By CAROLINE BECK, Alabama Daily News
State Senator Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, was named the 2019 Outstanding Public Official by the American Society of Civil Engineers on Tuesday.
ASCE’s committee said they chose Chambliss to receive the national award for “impeccable service and dedication to the State of Alabama, as well as to the civil engineering profession and land surveying professionals.”
“Instituted in 1963, the award is made to those members of ASCE who have contributed substantially to the status of the engineering profession by meritorious public service in elective or appointive positions in civil government,” said Lawren Pratt, the ASCE member who nominated Chambliss for the award.
Chambliss led the effort to pass Senate Bill 316 in 2018 which required Qualification Based Selections (QBS) to be included in the State Administrative Code and added two public members to the Alabama Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors.
In accepting the award, Chambliss said that he appreciated the collaboration between legislators and professionals in the engineering field that led to the passage of SB316.
“It is such an honor to be recognized by my peers and colleagues with this award,” Chambliss said in an emailed statement.
“Passage of SB316 was truly a group effort, and I appreciate the work of my engineer and surveyor peers in the development of such a great piece of legislation. I also want to thank my legislative colleagues for their support in voting for the bill, and Governor Ivey for signing it into law.”
Brad Williams, P.E., President of the Alabama Section of ASCE, also praised Chambliss’s leadership.
“Senate Bill 316 led to one of the strongest QBS laws in the nation; it would not have passed without Senator Chambliss’s leadership. Senator Chambliss’s knowledge of our profession as a practicing Professional Engineer was instrumental in how he was able to lead meetings, mediate between parties of differing interests, and educate legislative members on the importance of QBS,” Williams said.
Chambliss was elected to the Alabama Senate in 2014 and is a civil engineer, along with his wife Tara. They own and operate a civil engineering firm that provides engineering services to small towns, water systems, and developers in Central Alabama.
The ASCE represents more than 150,000 members of the civil engineering profession in 177 countries. They help advance civil engineering technical specialties through nine dynamic institutes and leads with its many professional and public-focused programs.