"We are very fortunate to have received an excellent education at Virginia Tech," says John DeBell, President of the mid-Atlantic Region for the national engineering firm of Burgess & Niple and Chair of the College of Engineering's Advisory Board for 2001. "As successful alumni, it's important that we give back to the university."



John received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech in 1968. Following service in the U.S. Army, including a tour of duty in Viet Nam, he co-founded the firm Bengtson, DeBell & Elkins in Chantilly, Virginia, in 1974. Mr. DeBell became President of the firm, which managed engineering projects for the Virginia Department of Transportation; for municipalities including Fairfax, Loudon and other Virginia counties; and for private sector office parks and residential communities.



In 1998, Bengtson, DeBell & Elkins merged with Burgess & Niple, which is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. DeBell is President of the five Virginia and Maryland offices of Burgess & Niple and is one of 18 partners in the national firm. He also serves on the Board of Managers.



Active in numerous professional organizations, Mr. DeBell has served as Director of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), President of the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers (VSPE), President of the Engineers & Surveyors Institute, and on the Board of Governors of NSPE/Professional Engineers in Private Practice. He is a past President of the Northern Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and is a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Dulles Area Transportation Association. He also serves on the boards of directors of the Virginia Section of Associated Builders & Contractors and of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association, for which he is Vice-President of the Fairfax Chapter.



Mr. DeBell has been accorded numerous professional honors. The Fairfax Chapter of VSPE named him the Young Engineer of the Year in 1974 and presented him with the Outstanding Service Award in 1979. He received the Young Engineer of the Year Award in 1975 from the state-wide chapter of VSPE, which also presented him with the Distinguished Service Award in 1983 and named him Engineer of the Year in 1988.



Active in his community, he currently is President of the Historic Centreville Society and a member and Secretary of the Route 28 District Advisory Board. In the past, he has served as President of the Community Appearance Alliance, Chair of Fairfax County's Advisory Plans Examiner Board, and as a member of the county's Affordable/Low & Moderate Income Housing Task Force. He also is a current member of the Board of Directors of F&M Bank of Northern Virginia and was a founding member and a past Director of the Security Bank Corporation in Manassas, Virginia.



A long-standing supporter of his alma mater, Mr. DeBell is a member of Virginia Tech's Ut Prosim Society and is a past Chair of the Via Department's Advisory Board. He is a member of the College of Engineering's Committee of 100 and, in addition to being Chair for 2001, has served two terms on the Advisory Board. In the past, he has served on the President's Council Membership Committee and was Chair of the Northern Virginia President's Council.



John and his wife, Connie, who recently celebrated their 30th anniversary, live in Catharpin, Virginia. Their son, John, Jr., is a 2000 graduate of Virginia Tech with a B.S. in hospitality and tourism management. Their other son, Richard, is a rising senior at Radford University.