News Releases
January 13, 2012- For Immediate Release
The Beavers 2012 Awards Dinner
The Beavers 57th Annual Awards Dinner was held Friday, January 13, 2012 at a new location – the J.W. Marriott Hotel at LA Live in Los Angeles. The guest speaker for the event was columnist/author/actor Ben Stein. The event was attended by just over 2,000 members and guests.
Ronald P. Wells, 2011 president of the Beavers and Chairman Emeritus of Stacey and Witbeck, Inc., served as master of ceremonies for the 2012 Golden Beaver Awards.
J. Doug Pruitt, chairman of Tempe, AZ-based Sundt Construction, Inc., received the Management Award. A civil engineering graduate of Oklahoma State University, Pruitt joined Sundt in 1966 and rose through the ranks to become president and chief operating officer in 1992, then was named chairman and CEO in 1998. He has served as president of the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University and was elected to their Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2009 Pruitt served as the national president of the Associated General Contractors and is one of the founding members of the Construction Industry Ethics and Compliance Initiative.
James M. Marquardt, Senior Vice President and Eastern Region Tunnel Division Manager for J. F. Shea Co., Inc. received the Supervision Award. A 33-year veteran of the underground and tunneling industry, Marquardt is currently involved in the $1.1 billion No. 7 Line extension of the New York City subway system. His past project management has included the $320 million New York City Water Tunnel No. 3, Stage II and the $150 million Weehawken Tunnel Light Rail Transit Project in New Jersey He has also managed major projects on the Washington D.C Metro and Los Angeles Metro, along with major water tunnel projects on the East Coast.
William W. Edgerton, chairman of Jacobs Associates, received the Engineering Award. Edgerton received his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Tufts University and earned an MBA from George Washington University. He joined Jacobs Associates in 1987, bringing seventeen years of experience working for contracting firms (A. S. Wikstrom, Morrison-Knudsen & The Driggs Corporation). During his career at Jacobs Associates he has been involved with major tunnel and infrastructure projects throughout the U.S. as well as in Puerto Rico and Hong Kong. In 2002 Edgerton received the American Underground Association’s “Outstanding Individual Award for the Underground Industry.”
Sam E. Baker, Jr., a partner in the Seattle-based law firm of Oles Morrison Rinker & Baker LLP, received the Service and Supply Award. Baker holds a B.S. in Construction Management from the University of Washington and a J.D. from the University of Montana. He was a founding member of the University of Washington Contractor Industry Advisory Council and has been a director of the Western Washington University Foundation. He is the only attorney to have been inducted in the University of Washington Construction Hall of Fame. Baker currently serves as a Trustee of the Beavers Charitable Trust, the scholarship program of the Beavers.
For Additional Information and Photos Contact:
Dave Woods, Executive Director
The Beavers, Inc.
Tel: 650/694-4834
E-mail: dave.woods@thebeavers.org