ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Headquarters in Washington, D.C., recently announced its selection of Corps’ St. Paul District employee and Winona, Minn., resident Eric Johnson as the recipient of its Construction Hard Hat of the Year Award.
Johnson received the Corps’ Mississippi Valley Division Hard Hat Award in January, making him a contender for the national level award.
The Construction Hard Hat of the Year Award is given out annually by the Corps of Engineers to recognize excellence in construction quality management by its construction field personnel. Johnson was chosen as the recipient over contenders from 10 other U.S. Army Corps of Engineers divisions across the globe.
Johnson was recognized for his actions as construction representative in the Lock and Dam 3 Project Office in Red Wing, Minn. While working there, he was responsible for contract administration and quality management for both the navigation improvement project and the lower embankment project. Both contracts, the largest American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-funded projects in the entire division, were valued at nearly $47 million.
“Eric's leadership, construction expertise and superior work ethic combined for the successful execution of these projects to the highest quality standards, on-time and within budget,” said Tom Johnson, Johnson’s supervisor. “With more than 38,000 Corps of Engineer employees, only one receives this prestigious award.”
Johnson will be recognized in August at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Senior Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C.
The nearly 700 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2011 $175 million budget, nearly 2,800 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $271 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.
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