Oh what a night! Nearly 400 guests participated in the ESWP 136^th Annual Engineering Awards Banquet, held in the Allegheny Ballroom of the Westin Hotel on Thursday, February 6. Master of Ceremonies Rick Sebak presided over the event, providing a few tantalizing trivia questions to the crowd, in the style he is so famous for. Along the way, awards were presented to Trevor Divine and Simone Stein, recipients of the George Washington Prize, presented by the University of Pittsburgh’s Dean of Engineering James Martin, and Carnegie Mellon University’s Dean of Engineering Bill Sanders respectfully.  Following, ESWP President Dave Borneman presented Mr. Bill White with ESWP’s inaugural Educator of the Year Award for his in-class and extracurricular activities at the Avonworth School District, promoting STEM education.  Following, Mr. Borneman recognized Dr. Brandon Grainger with the Engineer of the Year Award for his work in electrical power industry and leading the EPIC Conference in 2019. The Projects of the Year Awards were next up, recognizing the following:

• In the Transportation Category, we recognize the Bentleyville Interchange, and the Owner, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation; the Engineer, ms consultants; the General Contractor, Golden Triangle Contracting; Survey Services, Monolah Basin Engineers; and Geotechnical Engineer, AWK Consulting Engineers
• In the Rehabilitation Category, we recognize the Liberty Tunnel Rehabilitation, and the Owner, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, District 11-0; the Engineer, WSP USA, Inc.;  CM/CI Services, Hill International; and the three Contractors on this project: Wellington Power Corporation, Swank Construction Company, and Mosites Construction Company
• In the Innovation Category, we recognize the Pennsylvania Turnpike Roadway and Bridge Reconstruction from Milepost 39.62, and the Owner, the PA Turnpike Commission; the Engineer, McCormick Taylor; the Construction Manager,  Hill International; and the General Contractor Trumbull
• In the Education Category, we recognize the Point Park University Playhouse, and the Owner Point Park University; the Engineer/Architect, Westlake Reed Leskosky; and the General Contractor, PJ Dick.
• In the Emergency Rehabilitation Project of the Year, we recognize the Station Square Norfolk Southern Derailment, and the Owner, Port Authority of Allegheny County; the Engineer, GAI Consultants; the Construction Manager, SAI Consulting Engineers Inc.; and the General Contractor, Michael Facchiano Contracting, Inc.

The evening was highlighted by the presentation of the William Metcalf Award to Thomas G. Leech, P.E., S.E. Tom’s long career as a bridge engineer, along with his publishing and family interests were presented in video showing much of Tom’s work in all three areas. Special remarks were included by colleagues Tom Costello, Steve Shanley, Eric Veydt, and David Dzombak. Congratulations to Tom, and all of the award recipients, and thanks to all those who attended the Banquet!