ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Roy Lawson of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, was selected as the 2023 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Hard Hat of the Year recipient.
Lawson, of Warren, Minnesota, is the lead construction representative for the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project and is based in the district’s Western Area Office in Fargo, North Dakota.
Lawson was chosen for the award based in part for his technical knowledge and expertise, his teaching and mentoring skills and his ability to build teams and inspire confidence, which have been critical to the current success of the project. The district, and its partners, the cities of Fargo, North Dakota; Moorhead, Minnesota; and the Metro Flood Diversion Authority, are working cooperatively to implement this critical project and the Corps’ first public private partnership, or P3, project in the nation.
“It’s really great to see the recognition for one of the key individuals in the field for the Fargo-Moorhead projects,” said Virginia Regorrah, Western Area Office area engineer, and Lawson’s supervisor. “His leadership, knowledge, construction expertise, training skills and ability to work with people have been so important to our work out here.”
Lawson’s focus on learning and creating teams has resulted in an atmosphere of acceptance within the office and resulted in recognition of the district’s successes by outside organizations such as the recent selection as the National Academy of Construction Recognition of Special Achievement Award.
Lawson joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2003, after previously working for multiple construction contractors. In 2021, he was the first in the district to be given the title of “lead” construction representative. He lives in Warren with his wife, Shirley, who works for the American Legion, and they have two adult daughters and one granddaughter. He has supported many flood fights in the Red River Valley starting with the historic 1997 floods and has been on multiple deployments to help with hurricane recovery. Lawson is a member of American Legion Post 27 in Warren and regularly volunteers there.
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