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National Program Manager of the Year - Virgil Hawkins
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Virgil Hawkins, P. E., Assistant County Engineer, Wright County, Minnesota has been selected as the 2009 Project/Program Manager of the Year by the National Association of County Engineers (NACE).  Announcement of this honor and appropriate recognition of Mr. Hawkins was made at the Annual Management and Technical Conference recently concluded in Fort Worth TX on April 28, 2010.  In receiving this award, his citation read “for the outstanding application of efficient and effective management principles and standards in the execution of projects/programs in your county”.  Mr. Hawkins served as Project Manager for a $4 million project to reconstruct County State Aid Highway 19 within the City of St. Michael.  Reconstruction consisted of a four lane urban section highway with a dedicated center left turn lane, traffic control signal system, storm sewer, storm sewer ponds, sidewalk, sanitary sewer, water main, retaining wall, and turf establishment.  This highway serves as a main route to the Outlets of Albertville, a major shopping center, for the region and the project improved capacity, increased safety and corrected pavement deterioration. The project presented many design challenges such as high ADT (Average Daily Traffic) access for mail and deliveries, rights of way acquisition of 56 parcels and one property relocation, the relocation of 8 different private utilities located in the corridor and the coordination of many project partners.  Additionally, the project required the challenge of working around an old historic St. Michael’s Church cemetery fence which had been determined to be historic.  Mr. Hawkins’ exceptional professionalism and performance allowed the project to be completed on time and within budget. Mr. Hawkins has served as the Assistant County Engineer in Wright County, MN for the past 15 years.  Previous to his county experience, he worked for a consulting engineering firm and served as consultant city engineer for the cities of Corcoran, MN; Montrose, MN; and Waseca, MN.  Mr. Hawkins is a graduate of the University of Akron, OH with a BS in Civil Engineering.  While a longtime past resident of Monticello, MN, he currently makes his home in St. Cloud, MN where his two children, Emily and Matthew, and grandson, Brayden, also live."

The National Association of County Engineers, with approximately 1900 members in 50 states and Canada, has a fourfold objective: (1) To advance county engineering and management by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information,  (2) To foster and stimulate the growth of individual state organizations of county engineers, and  (3) To improve relations and the spirit of cooperation among county engineers and other agencies in the solution of mutual problems and (4) to monitor national legislation affecting county transportation departments and through NACo provide legislative opinions.



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