In an effort to bring the ASHE national Officers and Board of Directors closer to the membership at large, the SCANNER will include board member profiles.

All board members volunteer a great deal of time and hard work to further develop and promote ASHE. These biographies will give you a brief introduction to the officers who are working for you at the National level. When you see them at the National Conference, section, or regional meetings take a moment to share your experiences; offer ideas and support to continue development of our society.

Richard Clifton, Region 7 Director
Rich is a charter member of Carolina Piedmont and Greater Hampton Roads Sections. He served as the Organizing Committee Secretary and Section Secretary for the Carolina Piedmont Section from 1994 to 1999. He also served as cochairman of the Organizing Committee of the Greater Hampton Roads Section in 2000, then serving as that Section’s 1st Vice President, President and, finally, Past President. His committee responsibilities included the Constitution and By-Laws committee where he is chairman and Nominating committee for both Sections. Additionally, Rich serves as the Fund Raising committee chair for the Greater Hampton Roads Section. He is also involved in the ASHE National Conference serving as chairman of the Executive Committee for the 2006 National Conference to be held in Williamsburg, VA.

Rich earned his BS in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech. After graduating in 1986 he began his career with Charlotte DOT as a Traffic Engineer. In 1999 he was hired to be the Office Director of the Kubilins Transportation Group. In 2001 Rich accepted a position with Gannett Fleming Engineers located in Newport News, VA, as their Regional Traffic Engineering Manager/Associate. Rich is a registered Professional Engineer in the states of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Florida. He is continuing his education by pursuing his MS in Transportation Engineering at the University of North Carolina - Charlotte.

Rich is a member of the Highway Research Board (2 years), and also a member of both the Institute of Transportation Engineers - North Carolina Section (17 years) and Virginia Section (5 years). In 1997, Rich was named the “City of Charlotte Employee of the Year.” Rich is Cub Scout Den Leader and will soon be the Pack Cub Master. He is also a Little League Coach.

Rich and Glenda have been married for 16 years. They reside in Poquoson, VA. They are the proud parents of 2 sons, Brooks is 8 years old and Tyler is 6 years old. The family pet is a cat named Lucy. Rich enjoys gardening and woodworking, but says “that he doesn’t have much time for either these days.” His other interests are NASCAR racing, Carolina Panthers football and Virginia Tech football.

Perry M. Schweiss, Region 3 Director
Perry is a member of the Southwest Penn Section and serves as Section Secretary of the Southwest Penn Section since 1996. He also serves as the Regional Treasurer for Region 3. Perry was the Chair of the Entertainment Committee for the 2001 ASHE National Conference hosted by his Section.

Perry earned his B.S. in Structural Design & Construction Engineering from Penn State University in 1987. After graduating he was hired by Arora & Associates, Inc. located in West Trenton, New Jersey. Over the next five years he honed his skills as a design engineer. In 1992 Perry accepted a position at Sucevic, Piccolomini & Kuchar Engineering, Inc. in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He was promoted to Vice President of Operations in 2001. Perry is a Professional Engineer in the states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. He is also a Professional Land Surveyor in West Virginia. Perry has an excellent mentor. It’s his boss, Domenic Piccolomini, the 2000 National President of ASHE.

Perry and Sherry have been married for 11 years. They reside in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. They are the proud parents of 2 boys. Eddie, their oldest son, is 10 years old and Tyler 8 years old. Perry serves on the Heritage Hills Association, an organization that oversees the activities in their local housing community. He has been the assistant coach for his sons’ junior football league. Perry also sings in the St. John’s Church choir and attends various church functions. Both freshwater and saltwater fly-fishing are hobbies of his. Perry says that he also enjoys all types of cooking.

Jean E. Zarger, Region 2 Director
Jean became a member of the Franklin Section in 1995. She later served as the Section President in 2000-01. Jean was involved in the 2002 ASHE National Conference held in Erie, PA, where she was part of the group that created and monitored the master schedule for the conference preparations. She was also Chair the Guest Program Committee. Jean currently serves on the National Board where she sits on a number of its committees.

Jean earned her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rochester. After graduating in 1986 she began her career with GAI Consultants, Inc. as a field inspector/office manager of the Southern Tier Expressway (now Interstate 86) and Route 220 (now Interstate 99) near Claysburg. Jean continued to hone her engineering skills for the next 12 years with Urban Engineers, Inc. working on the next section of the Southern Tier Expressway, several sections of Erie’s Bay Front Parkway/East Side Access, Interstate 90, and several small building projects. During her career with Urban Engineers, she had the opportunity to work in various facets of highway engineering, including survey, design, specifications, construction, inspection, and testing. Jean has worked in the highway industry for 17 years and has a Pennsylvania EIT certificate. For the last 4 years, she has been employed by Pennsylvania DOT as Roadway Program Coordinator in Maintenance District 1-2 located in Waterford, PA. Jean monitors and directs the county budget to obtain the largest amount of road improvements where they are needed, while maintaining county services as a whole. Her main responsibilities are the budget, procurement of materials, and road improvement programming.

Jean resides in Erie, PA. She enjoys competitive swimming and has been a member of the Allegheny Mountain YMCA Masters Swimming Association for 17 years. Jean was the Coach of the Corry YMCA Girls Swim Team in 1987-89. She also enjoys recreational volleyball.