A successful quarter of a century celebrated by a leading public transport charity

The Foundation for Road Professionals was established on 15 June 1999 and has two main activities. Firstly, its Board of Trustees unanimously awards Lifetime Achievement Awards in recognition of excellence in the road transport profession over the age of 70. On the other hand, the Young Engineer of the Year Award has been created to promote the professional development of young engineers, technicians and economists under 35 years of age, and is open to applications from designers, constructors, road managers and researchers.

Resurrected from the daily drive

The foundation held its anniversary meeting at the headquarters of Magyar Közút Nonprofit Zrt. on 18 June, where it celebrated 25 years of successful operation. The event was officially opened by József Attila Szilvai, CEO of Magyar Közút and member of the foundation's board of trustees. He emphasised that,

The organisation is also particularly important because it helps members of the profession not to get lost in the daily routine of everyday life, giving them the opportunity to feel the importance of their work.

He also thanked Dr. Frigyes Törőcsik, the first and founding president of the organisation, who was also present at the event, for his work in creating the celebrations where the activities of professionals and their sacrifices for the profession can be appreciated in the rush of everyday life.

The CEO looked back on 25 years of history, pointing out that while this is not a long time in the life of a road, it is a long time in the life of a person. He thanked him for being part of the Foundation's history and added that he hoped its work could be carried on as long as possible.

Common birthdays

Next, Zoltán Lehel, president of the Foundation for Road Professionals and director of Magyar Közút Nógrád County, took the floor. He drew attention to the publication compiled on the occasion of the anniversary, and then reminded everyone that the exact date of the foundation 25 years ago is also special because it was also Dr. Frigyes Törőcsik's 60th birthday, which means that at the ceremony held on 18 June, the renowned expert celebrated his 85th birthday.

He summarised the professional role of the Foundation's Lifetime Achievement and Young Engineer of the Year awards, explaining that currently engineers under 35 and over 70 are eligible for the awards, but promised that the gap between the two ages would be "covered".

According to his words, the selection of the winners of both awards was clearly a good decision, as many of the young engineers highlighted have gone on to distinguished careers since their awards were given, and the merits of the Lifetime Achievement Award winners are also significant.

In his speech, he then listed and praised several sub-branches and their lifetime achievement award winners (the full list of award winners can be found here – ed.), and thanked the companies and individuals who have supported the foundation over the years.

Researchers, academics, executives from public and international companies

The event was followed by a keynote speech by four young engineers who have been awarded Young Engineer prizes over the decades:

• Dr. Emese Makó, Head of the Department of Transport Engineering and Hydraulic Engineering at the Széchenyi University of Győr, Associate Professor, Member of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for Road Professionals, received the Young Engineer of the Year Award in 2001
• Gábor Cserenyi, Head of the Central Operations and Maintenance Department of Magyar Közút, received the Young Engineer of the Year Award in 2016
• Szabolcs Nyiri, Technology Director of Colas Hungária Zrt. and Central European Technology Director of the Colas group, since 2016 President of MAÚT, Member of the Board of Útlab, also a Young Engineer Award winner
• György Zsiga, CEO of the Colas Group since 2020, received the Young Engineer of the Year Award in 2002

The next part of the event was a tribute to all the Lifetime Achievement Award winners, with four honorees delivering their messages

• Dr. Tamás Berg a civil engineer with a gold degree, who headed the Network Development and Decision-Making Department of the Transport Coordination Centre until his retirement, received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 - his thoughts were expressed in his absence by President Zoltán Lehel
• Dr András Tímár, Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, chartered civil engineer, doctor of transport sciences, who retired as a professor at the Pollack Mihály Pollack Faculty of Engineering and Informatics of the University of Pécs - the professor emeritus received the Foundation's lifetime achievement award in 2009
• Dr Imre Pallós Chartered chemical engineer, retired associate professor, member of several national and international societies, MAÚT awarded him with the Boldizsár Vásárhelyi Milestone Medal in 1999 and the Golden Milestone Medal in 2011, holder of the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary - in 2012 he received the Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award
• János Huszár, Chief Engineer of the Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County State Public Roads Management Ltd., and then served as the Magyar Közút Regional Chief Engineer for Northern Hungary until his retirement - he received his Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023

At the end of the ceremony, dr. Frigyes Törőcsik, the founding president of the organization, gave a speech, and on the occasion of his birthday a theodolite and a sign (signed by the participants) marking the 85th highway were presented to him as a gift by the members. The 25th anniversary of the foundation was celebrated with a cake.