Morris was born and raised in Central Texas and has been in a supervisor role throughout most of his professional career. In that role, he has supervised crews on many projects across the state of Texas. Morris has been with Liberty Civil Construction since 2017 and is currently the Senior Project Manager. Morris has been very successful serving as the project liaison for all communications with stakeholders in a project, including regulatory authorities such as Federal, State, County, and Local officials. The extensive knowledge and experience that he earned during his 25+ years in construction is brought forward into each project that he directs and supervises, ensuring that those projects are successful. Morris is an avid outdoorsman and has been married to his wife Kristina for 19 years. They have two children, Braden and Hunter.
Frank is a Commercial Risk Advisor for The Nitsche Group. He has been an insurance professional for over fifteen years and obtained CISR designation in 2010 through The National Alliance for Insurance Education. Customer confidence and expanding knowledge of the ever-changing insurance industry is always a top focus.
Frank has been involved with the Greater ACEA for over five years. Currently serves as the Chairman of the Membership Committee, he also serves on the Fish Fry Committee, Construction Expo Committee, as well as the Golf Committee. He continues to help grow strong relationships to promote ACEA’s mission and help spread awareness and knowledge to like-minded contractors, engineers and future members.
Frank’s dedication extends outside of the office. Currently serving his community as a Councilman for the City of Giddings. He sits on the board of directors for the following: Washington County Young Professionals Organization, Young Hispanic Professional Association of Austin, Lee County Soccer Association, and Little Kickers Soccer Organization. He is an associate member of Texas Association of Sports Officials (TASO) - Brazos Valley Soccer Referee Association. He is an active member in the Giddings Lions Breakfast Club as well as the Austin Chalk Chapter of the American Petroleum Institute.
Steve Ihnen graduated from Texas A&M University in 1989 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. Over the next six years he worked in a variety of cities as a project manager for Chicago Bridge & Iron and later Capital Excavation. He began working for Jack Garrett, then-president of ACEA, at Abbe-Garrett Engineering. Jack encouraged all his engineers to get involved in professional organizations that influence the course of their industry. When Jack died of a heart attack in 1998, Steve bought the company from his estate and renamed it Garrett-Ihnen Civil Engineers. Steve continued to follow Jack’s advice, serving on the ACEA board in 2008.
Steve and his wife Kathy reside in Cedar Park and attend Christ-Church. They have three daughters, two of whom are already carrying on the Aggie tradition at Texas A&M University. Steve loves travel and college sports. He accepted a nomination to the ACEA board because he wants to be more involved in building and maintaining relationships with Austin’s regulatory leadership as they shape the future of our city.
Hamilton McRae is currently the engineer and geotechnical drilling manager for Ranger Excavating, L.P. - the largest excavating contractor as well as the largest subcontract geotechnical drilling company in the Central Texas area. Hamilton McRae began his professional career working for the Dallas District of the Texas Department of Transportation as a planning engineer.
The opportunity to move to Austin and work for a private civil and structural engineering firm was the ticket out of Dallas and into the Austin area. During this time Mr. McRae joined ACEA for the first time as an employee of an engineering member firm. After completing the engineering licensure process and becoming a licensed civil engineer, Mr. McRae worked as a construction engineer on the State Highway 45 project during the initial phase of Austin’s toll road construction. After completion of the toll road project, a stint as an excavation superintendent for a roadway and paving contractor was the next employment engagement. When given the opportunity to join Ranger Excavating and start a material testing laboratory, the chance to use knowledge from both engineering and contracting seemed like a perfect fit.
Mr. McRae joined ACEA a second time as a contractor member. A professional organization with membership targeting those who design, construct, and administer public infrastructure, is an excellent way to facilitate a productive dialogue between these three parties to improve our civil infrastructure. Mr. McRae’s history with ACEA includes the Fish Fry Committee as well as time with the Regulatory Oversight Committee. Mr. McRae is honored to accept this nomination to the Board and would happily contribute to the organization.
