scholarships & awards
GOLDEN SHOVEL AWARD
This year we presented a new award entitled the “ Golden Shovel Award ” to recognize someone who has been an “ institution ” in the underground utility industry and the trade association world . Our recipient began his involvement with his local Chapter in the late 1980 ’ s and served on the local Board during three different terms as well as various committees over the years . His proudest moment was being an integral part of establishing the Chapter ’ s scholarship program and he currently serves as the Chair of the Scholarship Committee .
For the past seven years , our winner has been a NUCA of Florida Board member , serving as President in 2015-2016 , Immediate Past-President in 2017 . In his early years of Chapter involvement , he was also part of the Board involved with creating UUCF in its current configuration .
Our award winner is passionate about the industry and the association , and throughout his career has made time to attend nearly every Chapter meeting and event . Moreover , he stays active on legislative and regulatory issues that impact the industry and he actively participates in the NUCA of Florida “ Walk the Halls ” Legislative Days . Most recently , when faced with a threat by the Construction Industry Licensing Board to the integrity of the underground utility license for trenchless technology , our candidate became a strong advocate for preserving the licensing standards .
The extent of his committee involvement and accomplishments are unparalleled . To illustrate , in 1987 , he was contractor alternate on the local Board , served on the MBE / WBE Committee and Engineers Night Committee ; in 1988 , he was Chapter Secretary , and served on the Safety , Finance and Soil Cement Standardization Committees ; in 1989 , in addition to being Secretary , he was Chairman of the BBQ and a member of the Management Review Committee and the next year he devoted to assisting with setting up the local Chapter office . He was Contractor Director in 1995 and on the Scholarship Committee in 2011 .
The next two years , he devoted an inordinate amount of time to the local association with membership on the Business Finance & Collections Committee , Pinellas County Liaison , FTBA / FDOT liaison , Scholarship Committee Chair , Government Affairs Committee , Long -Range Planning Committee , PAC Committee , By-laws Review Committee and UUCF Board representative . In 2014 , he continued service as Scholarship Chair , a position he has retained until present day and NUCA of Florida Treasurer . He continued to move up the ranks in NUCA of Florida as Vice-President in 2015 and President in 2016 . Recognizing his tireless devotion and leadership , our recipient received the prestigious Contractor of the Year award in 2012 from his local Chapter and the Chairman ’ s award in 2017 .
Throughout his career as a Senior Estimator for David Nelson Construction , Tom Woodward , our Golden Shovel Award winner has provided guidance and service to SUCA , UUCF , and NUCA of Florida . Please be sure to congratulate Tom Woodward on receiving the NUCA of Florida Golden Shovel Award .
30 DITCHMEN • AUGUST 2018