PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER’S SERVICE AWARD
Professional Engineer’s Service Award
Scott Webster, GRL Engineers, Inc.
Each year, a panel of distinguished PDCA members is
given the task to select one engineer who has made a significant
contribution to the association, the driven pile
industry and the engineering profession at large and bestow upon
that person the Professional Engineer’s Service Award. The recipient
can represent the geotechnical, civil or structural engineering
disciplines, and must have displayed exemplary leadership, technical
innovation and practices that strengthen the engineering field
of driven pile as it relates to deep foundations and earth retention
systems throughout their career.
This year, the panel selected Scott Webster with GRL Engineers,
Inc. to receive the Professional Engineer’s Service Award. Webster
is a geotechnical engineer who has worked with GRL Engineers,
Inc. for nearly three decades – he has managed the company’s
North Carolina office since the early ’90s in addition to running
GRL’s offshore operations – and is also the recently appointed treasurer
on the PDCA Board of Directors.
“In his 27-plus years with GRL, Scott has been intimately
involved with the driven pile industry,” said Scott Callaway, president
of PDCA. “He recently volunteered his time as a member of
the PDCA Board of Directors and is now serving as treasurer on
the Executive Committee.”
“It was this unwavering commitment to PDCA along with
his numerous professional contributions to the driven pile
industry that we selected Scott to be this year’s recipient of the
Professional Engineer’s Service Award,” added Jason Moore,
PDCA’s vice president.
Despite Webster’s tenure in the industry and active participation
on the board, he wasn’t expecting his name to be called for
an award during PDCA’s 22nd Annual International Conference
and Expo.
“I was very surprised,” he said. “I just didn’t expect it. I’m honored
and pleased.”
GRL Engineers has long been a staunch supporter of PDCA, and
Webster says that he is happy to be able to continue that legacy. He
adds that he’s been enjoying his involvement on the board.
“Being a part of the board is something I very much enjoy and
it’s something I look forward to,” he said. “It’s nice to meet all the
people involved in our industry and make new friends.”
What Webster enjoys most about working in the driven pile
industry is being able to flex his problem-solving capabilities.
“I enjoy the variety of projects and variation of conditions and
problems to tackle,” he said. “The size of a project doesn’t matter to
GRL – little jobs or big jobs – they all have their own issues that
need to be resolved.”
It’s that opportunity to overcome project challenges with creative
solutions that Webster pinpoints as a critical reason that
engineers need to be involved with PDCA.
“The biggest advantage of being active in PDCA is to find out
what people are doing and what issues they’re facing,” he said.
“You can find out information that will help you in the long run.
You may not run across the problem someone is having in the
immediate future, but if you ever do, that information is there, it’s
available and it’s helpful to you.” t
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