Distinguished Service Award

An eligible recipient shall be an individual; contractor, engineer, educator, inventor, researcher, equipment manufacturer/supplier or materials producer/supplier, who has made exceptionally valuable contributions to the advancement of the deep foundations industry. The awardee can be in an active job position or retired. Posthumous nominations are also acceptable. He or she must be of good moral character, and not in a position to reward anyone for selecting him or her as an Awardee. He or she need not be a member of DFI.


Award Details

Nominations must be made prior to the Annual Winter Planning Meeting in January each year. Person making nomination must be a DFI member in good standing. Those nominations will be considered by the Award Committee based on the following criteria: Duration of career in industry, Industry Leadership, Technological Leadership, Technological Innovation, Strength of Curriculum Vitae, Character, DFI contributions and accomplishments, and Contributions to the advancement of the deep foundations industry. Current year nominations will be considered along with nominees from the past two years. Following three years of consideration, a nominee shall be dropped from the list but shall remain eligable for re-nomination in subsequent years.

The award may be made to not more than one individual each year. A selection each year is not mandatory.

The name of the years' Awardee shall be made public by August 1. The award shall be presented to the recipient by the Chair of the Award Committee at the Annual Award Dinner held during the Annual Members' Meeting and Conference.

Commencing in 1996, the award took the form of a bronze sculpture of a Da Vinci piledriver. A plaque is affixed to the base with the name of the recipient, the year, a brief statement of the reasons for the award and "By the Members of the Deep Foundations Institute". A permanent plaque is inscribed with the names and dates of all recipients of the DFI Distinguished Service Award. The plaque is displayed at each Annual Members' Meeting and Conference.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD HONOREES
2007 CHARLES J. BERKEL BERKEL & COMPANY CONTRACTORS INC.
2006 LARRY RAYBURN RICHARD GOETTLE INC.
2005 JOHN E. O'MALLEY CASE FOUNDATION COMPANY
2004 ALEXANDER J. VERSTRAETEN FUNDEX PILING CONTRACTORS
2003 FRANK RAUSCHE GRL ENGINEERS INC.
2002 MICHAEL W. O'NEILL UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
2001 STANLEY MERJAN UNDERPINNING & FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTORS INC.
2000 WILLIAM F. LOFTUS WILLIAM F. LOFTUS ASSOCIATES
1999 GEORGE J. TAMARO MUESER RUTLEDGE CONSULTING ENGINEERS
1998 MANUEL A. FINE BERMINGHAM CONSTRUCTION LIMITED &
DFI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
1997 JACK DOUGHERTY PILELINE PUBLISHING
1996 BEN C. GERWICK, JR. BEN C. GERWICK, INC.
1995 GEORGE G. GOBLE PILE DYNAMICS INC.
1994 G. ROBERT COMPTON, JR. MKT GEOTECHNICAL SYSTEMS INC. &
DFI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
1993 BENGT FELLENIUS UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA
1992 C. WILLIAM BERMINGHAM BERMINGHAM CONSTRUCTION LTD.
1991 RICHARD J. GOETTLE III RICHARD GOETTLE, INC.
1990 M. TOM DAVISSON M.T. DAVISSON CONSULTING ENGRS.
1989 JORJ O. OSTERBERG NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
1988 THOMAS E. CANDLER THE MILLGARD CORPORATION
1987 CLYDE N. BAKER, JR. STS CONSULTANTS, LTD.
1986 FRANK FULLER RAYMOND INTERNATIONAL
1985 PATRICK A. ERIC O'NEILL NEW ENGLAND FOUNDATION CO.
1984 RALPH PECK UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
1983 ELIO D'APPOLONIA D'APPOLONIA HOLDING CORP.
1982 HAL W. HUNT ASSOCIATED PILE & FITTING CORP.
1981 CHARLES L. GUILD GUILD DRILLING CO.