Distinguished Alumnus
Class of 2025

Daniel Gene Ghere

AHS Class of 1962

Dan Ghere’s longstanding commitment to his work as a respected hydraulic engineer has spanned seven decades with countless contributions to his profession. He has traveled our country and internationally with his life’s work as he researched hydraulic engineering and also provided expertise and technical advice in his chosen field.

Daniel Gene Ghere, son of Bobby Gene and Imogene Bright Ghere, was born April 6, 1944 at Tuscola. His father, S/Sgt. Bobby Ghere, was killed in battle in Germany on March 3, 1945, before he was able to meet his eleven-month-old son at home in Arcola. Dan’s family grew when his mother married Lowell Thompson in 1947 and his sisters Bonnie and Cinda later joined the family. Dan was a respected leader at Arcola High School, serving as class treasurer, vice-president and president, Student Council officer, Okaw Student Council president, Lettermen’s Club president and member of National Honor Society. He was selected to attend Boys State, received his class SAR award, was junior and senior class Homecoming attendant and also reigned over the Christmas Dance as Mr. Mistletoe.

After Dan and his 8th grade teammates placed 4th in the state basketball tournament, set a state record in the 400-yard shuttle relay and won the third place team trophy at the 1958 state track meet, Dan continued to excel in athletics at AHS, earning twelve varsity letters in football, basketball and track. In football, he led as co-captain and was named to the all-conference team as an offensive end his junior year and as fullback his senior year. That same year, Dan received honorable mention recognition as fullback for Little All-State, was named to the all-area team by the Champaign-Urbana Courier and received honorable mention on the all-area Champaign News-Gazette team. In his senior track season, he finished 8th in the state 440-yard dash with a time of 52.4 seconds, breaking a 20-year record at AHS. Dan’s mile relay team also set a school record with a 3:34.5 finish.

Following his 1962 graduation, Dan continued his education at the University of Illinois with an interest in hydraulic engineering. He married Judie Kamees in Champaign in 1966 and their children Gina and Robert were born in 1967 and 1969. Dan completed his B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1967 and also received membership in the American Society of Civil Engineers, leading to his employment as Hydraulic Engineer with the Illinois Department of Transportation in the Bureau of Bridges and Structures. He received his professional engineering license in 1971, along with membership in the National Society of Professional Engineers. In 1972, Dan and his family relocated to Rochester, Illinois, where he served that community for many years as Village Street and Sewer Trustee, president of Lions Club and deacon in the Rochester Christian Church.

Dan was named Chief Hydraulic Engineer in the Bureau of Bridges and Structures in 1974. His responsibilities included the development and implementation of all drainage policies and procedures of the Division of Highways, while also insuring all drainage structures were designed to meet all guidelines of the Illinois Division of Highways, Federal Highway Administration and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. FHWA selected Dan to join the AASHTO Technical Committee on Hydraulics and Hydrology in 1974 and he served in that capacity for twenty-six years, the longest committee service record to date, including two years as Task Force Chair. In 1993, IDOT appointed Dan to fly over Scott and Pike Counties to assess flood damage and again in 1995 over the Mississippi River from St. Louis to Cairo to determine locations of flooding that threatened highways and bridges. Dan was selected to join an FHWA research group in 1998 and then traveled to Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and England to study Europe’s research and accomplishments on scour technology.

Following his retirement from IDOT in 2001, Dan became a Senior Hydraulic Engineer in the FHWA Resource Center, deploying new hydraulic technologies for state DOTs and other surface transportation agencies. He chaired multiple committees and panels, while leading nationwide courses on general hydraulic principles and the design of storm drains, culverts and pump stations, with other teaching assignments taking him across the country and to Guam and Saipan. Dan was speaker for several years at Illinois Annual Highway Engineering Conferences at the University of Illinois.

Since his 2016 FHWA retirement, after completing fifty distinguished years in his profession, Dan was on a team of four selected by the National Academy of Science for two team research projects. The first identified needed revisions and updates to a national drainage manual for state highway departments. The second multi-year project, culminating in 2024, rewrote the AASHTO Drainage Manual for highway application, with Dan writing eight of the twenty-four chapters.

Dan and Anne Druffel Green were married May 29, 2004, in a backyard ceremony at home in Springfield with their four children, Gina, Robert, Adam and Carrie, and their grandchildren also serving as their attendants. Dan and Anne now enjoy their six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and their many sporting events. They enjoy travel to Florida, Branson, MO, the Rocky Mountains and Michigan each year and have also enjoyed fly fishing for trout and salmon in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Alaska.