Beavers Announce 2017 Awardees

Paul Cocotis, CEO of Shimmick Construction and 2016 President of the Beavers, announced the recipients of the 2017 Golden Beaver Awards, which will be presented at the 62^nd Annual Awards Dinner to be held Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, at the J. W. Marriott at LA Live in Los Angeles. The guest speaker will be basketball legend Bill Walton.

The Management Award will be presented to Alan L. Landes, president and COO of Herzog Contracting Corp., St. Joseph, Missouri, where he started his construction career as a field office clerk in 1972. During Landes’ 44-year tenure the company has grown from a small regional highway contractor into a diversified corporation handling nationwide highway, mass transit and heavy civil projects. Landes has given generously of his time to the construction industry, serving as president of the AGC of California, AGC of America and the Beavers.

The Supervision Award will be presented to Scott Laumann, Northwest Field Operations Manager for Shimmick Construction, Oakland, California. Laumann began his career as a helper for Kaiser Steel in Vallejo, California, and was quickly promoted to rigging supervisor. He served as a piledriving foreman and then superintendent for Homer J. Olsen, Inc. for five years before joining John Shimmick’s new company in 1990, where he has worked overseeing major projects ever since.

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The Engineering Award will be presented to Marcus Jensen, who has served as Director of Engineering for the Southern Nevada Water Authority since 1999. He has been involved in the organization’s $3.5 billion capital improvements program, including the recently completed $817 million Lake Mead Intake No. 3, a very challenging project addressing the lower water levels behind Hoover Dam.

The Service and Supply Award will be presented to Neil Wiley of McNeil, Silveira, Rice & Wiley, San Rafael, California. Wiley has provided expertise on complex tax and accounting issues to his many contractor clients, as well as serving on the Associated General Contractors of America Tax Committee for over 35 years. He has been a valuable resource for contractors on ownership transition, an issue that affects construction more than most other industries due to the large number of family-owned businesses.

A Special Award will be presented to Lynn Barr, former president and CEO of Underground Construction Co. Inc., Benicia, California. Barr has been a tireless supporter of the Beavers, serving as chairman of the Beaverdilly Committee, as president of the Beavers in 2003, and as chairman of the Beavers Charitable Trust for the past 12 years. During his tenure at the Trust, which will end in January 2017, Barr guided the growth of the portfolio from $5 million to the current $24 million, with the annual grants increasing each year.