Darrell was born and raised in Austin, Texas and has more than 20 years of construction experience. Beginning as a home builder in communities from Austin to Temple and Elgin to Lakeway, he transitioned into civil construction with firms in Austin and San Antonio before joining Haegelin Construction Co. in 2012. After leaving Haegelin in early 2022, Darrell started a Land Development company and serves as Partner with DK Property Group. In May 2024, Darrell accepted a position with Five Star Civil Construction as a Senior Estimator/Project Manager. Darrell is currently serving out his second term on the Board of Directors and was the 2021-2022 Board President. He has also served on the Fish Fry Committee since 2012 and as Fish Fry Chair since 2023. Darrell lives in Cedar Park with his wife Catherine and their children, Madeline and Nolan. Darrell has served as a volunteer in various capacities with his son’s Scout Troop as well as volunteering with Rotary International and is a Paul Harris Fellow. Darrell believes that those of us for whom our industry has provided careers and the means to raise and support our families must give back. We should do so with our time, our ideas, and the primary goal of utilizing our experience to make things work a little better for those that follow behind us.
Garrett began his career with Fuquay, Inc. in 2012, working on Fridays and Saturdays while earning his Bachelor of Business Administration (major in Finance) from Texas State University. Upon graduation in 2013, he was hired on to work full-time at Fuquay, Inc.’s Austin area office. There, he quickly ascended to a management position overseeing the company’s Erosion Control Material Sales Division. From 2013-2019, he oversaw all of the company’s erosion control material purchasing, production, logistics, and sales; along with facility and fleet maintenance for Fuquay, Inc.’s Austin Office. At the end of 2019, Garrett transitioned into a new role as a Project Manager/Estimator for Fuquay, Inc.’s Dry Utility Division installing underground electrical and gas infrastructure in the greater Austin area.
Garrett has been an active member with ACEA for the entirety of his employment with Fuquay, Inc., starting by volunteering to help with ACEA’s annual Fish Fry Fundraiser, and for the past two years, he’s been the Co-chair of the association’s Golf Committee.
Garrett has been an active member with ACEA for the entirety of his employment with Fuquay, Inc., starting by volunteering to help with ACEA’s annual Fish Fry Fundraiser, and for the past two years, he’s been the Co-chair of the association’s Golf Committee.
When away from the office, Garrett spends most of his time in the great outdoors. He is passionate about fishing, hunting (especially with his bird dog, Layla), golfing, and spending time with family and friends.
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Aimee Busby, LEED Green Associate, is an experienced sales representative and account manager with 15+ years of experience in construction sales. Before taking her current role a Sales Manager with Lhoist in September 2023, she spent 6 years with Austin White Lime Company. Her years prior to that were spent in the waste industry (6 years), selling aggregate materials for a local quarry (4 years), and working for a large irrigation company (2 years). Aimee is an active member of the Association of General Contractors, Texas Asphalt Pavement Association and Greater Austin Contractors and Engineers Association. Aimee’s drive to take charge and exceed has been evident in all aspects of her life. Aimee found her home in construction more than 15 years ago, and fell in love with the industry, people, and organizations. Growing up in a small farming community northeast of Austin, construction was quickly a perfect fit as Aimee found several similarities between construction and her farming upbringing. Aimee looks forward to continuing her growth and knowledge in the industry, with the help of the ACEA and other construction organizations. Aimee graduated from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) in 2002 with her Bachelor’s in Business Administration with a major in Marketing. She has a loving and supportive husband who is also in the construction industry, and a quirky/fun loving daughter that keeps her on her toes.
Originally from Lubbock, Texas, Dustin graduated from Texas Tech University in 1998 with a degree in Civil Engineering. Since graduation, he has worked in various fields of the industry with the longest stint in land development. Dustin has worked for Pape-Dawson Engineers for over 13 years where he currently serves as Vice President of Land Development. His land development project experience includes master planned subdivisions, private site development, and utility projects throughout the greater Austin region.
