Former North Dakota Grain Dealers Association executive vice president Steve Strege will be among the honorees for at the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute’s annual awards banquet, scheduled for Thursday, Oct.16.
The banquet is begins with a social hour at 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 6 p.m. Banquet tickets can be reserved by calling 701-231-7767.
Strege was head of the association for 35 years. Other honorees include Richard Goldberg, judge on the United States Court of International Trade, and Duane Mutch, longtime state senator and member of the Senate Transportation Committee. The Institute also will recognize several scholarship winners.
Strege will receive the John M. Agrey Award in recognition of his contributions to transportation in North Dakota. He lobbied at both the state and federal level for 35 years as an advocate for the interests of the state’s grain dealers and their customers. Strege was raised on a farm, near Wyndmere, North Dakota, and earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanized agriculture from NDSU.
The award is named for Agrey, a pioneer and advocate for transportation who worked for more than 30 years with the North Dakota Public Service Commission.
Goldberg will receive the Chairman's Award in recognition of his role in establishing the institute. While serving in the State Senate in 1967, he sponsored the bill that established the institute. Goldberg is in his 25th year as judge on the U.S. Court of International trade in New York. In the 1980s, he was Deputy Undersecretary of Agriculture for Commodity Programs and International Trade and later served as Acting Undersecretary. While in North Dakota, he taught military law at NDSU and was a state senator for eight years.
The Chairman's Award recognizes individuals for contributions to transportation research, education and outreach at NDSU, or contributions to the viability of the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute.
Mutch will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to the state as a longtime member of the North Dakota Legislature, particularly as a member of the Senate Transportation Committee. He was also a commercial motor carrier in the state as part of his wholesale petroleum business in Kempton, North Dakota.
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual who has had a distinguished career in a transportation-related field.
Kenneth Bahm and Daniel Julson will receive the Paul E.R. Abrahamson Transportation Scholarship, which is awarded to students who demonstrate interest in the transportation and logistics of agricultural commodities and processed agricultural products. Funding for the $1,500 scholarships is provided by the Mountain-Plains Consortium as a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's University Transportation Centers Program. Bahm is a senior in agricultural economics from Mandan, North Dakota. Julson is a senior in agribusiness from Wahpeton, North Dakota.
Jennifer Barstow, a senior in civil engineering, will receive the Charles E. Herman Scholarship, which is presented to a transportation student who demonstrates academic achievement with a preference to women and minorities at NDSU. Funding for the $2,000 scholarship is provided by the Charles E. Herman Endowment Fund.
Sean Kelly and Joseph “Alex” Zikmund will receive Transportation Engineering Scholarship, which is awarded to students who have an interest in transportation and display academic excellence. Funding for the $1,500 scholarships is provided by the Mountain-Plains Consortium as a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's University Transportation Centers Program. Both are seniors in civil engineering. Kelly is from Dickinson, North Dakota, and Zikmund is from Aberdeen, South Dakota.