Florida Contractor Leo Vecellio Named ARTBA Foundation Chairman

Leo A. Vecellio, Jr., has been involved with ARTBA leadership for more than 10 years, serving as its chairman in 2007-08 and as a long-time ARTBA-TDF trustee.

Washington, D.C. - Leo A. Vecellio, Jr., chairman, president and CEO of West Palm Beach, FL-based Vecellio Group, Inc., has been elected chairman of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF) Board of Trustees. The announcement was made during the association's national convention, held Oct. 6-9 in Charleston, S.C.

Vecellio has been involved with ARTBA leadership for more than 10 years, serving as its chairman in 2007-08 and as a long-time ARTBA-TDF trustee. His other ARTBA leadership positions: senior vice chairman, first vice chairman, southern region vice chairman, and vice chairman-at-large.

The ARTBA-TDF was established in 1985 as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt entity to support "research, education and public awareness" relating to transportation development issues. The foundation and its trustees are charged with providing oversight and helping develop financial support for a $2 million program of work that includes: professional development and training initiatives through the "Transportation Builder Institute," multiple federal contracts on work zone safety and other training issues, special economics and research reports, scholarships and awards, and one of the nation's largest educational exhibits on transportation at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

Vecellio's industry background is extensive. He literally grew up around transportation construction, joining the family business of Vecellio & Grogan in 1973 with degrees in civil engineering and construction management from Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, and four years of project management experience as an officer in the U.S. Air Force.

Vecellio was integral to the company's expansion well beyond the mid-Atlantic states, where it was founded by his father, grandfather and uncle in 1938. Today, Vecellio & Grogan is a subsidiary of the Vecellio Group, which operates throughout the southeastern U.S. and beyond, and consistently ranks among the nation's top 200 contractors. Other operations include heavy/highway contractors Ranger Construction Industries and Ranger Construction - South, mining firm White Rock Quarries, and petroleum and biodiesel companies Vecenergy and Vecenergy BIDA.

In addition to leadership roles within ARTBA and the family businesses, Vecellio is active in numerous industry, educational and business associations. He is among the founders and executive members of Floridians for Better Transportation, serves on the Florida "Council of 100," is a founding member and was first president of the Flexible Pavements Council of West Virginia. He is a member of the "Committee of 100" of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, and a former trustee of the Virginia Tech Foundation, where he chaired the investment committee.

Vecellio's many honors include induction into the Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni at Georgia Tech's College of Engineering, the Academy of Engineering Excellence at Virginia Tech's College of Engineering, and the Academy of Distinguished Alumni at Virginia Tech's Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Other ARTBA-TDF trustees include:

  • Tom Hill, president and chief executive officer, Summit Materials, Washington, D.C.
  • Charlie Potts, chief executive officer, Heritage Construction & Materials, Indianapolis, IN
  • Garry Higdem, president and group chief executive, energy and chemicals, CH2M HILL World Headquarters, Englewood, CO
  • Ken Rezendes, chairman, K.R. Rezendes, Inc., Assonet, MA
  • Gene McCormick, senior vice president, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Naples, FL
  • Rich Wagman, chairman and chief executive officer, G.A. & F.C. Wagman, Inc., York, PA
  • Mike Walton, E.H. Cockrell centennial chair in engineering, University of Texas, Austin
  • Pete Ruane, ARTBA president and chief executive officer, Washington, D.C.

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