The 53rd Annual Beavers Awards Dinner was held Friday, January 18th at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles, California.  This black-tie event was attended by over 2,100 members and guests.  Former Congressman and HUD Secretary Jack Kemp was the keynote speaker.

Beavers 2007 President Alan L. Landes of Herzog Contracting Corp. presented the 2008 Golden Beaver "Management Award" to Thomas W. Traylor, CEO of Traylor Bros., Inc. of Evansville, Indiana, for his achievements and contributions to the heavy construction industry.

A former president of the Beavers and current Trustee of the Beavers Charitable Trust, Traylor started his career with the family business in 1962 designing and constructing early-mechanized shields and rotary excavators while completing his civil engineering degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  Beginning as a project engineer for a 4-mile soft ground tunnel project in Seattle, Traylor held positions of increasing responsibility, culminating with his appointment as president and chief operating officer in 1979.  He added the posts of chairman and CEO in 1998.  Under his guidance Traylor Bros. has evolved from a regional contractor into a leading national heavy-civil contractor.