AECnews is pleased to announce the revival of the Ed Forrest Award, originally established in 1993 to honor outstanding achievement in leadership for the advancement of design/construction automation. The award was last given in 2002.
Ed Forrest launched A/E/C Automation Newsletter in 1977 as an executive newsletter tracking the nascent design/construction and GIS automation industries. The trade show and conference A|E|C SYSTEMS created the award to honor Mr. Forrest, who was the first recipient of the award shortly before he passed away. Award ownership changed hands over the years as A|E|C SYSTEMS was sold first to Penton Publishing, then to Hanley-Wood Exhibitions. AECnews thanks Hanley-Wood Exhibitions for transferring ownership and responsibility for the award to AECnews.
In addition to the Ed Forrest Award, the memory of Mr. Forrest is also honored by the GITA Ed Forrest Internship Program, which provides hands-on opportunities for college students in GIS-related fields of study.
AECnews is the successor to A/E/C Automation Newsletter; the current owner, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher Randall S. Newton, is the fifth editor in the publication's history. AECnews is the oldest continuously published journal dedicated to AEC technology. Now published online, it is also available in printed form as an annual publication for corporate and institutional libraries.
David Weisberg, Editor Emeritus of AECnews and a friend of Mr. Forrest, comments, “Ed Forrest was always very positive about the CAD industry. He felt it was more important to get people enthusiastic about the possibilities of this technology than it was to write anything negative about the companies he covered."
Keith Bentley, co-founder of Bentley Systems and a former award winner, adds, "I will never forget the enthusiasm with which Ed listened to what we had done, and how encouraging he was about what could be done. He offered some very worthwhile suggestions and gave us priceless advice, always with a smile and a compliment. It was a great honor to have received the Ed Forrest Award in 1996. Ed was a true gentleman and scholar. He was a man it seemed everyone liked and admired."
In addition to Forrest, winners of the Ed Forrest Award are:
1994: Jim Meadlock, Intergraph
1995: David Arnold, Softdesk
1996: Barry, Greg, Keith, Ray, and Scott Bentley, Bentley Systems
1997: Jack Dangermond, ESRI
1998: Joel Orr, Orr Associates
1999: Ken Sanders, Gensler Architecture
2000: John G. Voeller, Black and Veatch
2001: Kristine Fallon, Kristine Fallon Associates
2002: Charles L. Miller, posthumous award
A committee of previous winners will help select the next industry leader to receive the award. A public presentation is planned for December at a time and place to be announced.
--RSN