ACEC honors mayor Bloomberg and engineers at annual luncheon

The American Council of Engineering Companies of New York honored mayor Michael Bloomberg for his dedication and commitment to design excellence, infrastructure investment, and a sustainable N.Y.C. Two industry leaders were also recognized for their contributions to the engineering profession at the association's spring membership luncheon on June 16 at Manhattan's Roosevelt Hotel. Chairman's award: Mayor Bloomberg has been a consistent supporter of robust development of new housing, office and retail space throughout the boroughs. Under his guidance, the Design+Construction Excellence Program was established in 2003. He supported qualifications-based selection, which became city policy in 2006, and has been an advocate for reform of the city's contracting procedures. His support of the five-year Capital Improvement Plan for new and rehabilitated infrastructure has been vigorous. In 2007, his administration put into action PlaNYC 2030/Greening of New York City, a sweeping sustainability plan to enhance the urban environment and reduce global warming emissions. Engineer of the Year: Larry Fairchild, P.E. was honored for his contributions to the consulting engineering profession, the council and to his community. After working for the Indiana Highway Commission and as Rensselaer County Engineer, he joined Clough Harbour Associates (CHA) in 1986, holding increasingly important positions until his retirement in 2010 as executive VP and partner. Fairchild is an expert in airport design services, which he has performed for nearly 40 airports in the northeast. As co-chair of ACEC New York's public relations committee, he was instrumental in developing a program of press releases, position statements, articles, advertisements and special projects to enhance the visibility of the organization and the profession, including a photo exhibition of members' award-winning projects in the Empire State Building or an eight-minute video that can be downloaded from YouTube. In 2009, he collaborated with Siemens Corp. to run the association's new image ad on the Times Sq. Jumbotron during Engineers Week. New Principal of the Year Award: William McCormick, P.E., a transportation engineer and 23-year employee of Erdman Anthony, has been a principal associate for the Rochester firm for the past three years. As highway group manager, McCormick leads and mentors eight engineers and technicians. McCormick's work on the $33 million Rte. 7 highway improvement project in South Burlington, Vt., was a milestone achievement in his career. He also managed two award-winning Locally Administered Federal Aid (LAFA) projects in the state.