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James
Donald “Don” Blackburn
was born in
White Plains (Surry County) in 1932 and attended Mount
Airy High School before serving with the US Army for two
years during the Korean War. He subsequently attended
North Carolina State University from which he earned his
bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1958 and
master’s degree in 1960. His first jobs were as a staff
engineer with the City of Des Moines, Iowa and as the
assistant traffic engineer for the City of Wichita,
Kansas. He returned to North Carolina in 1966 when he
was hired to head up the newly formed Traffic
Engineering Department for the City of Raleigh. Renamed
the Raleigh Department of Transportation in 1975 when
the city took over the public transit system, the
department prospered under Don’s leadership, not only in
staff and financial resources, but most importantly in
knowledge, experience, capability and integrity. Don
claimed to have one of the most highly trained staffs in
city government, and this was largely due to his
effective style of leadership and his encouragement of
his staff to join and be active, like him, in
professional organizations, such as the NC Section of
the Institute of Transportation Engineers “NCSITE”. He
was a past president of NCSITE and received the
Section’s prestigious Robert J. Dodge Professional Image
Award in 1995. The careers of many transportation
engineers across the state have been enhanced by his
mentoring. Don retired from the City of Raleigh in 1992
and spent many happy retirement years with his wife
Carolyn and sons Mark and Greg.
W. Roscoe
“Rocky” Bonsal
was born in Baltimore, Maryland but came to live in
Hamlet, NC in 1895 as a result of being a civil engineer
working on the railroads that were, in the late
nineteenth century, building their way across the South.
By 1898, Bonsal was vice president of a railroad in the
Seaboard System with an exclusive contract to supply
ties for the expansion of the railroad. In 1904, he
recognized an opportunity and became one of three
organizers of the New Hope Valley Railroad. One of the
three was from Pittsboro, NC and owned or controlled
timber rights in the New Hope Valley. The original
charter of the New Hope Valley Railroad authorized the
owners to build a railroad from a point said to be near
New Hill (and later to be named “Bonsal”) on the Raleigh
& Augusta Airline Railroad to a point near Chapel Hill
called West End, probably present day Carrboro. While
right of way was purchased, no tracks were ever laid
until another company organized by the same owners – the
Durham & South Carolina Railroad (D&SC) – completed 31
miles of track from Bonsal to Durham on 1906. The line
was extended to the south by ten miles from Bonsal to
Duncan, NC in 1911, to a connection with the original
Norfolk Southern Railroad (NS). The original purpose of
the Durham & South Carolina Railroad was to tap the
timber resources of the New Hope River Valley, primarily
for the manufacture of railroad ties, but other
commodities were transported, such as cotton, corn,
beans and tobacco, in addition to passengers. In 1920
the D&SC was leased to the NS for a term of ninety-nine
years.
James
E. “Jim” Harrington
attended high
school in Southern Pines and attended Virginia Military
Institute where he received a bachelor's degree in
Chemistry. He was active with the 82nd Airborne
1949-1952, and then entered the 30th Infantry Division
of the NC National Guard in 1953. He served for 18 years
in the NC National Guard, was awarded the NC
Distinguished Service Medal in 1971, and retired as a
Lt. Colonel in 1973. From 1971 to 1984, his private
career included Pinehurst, Inc., Sugar Mountain Company,
Cambridge Properties, Inc. (developer of Kildaire Farms
in Cary, Southern Shores in Dare County, and Bald Head
Island in Brunswick County). In 1985, he was appointed
by Governor James G. Martin to be Secretary of the NC
Department of Transportation, a position he held until
1990. It was while he was NCDOT Secretary that he
recognized (with help from the staff of his Department
and the General Assembly) that two things had to occur
if North Carolina's transportation infrastructure was
going to be able to keep up with the population growth:
(1) roads and other transportation facilities needed to
be upgraded on an accelerated schedule, and (2)
additional funds needed to be generated to pay for the
improvements. Jim Harrington and his allies in the
General Assembly accomplished both in 1988 with the
development of plans for a North Carolina Intrastate
System of Four-Lane Highways and Urban Loops, the paving
of all unpaved Secondary Roads, and the establishment of
a dedicated Highway Trust Fund to supplement the
revenues of the traditional Highway Fund. Since that
time, much needed widening of existing 2-lane highways
and construction of new highways has occurred.
