Neel receives honor

Neel

The 2012 recipient of the American Council of Engineering Companies-Mississippi Teddy Roosevelt Award is Hibbett Neel, president of Neel-Schaffer Inc., which he co-founded in 1983. Neel received his undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Vanderbilt and earned a master’s degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology and served as an officer in the U.S. Army.

He has been an active member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers for more than four decades and was recently elected international vice president. His numerous awards from this organization include the 2011 Burton W. Marsh Distinguished Service Award and the ITE Outstanding Service Award in 2000. He was recognized by the American Public Works Association as Mississippi Member of the Year in 2000 and in 2004 by the American Society of Civil Engineers, receiving the Diversity Champions Award for his work fostering diversity within the industry. He received the 2007 American Council of Engineering Companies Community Service Award, and in 2009 the National American Public Works Association recognized him with a lifetime achievement award.

Neel’s community involvement includes the Mississippi Economic Council, Mississippi Blood Services, Catholic Charities, Greater Jackson Foundation, Metro Jackson Chamber of Commerce, Keep Jackson Beautiful, Leadership Jackson and Jackson 2000. He has committed both time and resources to Vanderbilt’s School of Engineering as an active six-year member of Vanderbilt’s Engineering Alumni Council and the Lewis Society.