Award of Merit: The recipient of the Award of Merit will be selected by a majority vote of the members of the Awards Committee, based on evaluation of suitable nomination submissions and judgments of relative merit of the various nominated candidates.  To be considered for this Award, candidates must receive a minimum of three independent nominations.  Candidates who are members of AACE must have ten (10) years minimum active participation in AACE and non-members must have a minimum of ten (10) years active service within the cost engineering industry.  All nominations must be submitted in writing and accompanied by detailed evidence of the contribution by the nominee(s), together with suitable statements regarding the timeliness and importance of the achievement.   Although significant contributions to the advancement of cost engineering and the precepts of total cost management are often the result of a joint effort by multiple individuals, not more than two (2) individuals may be recognized for a particularly significant joint contribution.  If it is not possible to limit the awardees to two individuals, the Award will not be made for the group effort.   The recipient(s) need not be a member of AACE International.

Martin R. Darley, FAACE – A member since 2001, Martin became a Certified Cost Professional (CCP) in 2005. Martin has been very active with his local section, Houston Gulf Coast where he has served in a variety of leadership positions, including president. He has served as a mentor to AACE members as part of the Mentoring Program. Martin has served AACE as a member of the Education Board 2016-2018) as well as a member of the Board of Directors including the following positions: Director-Region 5 (2009-2011); Vice President-Administration (2011-2013); President-Elect (2013-2014); President (2014-2015); Past President (2015-2016); and Vice President-Education Board (2016-2018). Through his work at Chevron’s Project Controls team, he has been influential in getting the company to adopt the AACE certification as part of their career path development as well as implementing the controls in the AACE TCM Framework as the standard for projects. AACE previously recognized him as a Fellow (2019). Martin will be retiring in a few short weeks, but is currently a Senior Advisor, Estimating at Chevron.