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Great River Engineering principals Mel Eakins, left, and Spencer Jones accept the chamber’s 2018 W. Curtis Strube Small Business Award.
SBJ photo by Wes Hamilton
Great River Engineering principals Mel Eakins, left, and Spencer Jones accept the chamber’s 2018 W. Curtis Strube Small Business Award.

Engineering firm wins chamber’s Small Business Award

Posted online

Great River Engineering Inc. this afternoon received the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 W. Curtis Strube Small Business Award.

“You work hard every day in a small business. It’s not easy,” principal Mel Eakins said when accepting the award during the chamber’s annual luncheon at Oasis Hotel & Convention Center. “It’s nice to every once in a while see you’re making a difference and that others see that.”

With a focus on civil engineering and surveying, the roughly 20-year-old Great River Engineering is currently working for Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris as he relocates and restores the historic Ozark Mill.

The Springfield company’s portfolio also includes the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge, Riverside Bridge in Ozark, Chestnut Expressway intersection improvements, water system upgrades at Silver Dollar City, Hammons Field and Greenway Trails.

Great River Engineering won over finalists:
    •    Atlas Security Service Inc., a full-service alarm security company;
    •    Complete Automotive, a vehicle maintenance and repair company;
    •    OzAir Charter Service, the aircraft company owned by Burgess Aircraft Management LLC; and
    •    Revel Advertising, an advertising and branding agency.

Great River ranked third last year on Springfield Business Journal’s list of the area’s largest engineering firms, with 11 local registered engineers. The company is led by principals Jason Sivils, Spencer Jones and Eakins. It handles bridges, roads, parks and trails, wastewater, drinking water, stormwater infrastructure and site development projects.

Last year’s Small Business Award winner was Askinosie Chocolate LLC. Honorees are selected based on written applications reviewed by an independent panel of judges comprising previous recipients, local business experts and volunteers of the chamber’s Small Business Council, according to a news release.

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user8664

Congratulations to Mel Eakins and the rest of the GRE team. Well done!

Wednesday, May 2, 2018
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