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Sacramento Chapter History 

The Sacramento Chapter was formed in 1965 and has continued to be successful under our many outstanding leaders and volunteers.  Portions of this History were prepared by Stanley F. Wilkening, former Chapter Historian and President, and Jim Ray, Sr., former Chapter Historian and President. 

Chapter Formation 

Recognizing the need for a closer relationship between the members in the outlying areas of the Northern California Chapter, a group of farsighted people in the public works profession met on April 7, 1965, to discuss this topic.  All members of the Northern California Chapter in Sacramento, Stockton, Davis and Woodland were invited. The purpose of the meeting was to formulate plans to petition the Northern California Chapter for the formation of a Sacramento Chapter. 

Lloyd Berglund, Plant Staff Supervisor of Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company (PT&T), and Howard Van Reyper, Director of Public Works of Yolo County, acted in the capacity of “Joint Organizers”.  Due to the efforts of these two men, 25 professionals attended the meeting held in the Pacific Telephone Company conference room in Sacramento.  Under the first order of business, Mr. Berglund read a petition and by-laws to be submitted to the Northern California Chapter regarding the formation of the Sacramento Chapter. 

A nominating committee was appointed by the attendees and headed by Richard Milbrodt, Chief of Administrative Services Division, County of Sacramento Department of Public Works. Their selections and subsequent unanimous election to the Chapter positions were as follows: 

  • President – Thomas J. Dosh, Director of Public Works, City of Stockton,  
  • Vice-President – Howard Van Reyper, Director of Public Works, County of Yolo, 
  • Secretary/Treasurer – Lloyd Berglund, Plant Staff Supervisor, Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company,  
  • Director – Richard Milbrodt;  
  • Director – Herbert Niederberger, Vice-President, Yolo Engineers and Surveyors, Inc.,  
  • Director – Ronald H. Parker, Assistant City Engineer, City of Sacramento, and  
  • Director – G.W. Pete Rodgers, Design Engineer, County of Sacramento, Department of Public Works. 

President Dosh’s first order of business was to select committee chairpersons to ensure that the Chapter was off to an enthusiastic and productive beginning. The Chapter’s initial committee chairs included: 

  • Program Chairman — Vern Cartwright, President, Cartwright Aerial Survey 
  • Membership Chairman- Donald McCormick, President, Murray-McCormick Engineering Company 
  • Arrangements Chairman – Fred Sage, Civil Engineer, City of Sacramento 
  • Publicity Chairman- Donald Foley, Information Officer, City of Sacramento. 

On May 28, 1965, an installation dinner was held at the El Rancho Motel in West Sacramento, with 56 members in attendance. Mike Carozza, Public Works Director of Fresno, from the Central California Chapter, and James Vivrette, Road Commissioner of Alameda County, from the Northern California Chapter, assisted with the installation of officers. 

The first Chapter meeting was held in June 1965, in Sacramento. National APWA Executive Secretary, Robert Bugher, and APWA President, Roy Morse, presented the Sacramento Chapter with the official charter. 

The Chapter’s Charter members include: Carl Arness, Frederick L. Barnett, Thomas J. Dosh, Alvord C. Estep, Gerald N. Gibson, Melvin P. Landis, Dee W. McKenzie, Ronald H. Parker, David B. Pelz, James C. Ray, Sr., Lloyd H. Roberts, John M. Robertson, Glenn E. Robison, G.W. (Pete) Rodgers, Allen J. Savitz, W.C. Wanderer, and Harlan E. Warwick. 

Chapter Accomplishments 

The Sacramento Chapter takes pride in acknowledging that thirteen fourteen members have been honored with the APWA Top Ten Public Works Leader-of-the-Year Award.  The following members have received this distinguishable award: 

  • John A Legarra, California State Highway Engineer (1971), 
  • William R. Gianelli , Director of California Department of Water Resources (1973), 
  • Heinz Heckeroth, California State Highway Engineer in charge of planning and evaluating the annual budget (1978), 
  • Leo Trombatore, Director, California Department of Transportation (1984), 
  • James C. Ray, Sr., Chief, Transportation Division, County of Sacramento (1990), 
  • Robert O. Watkins, Chief Deputy Director, Caltrans, State of California (1993), 
  • Irene Itamura, Director, Caltrans, District 3, State of California (1998), 
  • Michael Kashiwagi, Public Works Director, City of Sacramento (2000),  
  • Cheryl Creson, Municipal Services Agency Administrator, County of Sacramento (2005),  
  • Will Kempton, Director, Caltrans, State of California (2010), and 
  • Jerry Way, Department of Transportation Director, City of Sacramento (2011). 
  • Diane Nakano, Assistant General Manager of Engineering and Construction, Regional Transit (2016) 
  • Josh Watkins, Water Utility Manager, City of Redding (2018) 
  • Ryan Thomas Moore, Assistant City Manager, City of Sacramento, California (2024) 

The Sacramento Chapter has also had three members that have been granted the Harry S. Swearingen Award including Stanley F. Wilkening (1986), Jack L. Ronsko (1993), and Harold L. Welborn (2006).  

The Sacramento APWA Chapter has had appointments as Fellows to the national APWA Donald C Stone Center for Leadership Excellence in Public Works.  The fellows include, Helena Allison, Cheryl Creson, Mike Healey, Diane Nakano, Greg Meyer, Kuldeep Sharma and Jerry Way 

Since its inception, the Sacramento Chapter has continuously served the regional area with educational and informative presentations and workshops. The membership includes a broad cross section of personnel in the public works industry. Since 1965, the Chapter membership has grown from 26 to over 500 members. 

The Chapter has also made outstanding achievements in comparison with other APWA Chapters, particularly with the number of President’s Awards for Chapter Excellence (PACE).  The following are the years for which the PACE Award was granted to the Chapter:  

  • 1990 President’s Plaque 
  • 1991 President’s Plaque 
  • 1995 President’s Award for Chapter Excellence 
  • 1996 President’s Award for Chapter Excellence 
  • 2000 thru 2023 President’s Award for Chapter Excellence 

 The vision of the Chapter’s charter members in establishing the Sacramento Chapter in 1965 and the Shasta-Cascade Branch in 1984 has proven to be worth the efforts of the early members of this Chapter. The accomplishments and contributions of the Chapter to the community have resulted in the delivery of a multiplicity of services to its members

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