Barbour County Engineer Patrick McDougald, CEA, wasn’t expecting to hear his name called during the awards luncheon at the Association of County Engineers of Alabama’s Annual Conference. In fact, he believed that he was attending the awards luncheon to support a fellow engineer he thought was about to receive the award.

But, for this first-time top award-winner, he said he was so surprised when his name was called that he was absolutely speechless.

“Being named Engineer of the Year by your colleagues is the greatest honor for an Alabama county engineer, and I just couldn’t believe it when my name was called,” McDougald said laughing. “I was waiting for someone else’s name to be called, and I was watching him!”

For McDougald, being named Alabama’s top county engineer is a special honor that he gladly shares with his staff.

“I’m definitely honored and humbled to receive the Engineer of the Year Award, but it also means that the Barbour County Road Department is the County Road Department of the Year. We all work as a team, so it’s only right to share the honor with the members of the team,” McDougald said.

A graduate of Auburn University, McDougald studied county engineering in Covington County with now retired engineer Bill McLain for several years before being hired as county engineer in Barbour County in 1995.

“I enjoyed working with Bill McLain because he taught me a lot about county government, not just how to be a county engineer,” McDougald said.

McDougald was named the 2008 Engineer of the Year due to his continued service in his home county of Barbour, but also because of his dedication to education, service and leadership as a past president, board officer and member of the Association of County Engineers of Alabama.

“Patrick is most deserving of this award not only because of the dedication he has shown to our state Association, but also for the work he has done in Barbour County,” said DeKalb County Engineer and chairman of the Awards Committee Philip Widner. “Patrick is a past president of ACEA and has served on the ACEA Board of Directors for a very long time. His leadership and character are just two reasons why so many of the engineers in our state look up to him.”

Since he was president of ACEA in 2003-2004, McDougald has remained active in ACEA through the board of directors and numerous committees, being instrumental in the creation and implementation of the ACEA’s Web site and the statewide County Joint Bid Project, a project to allow counties to save money while purchasing heavy equipment, herbicides and road signs.

“Patrick’s involvement in ACEA is an example we can all follow,” said ACEA President and Elmore County Engineer Richie Beyer, CEA. “His selflessness and constant involvement serving our Association and its membership have brought on many benefits for the group. Items such as the Joint Bid Program and the ACEA Web site are just a few examples of Patrick’s leadership in our Association. It was an honor to be able to present Patrick with this award this year.”