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Babic promoted to distinguished new position – ‘Retiree’

Communication once consisted of stone tablets and meticulous chiseling. It was a slow process, but then, life was less complicated in that era.

Although Barbara Babic doesn’t recall those days, her workplace relied on typewriters and carbon copies when she joined the legion of ITD workers 26 years ago.

This week, Babic assumes a new ITD title – Retiree – trading a work environment of computers and email for a more sedate lifestyle that includes travel. Today (March 29) is her final day.

As public involvement coordinator for District 1, Babic’s professional touch is evident in some of the region’s most visible transportation projects, including the Sandcreek Byway, the reconstructed Dover Bridge, and GARVEE projects that have transformed U.S. 95.

“Barbara is a pioneer in government media and public relations,” explains District 1 Engineer Damon Allen. “She brought a new level of customer service and professionalism to ITD during critical times. She has been a great friend and has set the bar high for us in the future.”

Babic has been responsible for community outreach and public involvement for the district’s major construction projects and worked successfully with the news media to explain the impact of those projects. She also advised motorists of less monumental projects, such as seal coats, and kept them apprised of highway closures, spring break-up conditions and other transportation-related issues.

Her efforts to inform the public throughout the Sandcreek Byway project helped ITD and contractor URS earn the coveted American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) national award for public involvement in 2012. The $98 million project is the largest single highway construction project in Idaho history, the culmination of planning that dates to the 1950s.

“Barbara has seen it all as a liaison to the northern Idaho news media,” said longtime friend and colleague Scotty Fellom, the D-1 business manager.

Babic earned a communications degree from Loyola College in California and began a radio career as a reporter for KGEM in Nampa. She also served as a lobbyist for the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of International Organizations) before joining the ITD public relations staff at Headquarters in Boise.

She transferred to Coeur d’Alene in 1995 and spent the past 18 years as a communications specialist and then public involvement coordinator.

“Barbara’s work on the many projects in the district’s public involvement process has been invaluable to us, especially in establishing community involvement in all phases of a project, from development through construction,” Allen said.

“It has enabled us to establish and maintain excellent communication with the public and area communities through all phases of a project, fostering public buy-in and allowing the citizens to have a voice in what they want to see in a project.”