Dan Brooks, a Professional Engineer, and John Danic, a Mechanical and Electrical Inspector, have been actively involved in the Engineering Society of Detroit’s (ESD) Michigan Regional Future City Competition for more than two decades as mentors for students at Redford Township’s St. Valentine Catholic School. They enjoy educating young people and raising interest about the engineering profession which has led the way for some students to pursue engineering studies. For their many years of community outreach, Dan and John have been honored with the ESD’s 2017 Distinguished Service Award.

The Future City Competition calls for sixth, seventh and eighth grade student teams, assisted by a teacher and a volunteer engineer, to design a virtual city of the future using SimCity software. Teams are required to write an abstract and essay describing their city, and build a scale model of a section of their city using recycled materials. St. Valentine Catholic School’s eighth grade teams won the Regional Competition and competed in the National Finals in 2003, 2004 and 2017.

Dan is a valuable resource for professional associations, drawing on 39 years of experience working with Downriver communities. He has provided day-to-day engineering services and design engineering support for the Charter Township of Redford and the City of Dearborn Heights for the past 32 years. John has been a licensed Electrical/Mechanical Contractor for 45 years, and a State-registered Code Authority/Inspector for 22 years. He is also a State-registered Code and Electrical Apprentice Instructor. John provides building inspection services for the City of Pontiac as part of Wade Trim’s Building and Safety Engineering Division Services contract.