(BUFFALO, N.Y.) June 3, 2025 – Each year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers honors excellence in engineering and construction through its prestigious Engineering and Construction Awards Program.
Among the various categories recognizing leadership, performance, professional development and community support, the Hard Hat of the Year award celebrates outstanding achievement in construction contract administration management and oversight.
For 2024, Mitch Hares, a civil engineer with the USACE Buffalo District, earned this recognition as Hard Hat of the Year for the USACE Great Lakes and Ohio River Division.
He was nominated by the New York/Pennsylvania Area Engineer and his nomination was advanced by the Buffalo District Chief of Construction to the division level. And with this award, his package was sent to USACE headquarters where he was a runner up for the agency-wide Hard Hat of the Year.
“This is a remarkable achievement considering the high level of competition throughout our division,” said Ryan Lenihan, NY/PA Area Office chief.
The award is presented by the USACE Chief of Engineering and Construction “to the most exceptional construction field office employee across USACE.”
“It is an honor to be recognized with this award,” said Hares. “This award signifies a commitment to excellence in construction administration and management.”
Hares said that he valued his supervisors and peers the efforts it took to maintain high standards, ensure safety and delivery quality in every project.
At over 38,000 square miles, the Buffalo District’s footprint extends across northern Ohio from Toledo, Ohio up through Ogdensburg in northern New York. This includes 100 miles of federal navigation channels, 14 commercial harbors, 22 recreational harbors and 35 miles of breakwaters.
“I truly enjoy working in the construction branch here in the Buffalo District and it gives me pride to see the positive effects we have on our community, and the environment around the Great Lakes,” said Hares.
In 2024, the Buffalo District had 41 projects under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, amounting to over $36 million. Major projects included fish passages, coastal resiliency, ecosystem restoration and invasive species control.
Hares has been involved with several GLRI projects, his current one being the Emerald Shiner fish passage in downtown Buffalo. The project is a series of barriers that allow the small Emerald Shiner fish to travel the Niagara River, where it is a vital part of the ecosystem.
Hares has worked on the Oswego West Arrowhead Breakwater, Great Sodus East Breakwater, Oswego dredging, the Vermillion West Pier and the Cleveland West Pier, among many others.
These Great Lakes projects have been vital to protecting infrastructure, ensuring safe navigation in and out of harbors, and enables the flow of commerce through Lakes Erie and Ontario.
Each year, over 200 million tons of cargo travel the Great Lakes with the harbors supporting -
“These lakes are vital to the economy, to the ecosystem and for recreational use, so it is great to be part of breakwater construction to help protect the shorelines, all of the dredging work we do to keep the waterways navigable and even the baffle installation on the Niagara River to help the emerald shiner make their way back to Lake Erie,” said Hares.