August 2004 Meeting
Date: Monday, August 2, 2004, 12:00 noon.
Location: The "Hotel Dallas Mockingbird" formerly the "Radisson Hotel," 1893 West Mockingbird Lane (at intersection with Harry Hines Boulevard), (214) 634-8850. (It is the same Hotel we have been meeting at for the past few years, but with a new name). See Map
Program: Lessons Learned from Central and DART and an
Update on the Regional Transit Initiatives
Our August Speaker, Walter J. Humann, has led the citizens groups that have spearheaded
efforts on major Dallas and regional issues on public initiatives, urban development,
transportation and transit. He was
instrumental in bringing public transit/DART to the region and led efforts to finance such
undertakings. He has been referred to as the
“Father of DART” and “DART Chief Fundraiser” in the media. During the early 80s when the initial
reconstruction plans for North Central Expressway, with a recommended double decking of
the highway lanes, caused a major public outcry in Dallas, the local leaders, including
Dallas Mayor Starke turned to Mr. Humann to lead the North Central Task Force. The Task Force of businessmen, neighborhood
leaders and ordinary citizens assisted technical and engineering teams and devised a
successful reconstruction plan that received full endorsement of the Dallas community.
Our August Program
includes Mr. Humann’s reflection and insight on the above undertakings and lessons
learned including how engineers’ actions influenced such major public projects. The Program also provides an update on the
Regional Transit Initiatives to address mass transit for the larger Dallas, Fort Worth and
Denton Metroplex.
Speaker: Walter
J. Humann, Hunt Consolidated Executive and Community Leader
Mr. Humann holds a
BS from MIT, MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business and a Law Degree from SMU. In his early career, he was selected as one of the
Ten Outstanding Young Men of America (for which he received a rare Elvis watch) and was
the first Texan to serve as a White House Fellow. He
also represented a Dallas team playing against the Harlem Globe Trotters.
He has
spent most of his professional career as an executive at Hunt Consolidated, the parent
company of the Hunt Oil, dealing with oil and land development business. He has also served as an executive with LTV and
was former Chairman of the Board of Memorex-Telex Corporation.
A
partial listing of his public service includes leading initiatives to provide child care
for the poor including Head Start Program, create the South Dallas Development Plan and
provide a plan to assist the west Dallas residents impacted by pollution from lead
smelters and started the Leadership Dallas Program of the Greater Dallas Chamber. He has received numerous awards including the Linz
Award. He received the 2003 Transportation
Man of the Year Award from the Texas Transportation Institute.
In
addition to his role in DART and Central, he was a member of the Dallas Love Field Master
Plan Update’s citizens group and mediated between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth
to resolve disputes over Love Field expansion programs.
Please be sure to attend one or more of of three technical seminars before or after the Luncheon.
Reservations: by Wednesday, July
28, 2004. Call the ASCE Reservation Hotline at (214) 890-6941. This voice mail system
has been established by the Branch to handle reservations.
Please state your company's name first and then the name of the attendees. In case of a malfunction, contact Eric Ratzman,
P.E. at (214) 346-6274. On-line reservations
may be made by sending an e-mail to Eric Ratzman at: reservations@dallasasce.org or from the Branch Website (www.dallasasce.org). Please make your reservations by only
one of the above methods to avoid double counting.
Cost: $15.00 with reservations, $17.00 at the door if seating is available.
Dallas ASCE
