Award Will Memorialize ENR's Tudor Van Hampton

The Tudor Van Hampton Award for Editorial Excellence will be given annually by the Construction Media Alliance, the group announced at its first awards ceremony at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2017 in Las Vegas.

Managing Editor Scott Blair tried out a giant drilling rig at the Humboldt Bay Nuclear Power Plant in California.

*PHOTO: JOHN GILBERT, CHICAGO BRIDGE & IRON CO*

Regional Deputy Editor Scott Judy is all smiles after ENR’s “Best Projects” event.

*PHOTO: DAWN MARTIN FOR ENR*

March 29, 2017

The Tudor Van Hampton Award for Editorial Excellence will be given annually by the Construction Media Alliance, the group announced at its first awards ceremony at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2017 in Las Vegas. Van Hampton, who died in February at age 39, was ENR’s managing editor.

Bill Elverman, one of the founders of the group, points to Van Hampton’s “dedication to his craft” and “passion for his industry” as reasons why a number of equipment editors wanted to honor his legacy to construction. “He was a true journalist’s journalist. He asked questions that other editors might not,” adds Elverman, director of public relations at PKA Marketing Communications.

CMA will begin taking entries later this spring for the new award, which will honor “a single journalist’s body of work in the previous 12 months,” Elverman says. Entry fees for the award will be “100% donated” to Habitat for Humanity, one of Van Hampton’s favorite causes. Creating the alliance was a team effort by industry editors, publicists and marketers who drew together many former members of the disbanded Construction Writers Association. Elverman adds that the new group “casts a wider net,” recognizing the rapidly changing and increasingly diverse construction media world that embraces digital engagement and the “growing field of social media influencers.”

Van Hampton’s passing has also brought changes to the leadership team at ENR. Scott Blair is promoted to the post of managing editor. “I’m honored to carry forward this venerable magazine’s mission to provide readers with essential national and international news and data,” he says. Blair came to ENR from editing Southwest Contractor magazine, which was integrated into ENR in 2011. He became the deputy editor in 2015, guiding ENR’s regional editions.

Scott Judy is promoted to regional deputy editor, Blair’s former role. He “looks forward to leading the team,” as the regional editions expand their scope of coverage to include all 50 states. Judy has more than 25 years of experience covering regional construction markets and will continue to edit ENR Southeast. He also will be in charge of growing ENR’s social media presence.

You may notice another new staff member on the masthead. Pam Radtke Russell, a longtime contributor to ENR, joined the full-time staff in January.

As editor-in-chief, Jan Tuchman leads the editorial team creating content for the Engineering News-Record enterprise—online, in print and at live events. She is active in many construction organizations and has developed a broad network of industry sources, who help keep ENR on top of the latest trends and innovations. She has traveled the world to visit outstanding projects and speak to groups and universities. Tuchman is vice chair of the Industry Leaders Council of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a member of the Columbia University advisory board on Infrastructure, Facilities and Public Spaces. A passion is serving on the executive committee of the nonprofit Bridges to Prosperity, which works to alleviate poverty caused by rural isolation by building footbridges across raging rivers. Her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism are from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Her most recent recognition is the Ted C. Kennedy Award in 2020 from the National Academy of Construction, the group’s highest honor.