For Immediate Release: February 14, 2020
2020 ORBA Convention Honours the Best of the Best in the Road Building Industry
Mississauga, ON – The Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA) 93rd Annual Convention and Annual General Meeting, which took place February 2 – 4 at the historic Fairmont Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto, presented several awards and honours to members in the industry for their service and commitment to the association and the road building industry in Ontario.
“Our members represent those who build the back bone of Ontario’s transportation infrastructure. These individuals and companies are a valuable asset to the Association and industry through their hard work and dedication to excellence. Their contributions have had a positive impact on not only the road building industry, but also within the communities in which they serve,” says Bryan Hocking, ORBA Chief Executive Officer. “It has been quite an honour to celebrate these accomplishments and express our gratitude with record numbers of membership and public owners in attendance at this year’s convention.”
Awards were presented in the following categories:
2020 Ontario Road Building Hall of Fame Inductee – Carlo Bot, Teranorth Construction & Engineering Limited
The Hall of Fame designation is ORBA’s highest honour and ORBA is proud to have inducted Carlo Bot of Teranorth Construction & Engineering Limited at the President’s Inaugural Dinner on February 4 at the 2020 ORBA Convention.

L-R: 2019 Hall of Fame Inductee, Carlo Bot, and ORBA CEO, Bryan Hocking.
2019 ORBA Community Leadership Award – Powell Contracting
Established in 2015, the ORBA Community Leadership Award recognizes an ORBA member company or an individual, employed by an ORBA member company, for selflessly undertaking philanthropic activities or providing community service, for the betterment of their community and the world around them.

L-R: James McVeety, ORBA President, Philip Breault, Sustainability Manager, Powell Contracting
Routly Safety Award Winners
Main Safety Award – Awarded to the member company that has worked the greatest number of consecutive man hours without a lost-time injury.
Category I Winner – less than 100,000 average annual man-hours
Upper Canada Road Services Inc.
Category II Winner – more than 100,000 average annual man-hours
Dagmar Construction Inc.
Milestone Awards – Awarded to member companies reaching 500,000 and 1,000,000 consecutive man hours without a lost-time injury
Capital Paving Inc. – (1,036,345 man hours)
Ontario Asphalt Pavement Council Awards – The OAPC Awards recognize and celebrate individuals who make a positive difference in the asphalt industry.
During the Awards Breakfast on February 4 at the 2020 ORBA Convention, incoming OAPC Chair Ivan Levac presented the Honorary Life Membership Award, awarded posthumously to William “Bill” Graham, which was accepted by Bill’s son-in-law Frank Steblaj. Christina Wright of BCX Environmental Consulting was presented with the King Beamish Excellence Award.
OAPC Honorary Life Membership Award – William “Bill” Graham, awarded posthumously

L-R: OAPC Chair Ivan Levac, Frank Steblaj, Vice President of Administration, Graham Bros. Construction
OAPC King Beamish Excellence Award – Christina Wright, BCX Environmental Consulting

L-R: OAPC Chair Ivan Levac, Christina Wright, Senior Environmental Scientist and Partner, BCX Environmental
MTO Paver of the Year of the Year Award Winner
2019 MTO Asphalt Paving Contractor of the Year: R.W. Tomlinson Limited
Contract 2019-4001, Eastern Region, for their work on Highway 401, between Cobourg and Brighton.
Finalists:
Coco Paving Ltd.
Contract 2019-4003, Eastern Region, for their work on Highway 33, near Picton.
Dufferin Construction
Contract 2018-2023, Central Region, for their work on Highway 8, near Cambridge.

L-R: Deputy Minister of Transportation, Shelley Tapp, Minister of Transportation, Hon. Caroline Mulroney, Ken McIntyre, Contract Manager, R.W. Tomlinson.
MTO Concrete Contract of the Year Award Winner
2019 MTO Concrete Contractor of the Year: Dufferin Construction
Contract 2017-3013, West Region, for their work on Highway 7 & 85, in Kitchener.
- The prime contractor is Dufferin Construction Company.
- The concrete for cast-in-place operations was supplied by Dufferin Concrete’s Kitchener plant.
The prime contractor is Dufferin Construction Company.The concrete for cast-in-place operations was supplied by Dufferin Concrete’s Kitchener plant.
Finalist:
Clearwater Structures
Contract 2018-2004, Central Region, for their work on the Queen Elizabeth Way, at Walkers Line in Burlington.

L-R: Vincent Gangaram, Dufferin Construction Company, Minister of Transportation, Hon. Caroline Mulroney, Deputy Minister of Transportation, Shelley Tapp
2019 ORBA Scholarship Recipients
Joe Bunting Scholarship: Awarded to a student entering their final year of a Civil Engineering Technology program at an Ontario college.
Steven Vasilopoulos, Civil Engineering Technology, Georgian College
J.D. Chick Scholarship: Awarded to a student entering their final year of a Civil Engineering program at an Ontario university.
Maria Banayoty, Civil Engineering, Ryerson University
ORBA Civil Engineering Technology Scholarship: Awarded to a student entering their first year of a Civil Engineering Technology program at an Ontario college.
Gavin Waugh, Civil Engineering Technology, Conestoga College
ORBA Civil Engineering Scholarship: Awarded to a student entering their first year of a Civil Engineering program at an Ontario university.
Angus MacRae, Civil Engineering, Queen’s University

L-R: Angus MacRae, Maria Banayoty, Steven Vasilopoulos and James McVeety, ORBA President.
More information about the ORBA Awards can be found at orba.org/awards.
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The Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA) is the voice of the transportation infrastructure sector in Ontario. Our members build the majority of provincial and municipal roads, bridges, transit and transportation infrastructure across the province, and employ in excess of 30,000 workers at peak season. To learn more about ORBA, visit www.orba.org.