Herb McKim, Jr. Inducted into N.C. State CCEE Alumni Hall of Fame
On Friday, November 8, 2019, Herbert P. McKim, Jr., PE, PLS, co-founder of McKim & Creed, was inducted into the College of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering (CCEE) Alumni Hall of Fame at N.C. State University.
According to its website, the CCEE Hall of Fame “celebrates the accomplishments and commitment of alumni to the professions of civil, construction and environmental engineering…Hall of Fame inductees serve as examples to students and alumni as to the role that they are expected to play in engaging with the university and society.” McKim & Creed co-founder Michael W. Creed, Ph.D., PE, is also a member of the CCEE Hall of Fame.
Herb earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in civil engineering from N.C. State in 1973 and 1975, respectively. During his undergraduate years he played on the varsity tennis team, where he lettered all four years and ranked #1 in both singles and doubles for two years. He was inducted into Chi Epsilon, a National Honorary Civil Engineering Fraternity and was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
On June 1, 1978, Herb and Mike established McKim & Creed, P.A. Herb played an integral role in helping guide McKim & Creed from a small single-focus structural engineering firm to a multidisciplinary company. Today, McKim & Creed is one of the largest engineering and surveying companies in the South, with 23 offices and nearly 600 employees.
Professional Accomplishments
Herb has long been a leader of numerous engineering societies. At the state level, he served as president of the American Council of Engineering Companies of North Carolina (ACEC/NC) and the Southeastern Chapter of the Professional Engineers of North Carolina (PENC). In 2001 he received the ACEC/NC Community Service Award, and in 2014 won the President’s Award for outstanding service to ACEC. Nationally, he served as an ACEC director and was elected as a fellow of that organization. He also chaired the ACEC National Peer Review Committee. Herb was honored with the Distinguished Service Award from PENC in 2004 and the Outstanding Technical Achievement Award in 2011. That same year, he was appointed a PENC fellow.
Through PENC, Herb and Mike established the McKim & Creed Scholarship for Excellence to benefit students in civil engineering programs at N.C. State, Duke, UNC-Charlotte, and NC A&T University. That scholarship program was the largest single endowment PENC had ever received. The annual scholarship also includes a summer internship at McKim & Creed.
Moreover, Herb served for 15 years and three deans on the UNC Wilmington Cameron School of Business Dean’s Advisory Board. He and his wife created the Herb & Gina McKim Endowed Scholarship for UNCW business school students transferring from Cape Fear Community College.
Service to the Community
Herb has served on the board of directors for the Brigade Boys and Girls Club of Wilmington from 1992 to the present. In addition, he has been active in St. James Episcopal Church, where he served on the Vestry and as an EYC Youth Advisor, a Cursillo team member and a high school Sunday school teacher.
For three years he oversaw a homeless shelter in the church basement and spent numerous nights with homeless individuals while the permanent Good Shepherd Home was being planned and built. He encouraged many McKim & Creed employees to volunteer at the shelter as well.
In 2000, after Gina was diagnosed with cancer, she and Herb began actively supporting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team in Training program. The program involved training for and participating in marathons and half marathons while raising money to combat blood cancers. Herb established North Carolina’s first corporate Team in Training team and led three teams of McKim & Creed employees who completed endurance events and raised more than $150,000 to support LLS.
When Herb and Gina discovered their daughter had Type 1 Diabetes, they became active volunteers for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Most recently, Herb and Gina were the honorees at the Wilmington JDRF Fundraising Gala, which raised over a half million dollars.
Service to N.C. State
While serving on the N.C. State Alumni Association Board of Directors, Herb was appointed to be their representative on the Athletics Council for Athletics Director Jim Valvano. He was later named the Young Alumnus of the Year.
He is now a lifetime member of the Alumni Association and a charter member of the Leonidas L. Polk Society for Lifetime Giving.
Other Accomplishments
While Herb has been a registered professional engineer for more than 40 years, in 2006—while managing the geomatics business unit of the company—he trained for and successfully passed the exam to become a Professional Land Surveyor in North Carolina. He took this extraordinary step because he wanted the geomatics employees to trust that he understood the issues that mattered to them.
For more than 10 years, Herb has nurtured and guided Prostar GeoCorp International, a geospatial intelligence mobile software company. Today, Prostar is a publicly traded on the Canadian stock exchange and Herb serves as Prostar’s board chair.
Congratulations, Herb!