HOUSTON, Dec. 12, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- H. Thomas Kornegay, executive director of the Port of Houston Authority, has been selected by representatives of various Houston engineering organizations as the 2008 Houston Area "Engineer of the Year." Kornegay was named to this annual honor because of a distinguished record of service to his profession, contributions to numerous technical and professional societies as well as civic and humanitarian activities. He will be recognized during the nationwide celebration of Engineers' Week on Friday, February 22, 2008.
A photo accompanying this release is available at http://media.primezone.com/poha/pages/business.html
Appointed executive director of the Port of Houston Authority in April 1992, Kornegay served as the PHA's managing director for five years. Since joining the PHA staff in April 1972, Kornegay worked his way through the ranks, serving in the engineering department for 15 years before being appointed as managing director.
"Tom Kornegay has distinguished himself as an engineer, as a leader in his industry and in his service to the community," said former Engineer of the Year James D. Dannenbaum, chairman, Dannenbaum Engineering Corporation, who was among those nominating Kornegay for this year's honor. "Since he became executive director, the Port of Houston Authority has become one of the recognized leaders in the industry for growth, customer service, community relations, and environmental stewardship."
A licensed professional engineer in Texas, Kornegay serves on the Texas Society of Professional Engineers, the TSPE-Greater Houston Chapter, and the National Society of Professional Engineers. From 1972 to 1975, he developed the Master Plan for Barbours Cut Container Terminal. Since 1997, he has steered the development of the PHA's newest container and cruise terminal at Bayport.
Kornegay has been affiliated with the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) for more than 25 years and served as president for two years, passing the gavel to the new president on May 4, 2007, at the 25th IAPH World Ports Conference in Houston.
He has served as chairman of the board of the American Association of Port Authorities and chairman of the U.S. Delegation of AAPA, which represents more than 140 public port authorities in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. Kornegay also served as president of the Gulf Ports Association.
In February 2005, Kornegay was named among the "Annual Journal of Commerce Leadership Roll," a listing of the top 12 leaders in trade and logistics organizations. The magazine cited his leadership in designing at the Barbours Cut Terminal in the 1970s and his leadership in the current construction of the Bayport Container Terminal.
He was appointed to serve on the executive committee of the Transportation Research Board, which is responsible for recommending transportation policy and programs to the National Research Council. He has also served on the board of directors of the World Trade Division of the Greater Houston Partnership and as a committee chairman for the Marine Board of the National Research Council and the College of Civil Engineering at the University of Texas.
The four most recent Houston Area "Engineers of the Year" have been: James Pappas, P.E. (2007); James D. "Doug" Pitcock, Jr., P.E. (2006); Gary K. Trietsch, P.E. (2005); and James D. Dannenbaum, P.E. (2004).
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, more than 7,000 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage, and 10th largest in the world. The Port Authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange.
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Members of the public who wish to speak at a Port Commission meeting will be asked to sign in at the 4th floor lobby area. They may speak when the Chair calls on them during the appearances portion of the agenda and their comments will be limited to three minutes. The public comment protocol is available on the PHA Web site, at: http://portofhouston.com/publicrelations/meetings.html
To access the port's web site photo gallery, please visit http://www.portofhouston.com/publicrelations/publicrelations.html and click the link for PHA Photo Gallery.
The photo is also available via AP PhotoExpress.
