A Citadel cadet in his third year at the iconic, Charleston, SC military college is the latest recipient of the coveted Mac Nigels Scholarship, named for the noteworthy engineering alum who honed his skills in the Lowcountry driven pile industry. Cadet Grady Meeks won the honor and was recognized during the November 14 dinner meeting of the PDCA South Carolina Chapter. Meeks holds a 3.891, has accumulated a number of academic and performance awards, and expects to graduate from the school in Spring 2026. Mac Nigels' son and longtime South Carolina Chapter member Scott Nigels made the presentation of the 18th annual award, named for his late father who is known for his legacy of faith, character, and integrity.

Attending in support of Meeks, a Charleston native who is involved locally in the Citadel ASCE Chapter and Ducks Unlimited organization, were his parents, girlfriend, fellow Cadets, and Dr. Simon Ghanat from the Citadel faculty who assists the Chapter in coordinating this scholarship.

(L-R) Jason Moore, Scott Nigels, Kent Parker

After presenting Meeks with the award, Chapter leadership formally acknowledged and thanked Scott Nigels who recently retired from Palmetto Pile Driving. A former Chapter president and Board member himself, he has greatly contributed to the organization over the years through coordinating the annual scholarship and preparing the yearly Oyster Roast. The Nigels legacy in the pile driving industry continues with Scott's daughter Kelsy Nigels who is the office manager at Palmetto Pile Driving in Charleston. The presentations were part of the busy, fourth quarter meeting of the South Carolina PDCA. The evening began with member networking and socializing, followed by Chapter announcements from president Kent Parker and PDCA announcements from executive director Frank Peters. Members were introduced to scholarship winner Grady Meeks during the buffet style dinner. Following dinner, Louis Nash, PE from Nucor Skyline gave a technical presentation of a case study entitled the Mantoloking Steel Sheet Pile Dune Restoration Project

• Jan. 17 - Oyster Roast (at Palmetto Pile Driving)
• Feb. 13 - quarterly meeting (all quarterly meetings at Town and Country Inn & Suites, Charleston)
• May 8 - quarterly meeting
• Aug. 14 - quarterly meeting
• Nov. 13 - quarterly meeting. (2025 Nigels Scholarship presentation, Chapter leadership election)

Thanks to the annual sponsors of the PDCA South Carolina Chapter which include: Koppers, Nucor Skyline, Jinnings Equipment, Junttan, Gerdau, ICE-International Construction Equipment, Palmetto Pile Driving, Van Smith Concrete and Beacon Transportation.