Publisher’s Message – Lester Bradshaw Jr. is Trenchless Technology’s 2021 Person of the Year
Krzys
Entrepreneur, engineer, contractor can all be described as who is Lester Bradshaw Jr. But contractor is where Les’s foundation began and where his heart lies. Les can be further described as one of the more unique individuals in this era of trenchless construction, as he is principally a microtunneler. However, that’s not where it all began.
Way back working with his father, Les was introduced to hand-mined tunneling work. He graduated into mechanical tunneling and auger boring. I purposely use the word graduated because Les notably is a civil engineering graduate from Georgia Tech and he also has an MBA from Harvard. He and his company Bradshaw Construction Corp. have advanced to be one of the foremost microtunneling contractors in the United States.
RELATED: 2021 Trenchless Technology Person of the Year Lester Bradshaw Jr.
Always anxious to promote the development of microtunneling, he was a founding member of the North American Microtunneling Association (NAMA) and was its first chairman. He was a strong leader in the development of ASCE’s Microtunneling Guidelines.
Microtunneling has had numerous innovations since its first introduction to the United States in the 1980s. Curved microtunneling, pilot tube tunneling, hard rock tunneling, slurry muck removal, and longer drives are all now taking place and Les has been at the forefront of all of this.
Les will be formally recognized at the Orlando NASTT No-Dig Show in March. Our congratulations to Les for a most wonderful career.
Bob Westphal Memorial Scholarship Program Accepting Applications
Bob Westphal passed away in 2020 due to the COVID-19 virus. He had a stellar construction career as a revered member of Michels Corp. In honor of his leadership in the trenchless industry and oil and gas pipeline construction, the Bob Westphal Memorial Scholarship program was founded. The program is sponsored by Benjamin Media publisher of Trenchless Technology and North American Oil & Gas Pipelines and Continuum Capital in cooperation with SkillsUSA.
RELATED: Bob Westphal Memorial Scholarship Program Accepting Applications
Applications for scholarships for the school year 2021-2022 are now open. Students should submit their applications directly to SkillsUSA at: skillsusa.org. Click on “Scholarships, Grants and Awards” and you will see the Bob Westphal Memorial Scholarship. Donations to the scholarship program can be submitted to Benjamin Media with checks made out to SkillsUSA with a notation on the check for the Bob Westphal Memorial Scholarship program. The amount of scholarship awards will be made from the proceeds of all contributions. SkillsUSA will have a restricted account for the purpose of the Bob Westphal Memorial Scholarship program.
Congrats Les,
Publisher
