PROVIDENCE, RI-In a ceremony at Mahr Federal headquarters in Providence, RI, long-time Mahr Federal employee Frederick G. Parsons was honored by The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) with the Patrick Higgins Medal. This recognition is for outstanding dedication and effectiveness in developing and promoting a broad range of standards in dimensional metrology, surface metrology and engineering specifications.

The Patrick Higgins Medal was established in 2007 in remembrance of Patrick Higgins, a past vice president of the Standardization department for ASME. The award recognizes consensus building leadership in working to align national and international standards development in these areas.

Fred Parsons provided many years of service to Mahr Federal, starting as an employee in 1967 when the company was named Federal Products. He served in the product development area until 1998, only taking a brief hiatus to work for a partnering company. From 1998-2008, Parsons served as a part-time consultant for Mahr, and now works as an independent consultant through F.G. Parsons in Cranston, RI.

An ASME member, Parsons currently serves on the Society's Board on Standardization and Testing, and has served on many committees throughout the years. He was the chair of the ASME US TAG from 1996 to 2011, and contributed towards the coordination of geometric tolerance issues with ISO TC-216. Parsons also often served as the U.S. Head of Delegation and spoke for the US at the plenary session. In 1986, he was one of the founders of the American Society for Precision Engineering.