By Stephen Kirk, FSAVE – Dean, College of Fellows
The designation of Fellow recognizes SAVE International’s individuals who are of the highest caliber, nationally known for their technical competence, accomplishment, service, ethical conduct and professional leadership in the practice of the Value discipline.
Candidates for Fellow are first screened by the SAVE Honors & Awards Committee, then elected by a two thirds (2/3) majority of the College of Fellows membership.
Larry Miles gave the traits of a value engineer which are characteristic of the new Fellows:
- Knowledge,
- Imagination,
- High Degree of Initiative,
- Personality,
- Cooperative Attitude, and
- Belief in the Importance of Value.
The recognition started with the class of 2020 (also known as the COVID class). Two received the Fellow Award: Charles McDuff and Bob Rude.
Charles R. McDuff, FSAVE, is a professional Engineer, a Certified Value Specialist and a LEED Accredited Professional. He served on the SAVE Certification Board for nine years and was the Atlanta chapter president.
Charles graduated from the Missouri School of Mines in civil engineering and served in Vietnam receiving the Army Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star Medal.
He was one of the first VE team leaders to incorporate Risk Analysis into a VE workshop setting for construction projects. Charles began using Risk Registers during the 1990s to help focus the VE Team on risks that should be monetized within the project cost estimate.
Robert (Bob) J. Rude, FSAVE, is a professional engineer and a Certified Value Specialist (CVS). He has served on the SAVE Certification Board since 2013 and is currently the chair.
Bob was president of the Cascadia chapter from 1987-89 and regional vice president from 1989-91. He received the SAVE Presidential Citation for this work on the Certification Board in 2018.
Bob graduated from Washington State University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. As chairperson of the Certification Board, he helped create the development of the Core Competencies & Learning Objectives that align with ANSI standards and identify the requirements for competency within the SAVE profession for VMA and CVS certifications.
Our newest fellow, Jeffery Hooghouse, FSAVE, class of 2022, also has Larry Miles traits of a value engineer. He is the current Chief Value Officer of USACE and a 32-year employee of the federal government.
Just as Larry Miles, Jeff measures value by both Performance Improvement and Cost Savings. He turned up the heat on the way VE was done at the USACE to make major program improvements over the past 13 years.
Jeff served on the SAVE Certification Board from 2013-18 and the SAVE Board from 2010-11.
He holds a BS degree from Central Florida, a master’s degree in business from the University of Mary Washington in 2008, training at the US Army Command and General Staff College in 2002, Harvard Kennedy School, Senior Executive Fellow 2012 and is a Registered Architect.
Jeff received the DOD VE Achievement Award in 2006 and 2011, the SAVE Presidential Citation Award in 2006 and the Secretary of Defense Outstanding Achievement Award in 2006.
He is married to his lovely wife Dawn and calls her a Saint for putting up with him for the last 32 years! They have two children, Jacob and Cassie, and both children are engaged to be married within the next year or so.
Jeff has held many roles while the kids were growing up. He was heavily involved in Jacob’s boy scout troop and was a proud dad when his son reached the level of Eagle Scout. Jeff would be considered a super fan of both kids when they started playing sports. Whether it was cheering on Cassie in field hockey or coaching Jacob’s lacrosse team, he has always been their biggest supporter on and off the field.
Jeff enjoys heading to the local breweries with his family and his dogs, grabbing a steak from his favorite restaurant, and partaking in a bourbon tasting from his extensive collection.
Welcome New Fellows
At the awards luncheon during the recent SAVE 2022 Value Summit, I invited all attending Fellows to line up at the front of the podium and asked the new Fellows to “walk the line” for congratulations.
Please welcome our newest fellows into the College of Fellows!
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