Bernie Sheff, Chair of American Biogas Council, and Patrick Serfass, the ABC’s Executive Director present the American Biogas Council’s Agricultural Project of the Year to Gus Simmons and Mark Maloney for the Optima KV Project in Duplin County.
It is the first renewable natural gas project to connect to the natural gas pipeline in the state. The Optima KV project aggregates the wastes from 5 adjacent farms, each having it’s own anaerobic digester, compresses the gas and pipes it to a centralized gas upgrading site, where it is purified to natural gas standards and injected into the natural gas pipeline.
           Gus Simmons in front of the Gas Upgrading Site at Optima KV in Kenansville, NC.
Steve Cavanaugh, Gus Simmons & Patrick Serfass from American Biogas Council visiting Optima KV on the BioCycle Tour (post award)
“Our entire team is passionate about the stewardship of our natural resources, but that does not happen without being good stewards of our human and financial resources.”
Gus simmons, director of bioenergy 
At AWWA’s ACE19, the CA-NV AWWA Section was recognized for an AWWA National award for its Outstanding educational efforts in creating the Water Audit Validator Certification Program. Pictured here are Reinhard Sturm, Sue Mosburg, Steve Cavanaugh and William Penn. Congratulations to all!

Sharon Niemann accepts an award on behalf of Cavanaugh at the 10th Anniversary Ceremony of the Coastal Entrepreneur Awards in May 2018. Randall Johnson of the North Carolina Biotech Center nominated Cavanaugh for this recognition, and provides the introduction. We are so humbled to be recognized with such a remarkable group of entrepreneurs – and are grateful to be the “Manure Entrepreneur” in the Energy Category!

The following segment is from the original award provided to Cavanaugh in 2017.

Gus Simmons and Jeff Cappadona accept the Coastal Entrepreneur Award in the Biotechnology category in 2017.

Part of the Cavanaugh mission is to help utilities and owners understand the importance of moving away from inherited business behaviors that have not kept up with innovations in technology and ways to better manage the resources they have been entrusted.

Cavanaugh has been guiding policy internationally, nationally, and locally to simultaneously understand that utilities and owners are busy and need to discover the need to make a change from the status quo through presentations, white papers, case studies, workshops, one-to-one phone calls and engaging conversations. Cavanaugh helps to convey the importance of doing and being something better. On a state by state basis, the map below shows where we are actively speaking and engaged in policy making to promote water stewardship efforts.

The strategy is to communicate with the utility leadership, the operator and certification boards who promote training, the regulatory community which sets the guidance and standards of operation, and the educational institutions to embrace best practice curriculum.

Internationally, Cavanaugh recognizes that innovation and creativity is born from having to do more with less and coming from areas of scarcity and intentional management. Cavanaugh has forged international partnerships across the globe for collaboration on projects and information and idea exchange by embracing and understanding that we can learn and grow together. We believe that we are in great company to effect lasting change. Fortunately, our peers have recognized this innovative spirit and have honored us with the following awards:

     NC Pork Council’s 2018 Award for Excellence in Innovation

               Gus Simmons and his father

The NC Pork Council posted a blog which states, “as Director of Bioenergy at Cavanaugh & Associates, Gus works with a variety of municipal, industrial and agricultural clients. The pork industry holds a special place in Gus’ heart: his father, W.G. Simmons, is a retired extension agent who was inducted in the N.C. Pork Hall of Fame in 2014.” (posted 3-19-2018)


2014 ACEC Engineering Excellence National Recognition Award for the 

           GEFA Water Loss Technical Assistance Program

 

2013 ACEC National Honor Award for Engineering Excellence the Loyd Ray Farms Project

Pictured here:  Gus Simmons, Tanja Vujic, Marvin Cavanaugh & Steve Cavanaugh


                             List of most recent Awards

  • 2019 Co-recipient of the National Award for Outstanding Educational Program for the Water Audit Validation Certification Program partnering with CA-NV AWWA, received at AWWA Annual Conference & Exposition
  • 2018 BioCycle Magazine and American Biogas Council’s Agricultural Biogas Project of the Year for the Optima KV project in Kenansville, the first RNG project to connect to the natural gas pipeline in N.C.
  • 2018 Top 10 of 10 years – Coastal Entrepreneur Award for the Energy and Biotechnology category,awarded by UNCW Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and the Greater Wilmington Business Journal
  • 2018 NC Pork Council’s Award for Excellence in Innovation at the NC Pork Council Annual Conference, Optima KV Project
  • 2017 Coastal Entrepreneur Award for the Biotech category, awarded by UNCW Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and the Greater Wilmington Business Journal
  • 2015 ACEC/NC Honor Award for Engineering Excellence from American Council of Engineering Companies of North Carolina for for Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center
  • 2014 National Honor Engineer Excellence Award from American Council of Engineering Companies for Georgia Statewide training
  • 2014 ACEC/NC Honor Engineer Excellence Award from American Council of Engineering Companies for Georgia Statewide training
  • 2013 National Honor Award for Engineering Excellence from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) for the Loyd Ray Farm Project
  • 2013 Grand Conceptor Award for Engineering Excellence from the American Council of Engineering Companies of North Carolina (ACEC/NC) for the Loyd Ray Farm Project
  • 2012 Business Innovation Award for LRF
  • 2010 Top 50 Entrepreneurs
  • 2007 Zweig White Hot Firms – Top 200
  • 2007 Biz Life Movers and Shakers
  • 2002 National Recognition Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies
  • 2002 International Award for Rajac – Iasi (ApaVital) ACEC/NC Engineering Excellence Award