Agrey Award Presented to Sen. Byron Dorgan
North Dakota has more miles of road per capita than any other state in the nation and North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan has been on almost all of them. He's also dedicated himself to keeping transportation in the state on par with the rest of the nation, no small task with limited transportation dollars and 50 states seeking funding.
For his understanding of the critical needs and support of transportation, Dorgan received the John Agrey Award at the 7th annual Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute banquet Oct. 31. Dorgan was lauded by North Dakota State University President Joe Chapman as a tireless champion in bringing fairness to North Dakota.
Dorgan, who called the Agrey Award a wonderful recognition, talked about how for almost 2,000 years transportation stayed pretty much the same. People walked or ran, used beasts to carry goods and that was pretty much it. Then in the last two centuries, things really changed.
New modes of transportation took over from the cart and canoe. The need for innovation and research becomes more critical as we move rapidly into the 21st century. "Infrastructure was built to accommodate cars and trains much smaller than we operate now. Maintenance of the infrastructure is part of revitalizing rural America," Dorgan said.
He encouraged people to dream, especially students. The "Enchanted Highway" near Dorgan's hometown of Regent, N.D., is an example of one person dreaming. "He had a dream and he made it happen," he said when he spoke of Larry Walters, the builder of sculpture along the highway. "You can't just sit there. Make it happen."
Noting the students, some from North Dakota, some from thousands of miles away, Dorgan encouraged them to know how Hannibal and his Roman Legions traveled, how Lewis and Clark explored, and to translate history into the future. He talked about how Chief Shalaka (Big White Wolf) and his wife, Yellow Corn, traveled as guests of Lewis and Clark to Washington, D.C. in 1806 to visit President Thomas Jefferson, and saw "roads as straight as gun barrels." They were not believed and were shunned by their tribe when they returned to what is now western North Dakota.
North Dakota has many straight roads and many that curve. Knowing how to make, maintain and improve those roads is part of the dynamic transportation arena Dorgan discussed.
He talked about the need for human capital, the students and other North Dakotans who will make transportation happen. The state and the country must have good transportation systems and infrastructure for the economy and democracy to succeed.
When Dorgan referred to the future being in good hands, he referred specifically to four young men who received scholarships. The Paul E.R. Abrahamson Agricultural Transportation and Logistics Scholarship was awarded to Scott Huso and Jeffrey Olson by Larry Lee, chairman of the North Dakota Wheat Commission. The Transportation Engineering Scholarship was awarded to Ryan Ackerman and Matthew Boncquet by Dave Sprynczynatyk, director of the North Dakota Department of Transportation.
Huso's interest in transportation first came through work as a Cargill ambassador and merchandiser. He was intrigued with the "a-to-b issues of reducing costs and getting profit back to farmers." Adding to those beliefs, Olson said, "I feel that transportation and logistics play a crucial role in today's business world. In my area of study and interest, grain marketing, this is especially true because it is a decent transportation system and good logistics that make the system work and may be the difference between unprofitable businesses and profitable businesses."
Boncquet is like many young people who are discovering the critical need for transportation professionals. "My interest in the area of transportation actually just recently became significant. I decided to go into civil engineering probably because of my father's influence in construction. The first years of college, I was mostly interested in structures. However, after working as an intern on the Minneapolis Hiawatha light rail project, I realized that transportation is of great interest to me because it involves such a wide variety of aspects - anything from bridges to traffic control to airplanes to railroads in this wide area of study. I believe this is what is drawing me to transportation as an emphasis. I love the wide variety of areas that one can become involved in."
What Boncquet says reinforces much of what Dorgan says about developing human capital and the value of investment in people, in transportation, in society. Sprynczynatyk noted the success of the DOT Support Center operated with UGPTI at NDSU in finding and encouraging talented young people.
Dorgan, who aggressively supports the needs of North Dakota and rural America in surface transportation, railroads, transit and air travel, congratulated the university and its students, UGPTI and its researchers, and citizens of the state for creating and being leaders in transportation.
Dorgan was 26 when he became the youngest constitutional officer in North Dakota's history, appointed State Tax Commissioner by Gov. Bill Guy. Dorgan thanked Guy, who sat in the audience with State Sen. Tim Mathern who nominated Dorgan for the Agrey Award. Dorgan was re-elected tax commissioner twice, then went to the House of Representatives for six terms and is in his second term in the Senate.
