ITE Journal - August 2020 - 20

Southern District Administrator
In celebration of its 90th anniversary, ITE is recognizing each of its District
Administrators throughout the year in a series of profiles. Each month this
column will also feature historical facts and figures on the various Districts,
including important dates and people throughout their history.

Craig Michael
Hanchey, P.E., PTOE (F)
Neel-Schaffer, Inc.
Executive Vice President
and East Region Manager
Education
B.S. in Civil Engineering,
Louisiana State University - 1984
M.S. in Civil Engineering,
University of Tennessee - 1986
Professional Affiliations
American Society of Civil Engineers
American Council of Engineering Companies
National Society of Professional Engineers
ITE Involvement
Past President of the Deep South Section - 1991
Deep South Section Representative - 1993-1994
Tennessee Section Representative - 1998-1999
Past President of the Tennessee Section - 2001
Past President of the Southern District - 2008
Awards and Recognition
Deep South Section Outstanding
Member Award - 1993
Tennessee Section Edward E. Watt Volunteer
Award for Distinguished Service - 2001
Southern District Joseph M. Thomas Young
Member Award - 1994
Southern District Marble J. Hensley
Outstanding Individual Activity Award - 2003
Southern District Herman J. Hoose
Distinguished Service Award - 2014

Au gust 2020

ite j o u rn al

Craig Michael Hanchey, P.E., PTOE (F) has been the District Administrator for the Southern
District since in 2010. After his service as past president of the District, he was approached and
asked to take on the newly formed position. The two biggest reasons to create the District
Administrator role were to avoid the constant turnover in treasurer functions and to provide
leadership continuity on the board. In addition to typical treasurer duties, Hanchey's responsibilities include handling most administrative functions for the District including elections, tax
returns, corporation filings, and insurance, among other things.
"I really just enjoy being active in the District," Hanchey tells ITE Journal. "The part of the job
I enjoy most is working with the various boards each year and serving as their resource, facilitator, and historian. Over the years, we have changed the District's financial position and have
really built up a healthy reserve fund, which I am pleased to have been a part of."
The Southern District has many notable initiatives, such as the Southern District Leadership
Program that began in 2009. Based on membership surveys, senior District leaders developed
a 14-module leadership training program that has been used to work with small groups to
assist with character building and "starter" skill sets that empower leadership. Each group
of workshop alumni is asked to volunteer by conducting similar training to small groups in
their Sections. Program costs are controlled by using volunteer facilitators, and the District
has provided seed money to each Section to help with any other expenses. The modules are
continually being updated and improved and in the 10 years since its inception, 245 District
members have completed the training.
Hanchey's passion for transportation and his desire to pursue it as a career were fueled
by some of the educators and early mentors he crossed paths with. "I was fortunate to have
two great professors-namely, Dr. Olin Dart at Louisiana State University and Dr. Jack Humphreys at the University of Tennessee-that really inspired me to pursue a career in traffic
operations and safety," he says. "There really wasn't any question in my mind what I wanted
to do after school. Early in my career I had two great mentors in Ed Watt, P.E. (R) and
W. Hibbett Neel, P.E. (H) who encouraged me to take advantage of the many benefits of ITE
and provided me with opportunities to become active."
As such, ITE has been a part of
Hanchey's entire 35-year professional career, and he is a Fellow
of ITE. He began his involvement
with ITE in graduate school where
he served a student chapter
officer. He is a past president and
former Section Representative of
the Deep South and Tennessee
Sections of ITE and is a past presCraig attending a 1980s theme party, hosted by the Southern
District's Affiliated Business Division.
ident of the Southern District. He

ITE Journal - August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ITE Journal - August 2020