ESWP: Society Information: Annual Banquet
Annual Banquet Recap
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Click HERE to view the 2010 Banquet Photo Gallery, sponsored by The Maguire Group
“Congratulations! Last night's Annual Banquet was one of the best that I have attended. There was a lot of electricity in the air and the speaker was fabulous. It was well organized and orchestrated. The speeches and the overall logistics were terrific. Great job!”
“Congratulations on a fabulous banquet!”
“Kudos for the event. All my guests commented on the well thought out and executed evening. Very nice job.”
“That was the first ESWP Awards Banquet I attended....I thought it was a grand evening from the start to the finish. Excellent job at making the night run smoothly and look seamless. I am really happy to be part of this organization.”
...that’s what they’re saying after the 126th Annual Engineering Awards Banquet.
The ESWP Engineering Awards Banquet was held on February 17, 2010 in the East Club at Heinz Field. More than 575 guests attended the 126th annual event. The event began with a reception held in honor of the 2010 Recipient of the William Metcalf Award, Dr. William “Red” Whittaker, Fredkin Professor of the Robotic Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Following the social hour and silent auction, Honorary Banquet Co-Chair Alex Sciulli introduced ESWP President Deborah Lange as the event host. After the introductions of the ESWP Executive Committee and other dignitaries, a rousing rendition of the National Anthem was performed by vocalist Jeff Jimerson. Prior to the service of the meal, ESWP 1st Vice-President Tom Donatelli provided the invocation for the Banquet. Throughout the dinner, several raffle winners were announced by ESWP 2nd Vice-President Charles Toran.
New at the 2010 event, the Banquet Planning Committee asked table hosts to consider hosting for area educators and students to help ESWP further its network into academia through the Banquet. Thanks to the generosity of our members, more than 30 such complimentary seats were offered to these guests! Even better, more than 40 educators and students were able to attend the Banquet, with the ESWP hosting a full table. Their response to the event was thrilling, as indicated by comments such as:
“I saw several of the teacher guests at Network Connections the day after the dinner. They were pleased and honored at having been invited and impressed by Bob Ballard’s presentation. Thank you for having invited them!”
“I can't thank you enough for thinking to invite me to the Society of Engineers lovely banquet last week. I had a wonderful time and welcomed the opportunity to meet with local gifted coordinators in the South Hills as well as the two gentlemen seated at our table. “
“I made contact at my table with a representative from Penn Dot. She is very interested in being involved in outreach programs. I gave her my card, your after school brochure and told her you would be in touch. I just sent her a Math & Science Collaborative Journal. I gave her contact information to your secretary. “
“we had two students at our table that I know came away impressed with the event. Hopefully both future engineers!”
Following dinner, ESWP Awards Chairman Michael Bock presented awards in the following categories:
- Transportation Project of the Year to PennDOT for the “Missing Ramps project over SR 79.” The award was accepted by Dan Cessna on behalf of the project team. Accompanying Dan to the podium was Steve Wilson of Michael Baker, Jr., Inc., Susan Ackenheil Snow of Ackenheil Engineers, and Vic Bertolina from SAI Consulting Engineers, Inc.
- Commercial Project of the Year to UPMC for the new “Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.” The award was accepted by Eric Cartwright on behalf of the entire project team. Bob Ward of Astorino accompanied Eric at the podium.
- Engineer of the Year, presented to Col. Michael Crall of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Additionally the George Washington Prize was presented by the University of Pittsburgh’s Dean of Engineering Gerald Holder to recognize student excellence. The 2010 Award was presented to Michael Nayhouse.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the 2010 William Metcalf Award to Dr. Whittaker. Whittaker thanked the ESWP for the recognition and provided a glimpse into his work at the CMU Robotics Institute. The award was presented by 2009 Metcalf Recipient and Honorary Co-Chair Steve Tritch.
The evening concluded with the presentation by guest speaker Dr. Robert Ballard. Ballard, an oceanographer and deep sea explorer who discovered The Titanic ship wreck, talked about the technologies involved with that search, and how his work today has encouraged thousand of youngsters to consider a career in engineering and related fields.
Plans are already underway for the 2011 Annual Engineering Awards Banquet. Please check this site frequently for further updates.
