AM25: Celebrating 70 Years of Impact and Employee Excellence

Team members and their families recently gathered at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville for Barge’s Annual Meeting (AM25). More than just a meeting, AM25 offered a moment to connect, reflect, and celebrate a year of accomplishments, while also honoring a major milestone: 70 years in business.

Setting the Vision for Our Future

CEO Carrie Stokes and COO Shannon Lambert delivered an inspiring keynote that celebrated the collective impact of our team's hard work and dedication. Their message not only highlighted recent achievements but also laid out key focus areas to guide our continued growth and success in the years ahead.

Service to Our Communities: Making a Meaningful Impact

In honor of our 70th anniversary, Barge launched a year-long goal of contributing 7,000 collective service hours. AM25 served as a powerful step toward that goal.

Nearly 100 employees and guests kicked off the day by giving back through a service project supporting DG Pencil Box—a free teacher resource center for Metro Nashville Public School Educators. During the project, volunteers assembled counter/fidget toys and emotion flashcard sets to support students' classroom experience and development.

Later, our signature CHAIRity fundraiser spotlighted Barge’s culture of giving. Attendees donated to the fund by reserving seats at AM25 and nominated their favorite nonprofits to receive donations, boosted by a donation match from the Barge Community Fund. Thanks to this effort, Cincinnati ToolBank, a nonprofit tool-lending program that equips other organizations with year-round access to essential tools, received a grant totaling more than $13,000.

Recognizing Excellence: Employee Awards and Milestones

A highlight of AM25 was celebrating career milestones and presenting peer-nominated awards recognizing team members whose contributions have helped shape our company’s success:

The Dan Barge, Jr. Award of Merit - Brad Simpson, PE, Civil Engineer

The Dan Barge, Jr. Award of Merit recognizes an employee for distinctive performance in a specific situation during the prior year in which they demonstrated extraordinary initiative beyond their position or role.

Supporting one of Barge’s biggest clients in designing and building its most significant project to date, Brad has demonstrated outstanding leadership, dedication, and impact on a highly complex and large-scale project. Throughout the past year, Brad has been instrumental in guiding critical civil design efforts, seamlessly coordinating between multiple teams, and driving solutions to keep the project on track despite evolving challenges. While he has played an integral role in the client’s team since its inception in 2017, his efforts throughout 2024 and into 2025 exceeded expectations by leading to an on-time groundbreaking on the client’s largest project ever under significant time constraints. His commitment to excellence, accountability, and teamwork has positioned us for long-term success and strengthened our relationships with key partners.

The Jack L. Wood Award of Merit - Ben Nemec, PE, Vice President, Director - Civil Solutions Center

The Jack L. Wood Excellence in Service Award represents Barge's purpose. It recognizes an employee who has demonstrated superior services throughout a lengthy career with the firm, contributing to creating a better life for our people, clients, and communities.

Ben's dedication, leadership, and service have left a lasting mark on our company, our clients, and our communities. He has been with Barge for 26 years, and in that time, has become synonymous with hard work and excellence. As a Project Engineer, a mentor, a Project Manager, and now as the Director of the Civil Solutions Center, he has consistently gone above and beyond—solving complex problems, supporting his teammates, and delivering top-tier results on some of our most high-profile projects. But his impact doesn’t stop at engineering excellence. He’s also viewed as a teacher and a leader, constantly helping those around him. He’s mentored countless junior staff, fostered collaboration across teams, and instilled a culture of service through his simple but powerful mantra WACTEO: “We Are Clients To Each Other". From designing transformative projects like the Spallation Neutron Source project in Oak Ridge to guiding and developing the next generation of engineers, his work truly helps create a better life—by unleashing the potential of our people, our clients, and our communities. 

The Bob Higgins Emerging Leader Award - Emily Gottberg, PE, Water Team Lead

The Bob Higgins Emerging Leader Award recognizes an early-career professional who demonstrates exceptional performance and a consistent embodiment of our values, enriching our culture and advancing the success of the company.

Emily has demonstrated exceptional leadership both internally and externally and is a role model to so many. She was named Barge’s first-ever Water Team Lead and helped launch the Women of Water community across Kentucky and Tennessee. Her work is sought after on high-impact projects, and her technical contributions are already shaping the future of the water and wastewater industry. But what truly sets her apart is how she leads with vision, authenticity, and a deep commitment to people. She leads with the values that define Barge, and her example encourages others to rise with her.