On January 17 Dan Adams received the 2020 Golden Beaver Engineering Award at the 65th Annual Golden Beavers Award Dinner, where he was recognized for his achievements and contributions to the heavy construction industry. The Golden Beaver Award is one of the highest honors bestowed in the field of heavy civil engineering and construction.

During his speech, Dan thanked his family, peers, and mentors who have supported and inspired him over the years, including prior Golden Beavers Pete Petrofsky “my guardian of engineering judgment” and Bill Edgerton “for teaching me the power of our words—to give advice over direction, and to listen first and speak last.” Dan also spoke about involving and motivating the next generation of engineers: “If we want to keep our future leaders engaged, we’ve got to recognize that what drives them differs from what drives us and make changes to reflect it.” Some of these changes he discussed include focusing on “what we create rather than how much money we make” and “moving the needle from process back to progress.”