In 1979, only nine years after earning his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech, Ray Booth became Director of Department of Public Works for the City of Lynchburg, a post he held for the next 21 years.



Ray began his career as a co-op student with the Virginia Department of Transportation, where he worked as a Bridge Design Engineer until joining the Public Works Department as a Senior Design Engineer in 1975. While working his way up through positions as Principal Engineer and City Engineer/Assistant Director, he also found time to continue his education, earning a Master's in Public Administration from George Washington University in 1978.



As Director of Public Works, he was in charge of public utilities, solid waste management, engineering, and public services for the 66,000 residents of Lynchburg. By the time he retired in 2000 to start his own consulting firm, the department had 360 employees and an annual operating budget of $39 million.



During his tenure as Director, Mr. Booth oversaw a complete Geographic Information System mapping of Lynchburg that has saved the city an estimated $7 million, led the development of one of the most advanced local area network telecommunications systems in the nation, and initiated a pilot solid waste facility staffed by the first self-directed work team among Virginia government divisions. He also helped his community obtain $12 million in federal funding for construction of the John Lynchburg Memorial Bridge, a much-needed replacement for the William Viaduct.



For his leadership in establishing the second Public Works Museum in the nation, Ray received the American Public Works Association (APWA) History Achievement Award in 1990.



Mr. Booth has served as Chair of the APWA Environmental Policy Task Force and on the Executive Council of the APWA Institute for Administrative Management, and was nominated as one of APWA's Top Ten Leaders of the Year in 1990 and 1993. He is a long-standing member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers, and a former member of the American Society for Public Administrators.



As National Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Partnership, Mr. Booth had a significant influence on shaping national CSO and wastewater policies. He also co-authored two papers on CSO issues that were presented at Water Pollution Control Federation conferences.



He is a past President of the APWA Virginia/DC/Maryland Chapter and a founding member of the Virginia Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies. During the 1990s, he served as Chair of an association of more than 40 local governments in Virginia that operate solid waste management facilities. He also was a leader in negotiations with the Virginia General Assembly and with the telecommunications industry on municipal telecommunications policies.



His leadership and service to the Commonwealth was recognized in 1994, when he was selected to receive the Crozet Award for the Outstanding Virginia Government Engineer. The award was presented by the Virginia chapters of five national engineering organizations.



In 2000, Mr. Booth retired from the Public Works Department and founded Booth Consulting, Inc., specializing in engineering, development, and telecommunications. Current projects include coordinating a 400-acre "electronic village" development, which will host fiber-optic-wired "smart homes."



Ray is a past member of CEE's Alumni Board and has also served on the Board of Directors of the Center for Advanced Engineering at Lynchburg College.



Ray and his wife Dee, a church organist/choir director and piano teacher, have three children and five grandchildren, all living in the Lynchburg area.