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Lewis Nicholson
Melton |
Updated:
04/24/07
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Lewis Nicholson (Nick)
Melton received a Civil Engineering Career Achievement Award.
Lewis Nicholson "Nick"
Melton was born in Barbourville, Kentucky on August 4, 1940 to Corbin
H. and Edythe Nicholson Melton. Nick attended the Barbourville City
Schools and graduated in 1958 from Barbourville High School. He received
a Kentucky Department of Highways Scholarship to the University of Kentucky
where he earned his B. S. in Civil Engineering in 1963. At UK he was
a member of
Triangle Fraternity.
In 1964, Nick joined Crowder and Associates, Consulting Engineers in
Columbus, Indiana where he led the Land Planning Section. Nick and his
college friend Bob Vaughn turned a dream into reality in February 1967
when they founded Vaughn & Melton, Inc., in Middlesboro, Kentucky.
In 1969, jointly with Florence and Hutchison, Vaughn & Melton (V&M)
was awarded a design and construction administration contract for a
section of the Bowling Green-Owensboro Parkway (now the William H. Natcher
Parkway) in Warren and Butler Counties.
Nick's largest project began in 1985 when V&M was hired to assist
the FHWA in the contract administration of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel.
This elaborate construction project spanned 11 years and numerous contracts.
Upon completion, Nick led a V&M team to develop a proposal for operation
and maintenance of the tunnel. V&M won the contract and created
a separate entity, Tunnel Management, Inc., to fulfill the contract.
Since the tunnel opened in 1996, Nick has continued his interest in
the project, coordinating tunnel operations with the home office and
managing special projects carried out by the tunnel staff and outside
contractors.
Community service and professional activities have always been important
to Nick. He is a long-time member of the Prichard Committee for Academic
Excellence, served on the Region 13 Advisory Council for Vocational
Education, and the Kentucky Department of Education Improvement Advisory
Committee. Nick has also served on the Board of the Middlesboro Chamber
of Commerce and as its president.
He is a former member of
the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Middlesboro, serving
on that board until the bank was sold. Nick currently serves on the
Board of Directors of Delta Natural Gas Company, Inc. where he is chair
of the Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee and serves on the
Executive Committee.
Nick is a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers,
Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers and American Council of Engineering
Companies. He served two terms on the Kentucky State Board of Licensure
for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors in the 1980s. As a Licensure
Board member he was active in the National Council of Examiners for
Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). He received the NCEES Distinguished
Service Award in 1988. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Kentuckians
for Better Transportation and served as the Chairman in 1994. He is
a licensed Professional Engineer in nine states.
In addition to these personal career achievements, Nick and his partner
Bob Vaughn steadily grew Vaughn & Melton into a company with more
than 175 employees that offers a wide range of engineering and architectural
services from six offices in four southeastern states.
Nick and Barbara, his wife of 45 years, have three children: Jim Melton,
Sara Moreno and Linda Melton; and six grandchildren, Alexandria Melton
(19), Jacob Melton (5), Emma Moreno (4), Elizabeth Melton (3), William
Moreno (2) and Eli Melton (1) who all enjoy walking in the woods with
Grandfather. Nick and Barbara divide their time between their permanent
home in Middlesboro and a part-time residence in Lexington.
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