Commissioners, superintendents, county representatives, past presidents, lifetime members, affiliate members and their families all gathered in Saratoga Springs for the 2009 100th Anniversary Summer Conference & Celebration on August 30-September 2. 

100 years ago all the Highway Superintendents and Commissioners from counties across the State traveled the then rugged roads and bridges to meet in Saratoga Springs at what was the Worden Hotel for the first organizational meeting of the New York State County Highway Superintendents’ Association. While the historical backdrop has changed over the past 100 years, our forefathers’ passion for their work, and fight for adequate funding and resources have not changed.

Today, the Association continues its important work with 57 of the state’s county commissioners of public works and Highway Superintendents and over 125 industry members, actively involved. We are the only organization in NYS dedicated to meeting the needs of the County Highway Superintendents and Commissioners of Public Works.

The close knit organization that was formed 100 years ago still holds true for today with 250 total attendees participating in the summer conference—record attendance! 55 counties, 20 past superintendents and 63 organizations represented! All had a great time renewing acquaintences and reminiscing over our rich history. The program included many centennial special events. To name a few:

• “Walk through time” display showcasing our history,
• Banquet celebration with speakers from throughout our history,
• Rededication of our history marker on Broadway in Saratoga,
• Lots of photos and chances to reconnect with old friends.

We kicked off on Sunday evening with a reception at the Saratoga Hilton and attendees had the opportunity to network and enjoy each other’s company. Monday morning opened the conference with welcome remarks from Don Higgins, President, and remarks from Stan Gee, Acting Commissioner, NYS DOT who spoke on…….He also presented a plaque to the Association on behalf of DOT recognizing the Associations celebration of 100 years existence.

The highlight of the conference was Tuesday afternoon with our centennial celebration starting with the trip to the dedication marker for Superintendents Photograph/re-dedication ceremony. 55 counties represented! The centennial celebration continued with a Wine Tasting hosted by the Women of NYS Wines—a group of women that started 20 years ago whom were wives of grape growers. When in the early 70’s the market for grapes was very depressed, the men had formed the NYS Wine Grape Growers and the women became the promotional arm. Followed by the reception where attendees mingled and reminisced with fellow & former superintendents as they enjoyed light fare and music by Nat Phipps. They also enjoyed the walk down memory lane as they viewed photo boards from our past history. The reception was followed by the annual banquet where speakers from across the 100 year history spoke on their memories/experiences with the association. A memorable evening for all!

The Continuing Education Consortium (CEC) presented an excellent training program as well for all our members and industry professionals.  This year’s conference program offered accredited training for professional engineers on:

• Erosion and Sediment Control Tools for Public Works Departments—Part II presented by Thomas Baird, P.E., Barton & Loguidice, P.C.
• Safety Assessments for Transportation Facilities presented by Frank Dolan, P.E., Bergmann Associates & Willy Grimmke, P.E., Washington County Superintendent of Public Works
• Building Safer Roads  presented by Ronald Berube, P.E., TransTech Systems, Inc.
• Recycling Techniques presented by Jim Rojecki, Quality Control Manager, Midland Asphalt Materials, Inc.

Our Sincerest Thanks to Our Conference Sponsors

Platinum Sponsor – Tuesday Banquet
Highway Rehab. Corp.

Platinum Sponsor
International Truck & Engine Corp.

Gold Sponsor—Re-dedication ceremony and Superintendents photograph
Barton & Loguidice, P.C

Gold Sponsor—Monday Night Networking Event
Co-Sponsor TVGA

Gold Sponsor
Erdman Anthony

Silver Sponsor
Delta Engineers
Hunt
Lu Engineers
The Gorman Group

Conference Grand Prize Sponsor
AECOM
Chemung Supply Corp.
Popli Desing Group

Bronze Sponsors
AECOM
CDM
CHA
C&S Companies
Creighton Manning Engineering, LLP
Labella Associates, P.C.
Laberge Group
Ravi Engineering & LS, P.C.
Shumaker Consulting Engineering & Land Surveying, P.C.
Stantec
Viking Cives (USA)

Golf Outing & Conference Gift
LADA

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