While their efforts were spotlighted among the many speakers and presentations earlier this year, the 2024 recipients of the Don Conaway Partnering Awards received their own recognition “front and center.” Five project teams and ODOT and OCA individuals were showcased at the Conaway Partnering Awards Ceremony, May 29th, at the OCA offices in Columbus. The Partnering Awards were initially announced at the 2024 Conaway Conference, February 27 & 28.
The Don Conaway Partnering Awards, which have been presented for the past 12 years, recognize project teams’ building of mutual trust, shared goals, open communication, and project-first mentalities during the process of completing successful projects. However, as OCA and ODOT leadership acknowledged, the recipients of the Partnering Awards go way beyond the glass accolades.
In his welcome and congratulations to the 2024 Don Conaway Partnering Award winners, OCA President Chris Runyan said, “Efforts to implement partnering are really making a difference, not only on the jobs that you are working on but all across the entire industry.
“At the Conaway Conference, there were 750 individuals there watching presentations and learning from what you folks did,” Runyan added. “So that kind of puts you out front and center as the light on the shining hill. To be examples and to be champions of what we’re trying to do … Your applying of these partnering ideals and concepts is going to go a long way, I think, in helping all of us in the state of Ohio and the much bigger picture.”
ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks, in his comments to the Partnering Award winners, said, “We couldn’t be where we are right now without the partnership between our outstanding heavy-highway construction industry and the infrastructure owner-operators at the state DOT and our County Engineers as well.
“… Ohio is seen as a shining example because of our ability to work with our partners in the industry,” added Marchbanks. The Ohio Director of Transportation said the state receives recognition throughout the nation for its DOT-industry working relationships. “So, I want to add my congratulations to the winners today. All of you have worked so hard to make our system safe, well maintained, accessible and positioned for the future …”
OCA Director of Public Agency Advocacy Chris Engle and ODOT Deputy Director, Division of Construction Management Josh Bowman, who co-organized the 2024 Conaway Conference, presented this year’s seven Partnering Award recipients. The Don Conaway Partnering Award winners were determined by the ODOT/OCA Partnering Steering Committee, which is comprised of ODOT employees and OCA and contractor members, based on the following criteria:
- Taking a proactive, as opposed to reactive, approach to partnering
- Utilizing the Dispute Resolution Process including Verbal Written Notice
- Solving issues at the project level
- Displaying original minutes from partnering meetings, and
- Showcasing correspondence letters from various project stakeholders complementing the partnering process
Prior to recognizing the winners, Engle made special mention of ODOT District 2 (Bowling Green), Barrett Paving Materials, and Walsh Construction for winning their first Don Conaway Partnering Awards.
Co-coordinated by ODOT and OCA, the Don Conaway Conference has promoted partnering among the state’s DOT and heavy/highway construction contractors for the past 23 years.
For more information about this year’s Partnering Award projects, check out the 2024 March/April issue of Ohio Contractor (pages 28-31) or visit [Ohio Contractor Magazine](https://ohiocontractormagazine.com/OC-mar-apr-2024/index.html?r=98). Also, videos highlighting each of the 2024 ODOT/OCA Don Conaway Partnering Awards are available on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0SPTxSVmT4ieOph92OHauMviIpCGLoMx).