Kate
Herring Highsmith “Few
women have wielded as potent an influence in the state
as Mrs. (J. Henry) Highsmith” so proclaimed a newspaper
article upon her election as president of the North
Carolina Federation of Women’s Clubs in 1943. Kate was
born in Sampson County and attended Littleton Female
College and thence to Trinity College (now Duke
University) where she received her bachelor’s degree in
1906. During the Great War, she was the state director
of War Savings for North Carolina. As a member of the
Raleigh Woman's Club and the holder of various offices
in the North Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs, she
enthusiastically supported the federation's goal of
improving the communities in which we live. From the
early days of the automobile, this included the
promotion and support of novel safety measures such as
vehicle speed limits, driver tests, directional and
warning signs, and white lines down the middle of roads.
With the onset of World War II during her terms as vice
president and president of the state federation, the
national federation adopted a goal for each state to
purchase, through the sale of war bonds, one bomber. The
North Carolina federation sold over $12 million worth of
bonds, an amount only exceeded by three other states –
Texas, Maryland and Indiana. In fact, the NC federation
bought one bomber, 16 NC districts bought one bomber
each, and 7 individual clubs purchased a bomber, making
24 in all. In addition, the NC federation outfitted a US
Army Hospital Ship “Larkspur” for injured service men
returning from the battle fronts. Kate’s induction is a
tribute to her individual efforts in both peacetime and
wartime and to the efforts of all club women in North
Carolina who have helped to improve communities through
better transportation safety.
Archie L.
Honbarrier
was born in
Newport News, VA in 1918. He lived his early years in
his father’s hometown of Denton, NC and graduated from
Denton High School in 1937. Upon graduation, he went to
work as a driver at Colonial Motor Lines, a for-hire
motor carrier started by his father and uncle in 1933.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps in July 1942 and served
until the end of World War II in 1945. After returning
from military service, he rejoined Colonial Motor Lines,
which, by this time, had relocated its headquarters to
High Point, NC. As time progressed, Archie eventually
assumed the role of President. In 1951, Archie founded
Central Transport, a liquid-bulk carrier also based in
High Point. He started with two used petroleum tankers
and hauled bunker fuel from Wilmington, NC to Harmony,
NC. Soon after, he secured authority to haul textile
chemicals from Charlotte to points in North Carolina.
Much of the company’s success came from providing
innovative and specialized tank trailers and services
(for high-heat products, and multi-compartment. The
company grew to be one of the ten largest bulk carriers
in North America. By 1997, Central Transport ran more
than 400 company-owned tractors and retained 100 owner
operators on permanent lease. The trailer inventory was
780 units and 22 terminals provided service to customers
in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In 1988, Archie
made a strictly business decision to cease operations of
Colonial Motor Lines, and in 1997 he sold Central
Transport to Superior Carriers of Oak Brook, IL. During
his transportation career, Archie served on a number of
committees and boards. He was elected to the Board of
Directors of National Tank Truck Carriers in 1978 and
remained a Director for the rest of his career.
Barbara Hill
Mulkey
was born in
Beulaville in Duplin County and attended North Carolina
State University where she obtained a BS in Civil
Engineering and later her masters degree, also in Civil
Engineering. She began her engineering career at NCDOT
as a bridge design engineer, but the call of the private
sector led her to gain both technical and management
experience with several private firms until, in 1993,
she took a leap of faith and started her own
transportation consulting business. Through hard work,
tenacity and creative thinking, she has attained a solid
reputation among public and private sector clients,
expanding the firm’s capabilities, numbers of staff, and
national locations along the way. During this period,
she not only ran a business, but also raised a family
and immersed herself in serving her community and her
alma mater, serving on the NC State University Board of
Trustees, Friend of the Library, college of Engineering
Foundation, and Board of Visitors. Her awards and
accolades are numerous, but more important than these is
the manner in which she has successfully raised the
standard for engineering excellence and has broken down
the barriers of industry stereotypes, particularly for
women wishing to enter engineering and construction
fields of endeavor.
T. J. “Jerry”
Orr
is the chief
executive of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. As
Aviation Director, Orr is responsible for all aspects of
the airport’s operation. During Orr’s 21–year tenure,
Charlotte Douglas has grown to become the nation’s 14 th
busiest airport in number of passengers and eighth
busiest in number of operations and is consistently
ranked among the nation’s top airports. Orr is a native
of Charlotte and a 1962 graduate of North Carolina State
University where he received a bachelor degree in Civil
Engineering. From 1962 until 1975, he operated his
family-owned land surveying business. In 1975, Orr
joined the City of Charlotte’s Aviation Department as a
staff engineer and was named Aviation Director in 1989.
