Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

The East Tennessee Economic Council (ETEC) on Friday named two new recipients of the Muddy Boot Award and presented another Postma Young Professional Medal during the organization’s annual awards event attended by nearly 500 people at Knoxville Airport Hilton Hotel.

During the ceremony, attendees also heard remarks from Stuart McWhorter, the State of Tennessee’s Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, Third District Congressman Chuck Fleischmann, and Tennessee Lt. Governor Randy McNally.

The Muddy Boot Award, established by the member-based organization in 1973, is a tribute to individuals who through their work and community activities make East Tennessee a stronger region. It reflects the efforts of the Manhattan Project Founders of Oak Ridge, who worked through adverse conditions – including actual rivers of mud, to build the community.

From 1973-2024, 107 people have received the award.

More than 30 years after making the first Muddy Boot Award, the ETEC Board of Directors created the Postma Medal to honor young professionals who have made an impact and fostered a community culture in Oak Ridge and the region. It was named in honor of the late Herman Postma, a former Director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The two recipients of Muddy Boot awards were Dave Beck, Vice President of Program Integration for Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, managing contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and Bill Tindal, President of Omega Technical Services.

Beck’s organization provides planning, budgeting, and program management for CNS missions and integrates customer requirements and budgets with internal CNS organizations to plan and execute work. Prior to his work at Y-12, Beck held multiple director positions at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Gordon Fee, who received the Muddy Boot Award in the year 2000 when he was President of Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, presented the award to Beck.

Prior to his work at Omega, Tindal served as the President and Chief Executive Officer for CNS, then the management and operating contractor for the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, TX, and the Y-12 complex in Oak Ridge. He was presented the Muddy Boot Award by Sherry Browder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pro2Serve, who cited among his many accomplishments serving as Chair of the Tennessee Valley Corridor (TVC) Summit, receiving the TVC Champion Award in 2022, and serving on the Board of Advisors for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Department of Nuclear Engineering.

Christy Drewry, Senior Nuclear Safety Engineer at the Y‐12 Field Office for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration, was awarded the Postma Medal. In that role, she is responsible for the daily execution activities associated with the Pantex Safety Basis Redesign project and is a co-lead for two of the recommendation teams. Drewry is a qualifying official and routinely provides advice on nuclear safety related topics as a mentor to multiple safety basis engineers. She serves as a Federal Team Leader in the DOE Radiological Assistance Program, which provides advice and radiological assistance for incidents involving radioactive materials that pose a threat to the public health and safety or the environment.

The recognition was presented by Pat Postma, Herman Postma’s widow, and Megan Houchin.

---