WILLMAR -- Gary Danielson, Kandiyohi County public works director, has been named the 2007 County Engineer of the year.
Danielson received the award Tuesday from the Minnesota County Engineers Association, which held its 63rd annual convention this week.
Danielson began his career in civil engineering in 1971, when he worked for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, where he spent 10½ years.
He worked as the assistant engineer for the city of Willmar before accepting the job of Kandiyohi County Engineer in 1982. In 1996, he was promoted to public works director.
The award was a "complete surprise," said Danielson, who was "speechless" when his name was called as the winner of the award.
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Danielson said it's been a "privilege" to work in a county that has a "good environment" and supportive county board that makes it easy to "get a lot of things accomplished." Those factors, he said, are more important than "the skills of the guy who gets credit for doing it."
Receiving the award was "very humbling," Danielson said.
The Minnesota County Engineers Association consists of county engineers from all of Minnesota's 87 counties. The association promotes the county engineering profession and works to uphold the ethics of the profession.