Dustin has been involved with ACEA for over a decade while serving on the Community Involvement Committee as a member, Co-Chair, and most recently Committee Chair helping to lead outreach projects such as the Construction Expo and assisting organizations like Mainspring Schools, Candlelight Ranch, Dream of Hopes Ranch, Cub Scouts, City of Austin Parks, Austin Dog Alliance, and The Refuge among others. He welcomes the opportunity to serve on the ACEA board where he can be an advocate and utilize his industry experience in helping to further the mission of the ACEA.
Dustin is also actively involved with supporting STEM activities in schools by currently being the Vice President of Central Texas Discover Engineering where the focus in engaging students in the classroom with hands-on engineering activities.
Dustin lives in Austin with his wife, Heather, and three kids. Outside of the office you’ll find him playing sports and running trails, coaching his kids’ sports teams, volunteering in schools and at church, and spending time with friends and family.
Justin has been an active member of ACEA since 2008. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 2015. He has previously served as President and Treasurer of the Board, and Chairman of the Symposium Committee. He is also currently involved with the Regulatory Committee. He is very grateful to this organization for contributing so much to his professional and personal growth, and welcomes the opportunity to repay that debt by continuing to serve on the Board of Directors. He is currently a Senior Project Manager at Westwood Professional Services, and lives in north Austin with his wife, Katie, and their 2 boys, Griffin and Theo. His project experience ranges in scope from commercial and multi-family site plans to large master-planned communities throughout the Greater Austin area.
Peggy came to Austin in 1983 to attend the University of Texas and in 1985 she graduated with an M.S. in Civil Engineering. Following graduation she worked for ten years as a consultant in the area of concrete and construction materials forensics. She took a break for eight years to stay at home raising her three sons and managing their ranch in Texas’ beautiful hill country. In 2003 Peggy took a job at an engineering consulting firm working on the Mueller redevelopment project in Austin, and has been in land development ever since. In 2016 she founded KTCivil where she is major shareholder and President, and continues to work with clients and staff to bring residential communities to the Central Texas area. Her involvement with ACEA started with membership on the Regulatory Committee due to her interest in following and influencing the changing regulations that impact the Central Texas development community.
Mr. Weston is the president and part owner of MLA Labs, Inc., a locally owned geotechnical engineering and construction materials testing firm that has been practicing in central Texas for more than 50 years. With a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech and master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin, Mr. Weston has lived and worked in the Austin area since graduating and contributes 20 plus years of experience in geotechnical engineering and construction materials testing. He provides the technical supervision of all engineering and construction materials testing projects at MLA Labs, Inc.
Mr. Weston has been an active member of the greater Austin Contractors and Engineers of Austin for many years. He currently serves on the Board of Directors, the Regulatory Committee and the Symposium Committee and has been involved in the annual symposium as both a moderator and a panel member.
In addition to his work with the ACEA, he is currently the Vice Chair for the Geo-Institute of the Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), through which he taught the local ASCE prep class in geotechnical engineering for the PE exam for many years. In his personal life, Tim coaches middle school volleyball at Brentwood Christian School, plays soccer and serves on the Board of Directors of the Mainspring School. Tim and his wife Laurie are involved in serving at their local church, working with Samaritan’s Purse through Operation Christmas Child and spending time with their children Nick (15), Abby (13) and Jack (11).
“I have enjoyed my time serving the engineering and construction community through the Regulatory Committee, the annual symposium and the Board of Directors. As an engineer, I first got involved with the ACEA to share ideas with contractors and the city on how to improve design and construction practices. While we have seen some successes to date, there is still work to be done."
Brandon Tanner is a Central Texas native and has been working in the construction industry for over 20 years.
His passion for construction began when he was just 13 years old. During this time, he began working for his family-owned roofing company during the summer breaks in Belton, TX.
In 2003, he accepted a position as a pipelayer on one of many utility crews at Knife River. Within a year he earned a crew leader position. He continued to excel at the company, earning a Superintendent position, and ultimately becoming the Utility General Superintendent.
In 2016, he decided to take a position as a Project Manager at Champion Site Prep, an employee-owned Earthwork Contractor located in Georgetown. Within just a few years, he became a Senior Project Manager, and still proudly holds that position.
He and his wife have been happily married for 19 years, and together share two wonderful kiddos.
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