Van Buren County resident Casey Scoggins knew since sixth grade he wanted to be a civil engineer and remembers from an early age being awed by works of the craft.
At a recent Tennessee Valley Authority board meeting, Scoggins was presented with TVA’s highest engineering distinction, the Ike Zeringue Engineer of the Year Award.
“This award is a great honor,” said Scoggins, a Warren County High School graduate. “I appreciate the confidence of those in transmission engineering who nominated me.”
Scoggins, a civil engineering graduate from Tennessee Tech, manages Substation Physical Engineering for TVA’s transmission group.
With nearly 15 years experience, he currently leads a team of engineers and design technicians responsible for civil and electrical physical engineering, high-voltage equipment, and design standards for TVA substation and switchyard facilities.
Like engineering, TVA was in Scoggins’ blood.
“I grew up about a mile from Great Falls Dam and was able to tour the generating facility as a Boy Scout.” Scoggins said. “I was, and remain, impressed to say the least. TVA has always been a big part of my life, whether it was fishing on a TVA lake or seeing the engineering and construction accomplishments around my hometown.”
The tour of Great Falls Dam inspired his first engineering drawing, a rudimentary plan for an invention to power his house.
“I somehow hung on to that drawing all these years,” Scoggins said. “I laugh every time I see it.”
Scoggins joined TVA as a civil engineer in 2000 and gained more responsibility. Prior to his current assignment, he served as a senior project manager in transmission, leading 24 projects totaling $90 million.
That work included construction, equipment replacement and storm restoration for transmission lines, substations and telecommunications.
TVA president and CEO Bill Johnson presented the Ike Zeringue Engineer of the Year Award to Casey Scoggins during the public utility's Feb. 13 board meeting in Chattanooga.
“TVA’s mission is about improving the quality of life in the Tennessee Valley and our ability to do that depends on the dedication of employees like Casey,” said Johnson. “Beyond his own hard work, his leadership in our transmission organization has directly contributed to TVA maintaining a 99.999 percent reliability factor since 2000.”
Scoggins is the son of Danny and Brenda Scoggins. He graduated from Warren County High School in 1994. He and his wife, Amy, live in Spencer with their three kids, Emma, Riley and Eli. He is active in his church as a deacon, Bible study teacher and mission team leader, and also helps coach Little League girls softball.
In addition to his TVA honor, Scoggins has been identified as a Top 10 finalist in the Federal Engineer of the Year competition. The winner will be chosen by a panel of judges established by the National Society of Professional Engineers. He’ll be recognized, along with other federal agency winners, at a luncheon in Washington, D.C. this Thursday, Feb. 20.