[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 149 (Tuesday, September 17, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THOMAS J. COLLINS OF COLLINS ENGINEERS, INC. ON THE 
                       COMPANY'S 40TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DANIEL LIPINSKI

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 17, 2019

  Mr. LIPINSKI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud 
Thomas J. Collins, founder of Collins Engineers, Inc., on his company's 
40th anniversary. Tom has been a longtime constituent and resident of 
La Grange, Illinois.
   Born and raised in Chicago, Mr. Collins is a Vietnam War veteran, a 
professional engineer, and a certified diver. He pioneered the use of 
engineers as diving inspectors for underwater bridge infrastructure 
that eventually became the basis of the U.S. Department of 
Transportation's (DOT's) program mandate for underwater bridge 
inspections. Additionally, Mr. Collins developed and carried out 
several DOT training programs for infrastructure assessment and 
management, including teaching best practices to ensure public safety.
   Mr. Collins played a significant role in Vietnam as part of the 39th 
Detachment, setting up operations at Cam Ranh Bay in the then-largest 
military quarry in the world, operated by the 864th Battalion. During 
this time, he joined the local Society of American Military Engineers 
(SAME) Post and continued to advance his noteworthy military career. In 
February 1967, he became the quarry officer and supervised drilling, 
blasting, and crushing to produce aggregate. In July 1967, he was 
assigned as the Battalion Civil Engineer before leaving active duty to 
return home with an honorable discharge.
   Mr. Collins' expertise led him to found Collins Engineers, Inc. in 
1979, a civil and structural engineering firm with a concentration on 
infrastructure that supports a safe and efficient transportation 
system. Under Mr. Collins's leadership and with innovation as a guiding 
principle, Collins Engineers, Inc. pioneered the use of underwater 
inspections. Today, the company is using underwater imaging, unmanned 
aerial vehicles (UAVs), and partnerships with technology firms like 
Google for mobile work platforms and asset management.
   Mr. Collins is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, 
a diplomate of the Academy of Coasts, Ocean, Port & Navigation 
Engineers, a member of the Standing Committee on Structure Maintenance 
of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), Chair of the Underwater 
Inspection and Maintenance Subcommittee of the TRB, and was elected a 
permanent member of the Ports & Harbors Committee of the Coasts, 
Oceans, Ports and Rivers Institute, among many other notable 
distinctions. He is a mentor to generations of engineers, including his 
five children, three of whom are currently in the business, and a 
devoted husband to Roxanne Horswell since 1966.
   I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the accomplishments of 
Mr. Collins and Collins Engineers, Inc. as they celebrate 40 years of 
hard work and innovation. I look forward to their continued success for 
many years in the future.

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