LITTLE ROCK (09-28) – Dan Flowers, Director of the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) has received the Thomas H. MacDonald Award from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) for his service in the transportation industry. Flowers received the award at the recent AASHTO annual conference in Philadelphia.

     AASHTO’s MacDonald Award is the most prestigious award given by the association.  Since 1957, it has recognized outstanding achievement in the fields of highway administration, engineering and research.  It is given to a state transportation professional who has rendered continuous outstanding service over an extended period, or who has made some exceptional contribution to the art and science of highway engineering.  Nominees are judged by a panel of their peers in the state highway and transportation community. 

     “Dan’s professionalism and dedication to his state and to transportation in general have made him a respected advocate and leader for transportation issues,” the Award’s Committee writes of Flowers.   He is credited with being instrumental in developing the Department’s $1 billion Interstate Rehabilitation Program.

     “We are pleased to have Dan Flowers as the Director of our Department,” Arkansas Highway Commission Chairman, J.W. “Buddy” Benafield, stated.  “It is great that a national transportation group has recognized him for his work. 

      Flowers was named AHTD Director in 1994.  He started with the Department as a summer employee in Batesville before becoming a full-time employee in 1969 after graduating from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering.  He began his career as a planning engineer in the Planning Division and held eight other positions before being named Director. 

     During his tenure, Flowers has been active in national, state, regional and local transportation organizations.  He has served the transportation industry through leadership and participation on numerous AASHTO and Transportation Research Board committees.  He served as Vice President of AASHTO and as President in 1999.  He was Chairman of the Standing Committee on Highways, Subcommittee on Design, and the Special Committee on International Activities Coordination. 

     Flowers also served as Vice President and President of the Southeastern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (SASHTO), as well as being a member of the World Road Association’s Committee on Performance of Road Administrations, and on the Board of Directors of the Mississippi River Trail Corporation.

     Other professional affiliations include the Arkansas Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, University of Arkansas Academy of Civil Engineering, and the Mack-Blackwell Transportation Center’s Professional Advisory Board at the University of Arkansas.

     Flowers is married to the former Sara Stobaugh of Hughes.  He and his wife live in North Little Rock and have two daughters, one son, and three grandchildren.

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