elmhurst were honored this year for their extraordinary projects. In 1992, the City of Aurora completed construction of its Triple Water Source Treatment Plant Project. This 28 million gallon per day facility was brought in under budget at a total cost of $19.4 million. It was part of the largest public works project ever undertaken by the city. The facility is very flexible. It can provide treatment in variable proportions for water stemming from three sources: deep wells, shallow wells, and the Fox River. It is 50% expandable to 42 million gallons per day. The project's success is measured by its ability to produce high quality water consistently within the EPA's standards for drinking water. Also in 1992, the City of Elmhurst completed its ambitious Levee and Reservoir Project. This project was initiated in response to the disastrous flood of August, 1987 in which $33 million worth of property was damaged in the City of Elmhurst. Essentially, the project resulted in the development of a 7,000 foot earthen levee and a 136 acre-foot reservoir to protect 500 homes at a cost of $6.9 million. The speed in which this project was designed, permitted, and constructed makes it a truly remarkable public works project.
Regional Project of the Year
An award for projects in which more than two municipalities have been involved or from which regional benefits are derived. Selection criteria for this award will be similar to the Local Project Award and will also include special problems involved with joint cooperation between agencies and legal obstacles which may have had to be overcome. Projects must have been substantially completed during 1992. Planning for the DuPage Water Commission's massive Lake Michigan Water Supply System Project began in the 1950s and finally came to fruition in 1992. The project, which brings drinking water from Lake Michigan to over 700,000 DuPage County residents in 23 communities cost about $380 million. It has a 220 million gallon per day capacity and is composed of 150 miles of transmission main pipe ranging in size from 12 inches to 90 inches and includes a 12 foot diameter tunnel. This impressive project was designed and engineered by Alvoid, Burdich & Howson. It was completed on time and under budget.
Floyd Walker Memorial
Page 14 / Illinois Municipal Review / April 1993 An award given to an individual recognizing innovation in the practices and techniques employed in the public works field as well as a high degree of integrity in the sale of products/equipment relating to the public works profession. Nominees must be a member of the Chicago Metropolitan Chapter and employed in the private sector. Mr. Foreman has been marketing water and sewer construction products to public works organizations since the 1960s. He is renown for commitment to customer service and his uncanny ability to find even the most unusual parts. His dedication to his customers is unequaled. He has been known to visit work sites on weekends and holidays to help solve problems. His extraordinary efforts have helped public works organizations provide consistent, efficient service for more than 25 years.
Award of Merit
Jerome Rosenthal, An award given to an individual in recognition of dedicated service to public works or related agencies at the operational level who perform their responsibilities in an exceptionally efficient and courteous manner. Nominees need not be a member of APWA, but must have been employed by a public works related agency or agencies for a period of not less than five years. This year, there are two recipients of this award:
Jerome Rosenthal
Robert Maguire
Robert C. Retondo Memorial
This award was recently created by the Chicago Metropolitan Chapter Executive Committee to honor the memory of Robert C. Retondo. Mr. Retondo was a long-time member of the chapter who worked tirelessly to promote and organize chapter activities. The recipient of this award is honored for his/her dedication and outstanding service to the chapter. In addition, the recipient of this award is the chapter's nominee for the Harry S. Swearingen National Award presented at the International American Public Works Association Annual Congress. The first-ever recipient of this award is Marty Olsen, who is the Director of Public Services for the Village of Glendale Heights. Mr. Olsen has spent the last five years as a member of the Suburban Branch Education Committee, serving for two years as its chairman. This committee has been responsible for organizing and administering some very beneficial and financially successful educational programs. Most of these programs, including the popular Public Works Update Series, have been very well attended. Mr. Olsen has served as local coordinator for an APWA Education Foundation program as well. Presently, he is serving as an officer in the Suburban Branch. April 1993 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 15 |
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