Source: ASCE News
The Outstanding Practitioner Advisor Award presented annually by ASCE's Committee on Student Members has been renamed to honor the late Richard H. Nettleton.
Nettleton, P.E., M.ASCE, a design and construction engineer for the Virginia Beach Public Utilities Department and a longtime ASCE member, was tragically and senselessly killed during the mass shooting incident at Virginia Beach Public Works Building Two, May 31, 2019.
"We felt that renaming this award was a great way to recognize a gentleman who did a lot of great things," said Matt Swenty, ASCE chair of the Committee on Student Members.
Nettleton served as the practitioner advisor for the ASCE Student Chapter at Old Dominion University for 15 years, providing guidance and mentorship for generations of young engineers entering the field.
"The practitioner advisor really provides that connection for students to the industry and the real world," Swenty said.
"Those practioner advisors, like Richard, serve such a critical role for our students and are very important to the health of our student chapters. And Richard did so for many years too. He did a great job."
Though Nettleton graduated from Old Dominion University with a Master's degree in Business Administration, he was an engineer with close ties to the Batten College of Engineering and Technology.
"Rich always had a level head and was a great problem solver," said Bruce Husselbee, P.E., director of engineering for Hampton Roads Sanitation District
(HRSD), who is past chair of the 黑料正能量 Civil and Environmental Engineering Visiting Council (CEEVC). "He had the ability to stay calm when others were frustrated. He was the 'adult in the room' when others needed guidance at stressful times."