www.reflector.com/local/content/news/stories/2008/03/30 -
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Published on: 3/30/2008
Last Visited: 3/30/2008
Douglas Kruger looked perplexed when he was handed two plaques and asked to make a presentation.His surprise only grew when he discovered the occasion.
Hidden under a large, blue tarp behind an East Carolina University transit bus sat a bulldozer donated to the ECU Department of Construction Management to honor Kruger and Sue Williams, who each plan to retire in 2009.
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Douglas Kruger, left, and Sue Williams look over a bulldozer donated to the ECU Department of Construction Management to honor them.
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"This is too much, absolutely too much," Kruger, the department's chairman, said."This was a total surprise, no ands, ifs or buts.They did a real good job of keeping everybody quiet.I'm absolutely flabbergasted."
Kruger, in turn, presented plaques to Caterpillar and Gregory Poole Equipment Co. acknowledging their support of the construction management program.
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"Caterpillar International and Gregory Poole Equipment Company out of Raleigh have been extremely good to the program," Kruger said."They endowed a high-bay lab on a campus.They provide us with a tremendous amount of resources for us to be able to do some things that we would never be able to do with state dollars.They're just a super group."
Scott Cooper, a 1990 ECU graduate and marketing manager for Caterpillar in Cary, helped establish a relationship with Kruger and his department.
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"In 1999, I was in a position where I could actually do some donations of pieces of equipment, so I came and talked to Dr. Kruger and a couple of others and we started a relationship and a bond," Cooper said.
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"It's been a rewarding career," said Kruger, who is in his 33rd year and is set to retire on July 1, 2009.