Known for his unique style and fiscal stewardship, Orr
is respected as a visionary in aviation by leaders in
the industry, the public and private sector and among
Fortune 500 CEO’s worldwide. During Orr’s tenure at
Charlotte Douglas International Airport, he has
developed, implemented and refined unique solutions to
challenges in an ever changing industry, resulting in an
air transportation facility with continued airline
growth that is one of the most cost efficient airports
in the world. Orr also developed the CLT Air Cargo
Center and has led the extensive development of
corporate aviation, resulting in the locating of seven
Fortune 500 corporate aviation stations at CLT. He
continues to work toward the future establishment of an
airport based intermodal facility, which would connect
four modes of transportation – air, rail, sea and truck
– in one location. Charlotte Douglas International
Airport recently completed construction of a third
parallel runway, which opened in February 2010. Orr
serves on various industry boards and committees,
including the Governor’s Logistics Task Force and the
North Carolina Airports Association.
Carl Jerome
Stewart, Jr.
was born in
Gastonia in 1936. He attended Ashely High School, and
then Duke University where he was awarded his AB degree
in 1958 and JD degree in 1961. He is a member of the
American Bar Association, the American Trial Lawyers
Association, and the NC Bar Association. He was elected
to the NC House of Representatives in 1967 and served
his constituents until 1980, the last four years as
Speaker of the House. Throughout his legislative term,
he was a supporter of better transportation for North
Carolina and introduced and/or endorsed many bills that
improved roads across the state. He served on the NC
Board of Transportation from 1981 to 1983. He was a
member of the Economic Development Board and the North
Carolina Board of Technology from 1999-2001. Stewart was
also Chairman of the Board of Directors for Preservation
North Carolina during this time. He has served as
Chairman of the Gastonia-West Committee since 1996. In
2004, Governor Easley appointed him Chairman of the
North Carolina State Ports Authority Board of Directors.
Under Stewart’s leadership the NC State Ports Authority
has engaged in significant expansion programs at the
Ports of Wilmington and Morehead City, including the
proposed North Carolina International Terminal in
Brunswick County. The Ports have attained considerable
milestones under Stewart’s guidance. In 2010, he was
re-appointed to this position by Governor Beverly
Perdue.
William H.
“Bill” Teague
was in the
transportation industry over 41 years. A native of
Brevard, NC, he attended Blanton's Business College in
Asheville, NC. Blanton's was noted for its trucking and
transportation courses. When a person finished at
Blanton's, he or she was ready to go to work as a rate
or billing clerk without much training. In fact, if you
could not afford to attend a college, Blanton's was the
only way out of the mountains of western North Carolina.
Good jobs simply did not exist for someone coming out of
high school. Bill first came to Charlotte in 1967. His
first job was with Johnson Motor Lines as a rate clerk.
After several years with Johnson, he left to become a
rate clerk at Carolina Freight Carriers in Charlotte.
Later, he accepted a position with Associated Transport,
also in Charlotte. Associated was the first carrier to
consolidate all its rating of freight bills in
Charlotte. This was a 24/7 operation in rating all of
Associated's freight bills for their entire system. Bill
remained with Associated until it ceased operations.
then joined Mr. H. L. Woody at Veterans Traffic Service
in 1978. Veterans Traffic was a rate audit company. Bill
married Liz Govender in 1987. In 1988, Bill purchased
Veterans Traffic Service from Mr. Woody, who was also
the Secretary of the NC Traffic League. So when Bill
took over the business, he also started his long tenure
with the League. His great success with developing the
League into what it is today has always been associated
with Bill's vision of the organization and a rare,
totally dedicated and totally devoted passion for the
association. As all of us in the industry evolved as
transportation changed, so did the League. Still an
all-shippers organization in 1988, he chipped away at
old prejudices and by 1991, carriers could join the
organization. Since then the NCLTL has grown into the
body it is today with a membership base consisting of
shippers, carriers of all modes of transportation, 4
Port Authorities and associated businesses of the
industry. Today's League members hail from many states
as far away as Minnesota and as "southern" as Alabama.
Bill was extremely humble and rarely took any credit for
himself. He was proud though of two accomplishments. One
was the work he and others did through the League
concerning fifty-three foot trailers coming into North
Carolina. The other was the cultivation and preservation
of funds to keep the League strong. Bill witnessed too
many organizations falling by the wayside because they
could not pay their bills. Any past President you
question on this topic will tell you that they heard
this more than once. Bill Teague will be remembered as a
local icon in transportation industry.
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