ATSSA’s national awards recognize dedication to advancing roadway safety

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ATSSA’s national awards recognize dedication to advancing roadway safety

Five awards presented at 56^th Annual Convention & Traffic Expo

HOUSTON (Feb, 23, 2026) –The American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) today celebrated individual efforts to advance roadway safety with five national awards presented during ATSSA’s 56^th Annual Convention & Traffic Expo, taking place here through Feb. 24.

ATSSA Board Chair Mike Hare presented the Chairman’s Award to former National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD) Chair Gene Hawkins for the mentorship role he played for many in the industry. ATSSA recognized Doug Dolinar, president of LimnTech Scientific, with the Industry Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed upon an ATSSA member, which recognizes significant contributions to the roadway safety infrastructure industry.

Dolinar was lauded for more than four decades of work in the pavement markings industry, and special attention through the years to worker safety, a quest that led him to build a system that automates pavement marking and removes roadway workers from harm’s way.

ATSSA also honored:

• Darcy Bullock, Lyles Family Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Joint Transportation Research Program at Purdue University, with the National Safety Award.
• Courtney Ann Jackson, news anchor at WLBT-TV in Jackson, Miss., with the National Media Award.
• Doug Dolinar, president of LimnTech Scientific, with the Mark of Excellence Award.

Chairman’s Award – Gene Hawkins, Senior Principal Engineer, Kittelson LLC

ATSSA Chair Mike Hare honored the contributions of Gene Hawkins, who in January completed an eight-year term as chair of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD), with ATSSA’s Chairman’s Award. This award is given at the Board Chair’s discretion and has not been awarded since 2022.

Hawkins held numerous leadership positions on the NCUTCD prior to becoming chair in 2018. He is a senior principal engineer with Kittelson LLC and spent 17 years as a professor of civil engineering at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, where his research focused on traffic control devices. Hawkins has served on several committees within the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and is a fellow of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE).

Hare said Hawkins left a profound legacy through the mentorship he provided to many individuals in the traffic safety industry.

“Gene didn’t know how much I looked up to him as a mentor,” said Hare, who credits Hawkins with playing a pivotal role in shaping his own career in the industry. “His guidance, his lectures on retroreflectivity and his steady leadership influenced not only my path, but the paths of countless others. This award is a small token of the enormous gratitude we all feel for Gene’s dedication and his quiet but powerful mentorship.”

Industry Achievement Award – Doug Dolinar, President, LimnTech Scientific

Doug Dolinar received the Industry Achievement Award in recognition of his dedication to innovation and roadway worker safety throughout his career, and specifically for his creation of an automated pavement marking system to remove workers from harm’s way.

Chris Beadle, assistant general manager for Epoplex, credited Dolinar with having a laser focus on improving worker safety ever since he founded his first company, Guidemark, a pavement marking contractor, in 1980.

Dolinar went on to found LimnTech Scientific in 2012 to develop an automated pavement marking system with the intent of eliminating the life-threatening safety problems he knew from his experience at Guidemark that pavement marking workers face.

“In both of his professional leadership roles, Doug has been a champion of innovation and maintained an unwavering commitment to advancing roadway safety,” Beadle wrote in nominating Dolinar.

“His work with Limntech has helped get workers off the ground and off the back of trucks, providing a safer work area for all,” Aaron Underwood, Midwest regional sales manager for Crown USA Inc., wrote in his nomination of Dolinar.

Art Leman, North America Value Chain Manager for Pavement Markings at Dow Coatings Materials, said Dolinar has also promoted safety through innovation in his work with ATSSA, where he has been a long-time member of the Pavement Marking Committee.

“Throughout his industry tenure, his emphasis has been innovation, automation and ‘keeping boots off the ground,’” Leman wrote.

Zachary Worman, program manager at Guidemark, wrote that, in more than 20 years working with Dolinar, he consistently saw him make choices to increase safety for his workers—even when they came with a higher cost. The automated road layout and striping system he developed at LimnTech raised the standard for safety across the industry, Worman wrote.

“His innovations have saved countless workers from unnecessary risk and will continue to shape the future of our field.”  Worman added.

Dolinar also received ATSSA’s Mark of Excellence Award for the high standard he set at both Guidemark and LimnTech. Leman nominated him for the award, which is given to an ATSSA member who has made outstanding contributions to the advancement of roadway safety infrastructure through improved pavement markings. He called Dolinar “an industry leader in equipment advancements to ensure quality applications and worker safety.”

National Safety Award – Darcy Bullock, Lyles Family Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Joint Transportation Research Program, Purdue University

Darcy Bullock has spent his career promoting safety in highway and civil engineering through his work at Purdue University. Mike Madrid, who recently retired from Highway Safety Services, nominated Bullock for the National Safety Award for his work with ATSSA, industry vendors and the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to develop smart and connected work zones in Indiana and beyond.

“He is always open to suggestions from the industry and especially [the] Indiana ATSSA [Chapter],” Madrid wrote in nominating him for the award that recognizes an employee or recent retiree of a government agency who made a significant contribution to the safety of our nation’s highways. “He is approachable and engaged with our industry.”

Among the projects Bullock has led at the Joint Transportation Research Program are efforts to use data from connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) to improve the safety and efficiency of work zones and road systems.

National Media Award – Courtney Ann Jackson, news anchor, WLBT-TV in Jackson, Miss.

For years, Jackson has translated complicated transportation funding issues into information the public can understand, and in nominating her for the National Media Award, officials at the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) credited her with helping get important road funding legislation passed in the state in 2025.

“Her professionalism and gift for relaying facts are unmatched,” MDOT Executive Director Brad White wrote in the nomination. “Her integrity and commitment to the truth provides great confidence to those of us who work with and listen to her.”

Amid a heated debate over tax reform in the state, Jackson helped the public understand MDOT’s perspective on the need for a recurring revenue source for new road money through dedicated interviews during the legislative session.