There's a reason District 6 Pavement Management Engineer Vicente Morales sounds so familiar to his fellow District 6 coworkers, and it's not just because of his 16-year tenure with PennDOT. Morales is a celebrity of sorts since becoming a regular on "The Mike Missanelli Show" on 97.5 FM The Fanatic. And in a way, PennDOT is to blame for his fame.
Vincente Morales, right, poses with radio host Mike Missanelli.
As a pavement management engineer and supervisor, Morales has a lot of responsibilities at PennDOT. He recently made his way to Richmond, Va., to represent District 6 at a peer exchange conference on new composite pavement systems hosted by the Federal Highway Administration. The conference was an exciting opportunity for Morales to build relationships with other transportation departments who have already successfully implemented the "PCC"over "PCC" pavement system.
It's safe to say Morales is passionate about pavement, but that's not his only interest.
He also loves to talk sports and began calling into "The Mike Missanelli Show" on 97.5 FM The Fanatic five years ago as a way to decompress after work on his ride home from the office each day. "Vicente from Ecuador" soon became a regular caller on the show, discussing sports with Mike and partaking in weekly trivia.
In 2016, Morales won the show's general knowledge trivia contest championship. Since then, his voice has become a popular drop for the radio station. Every Wednesday, when a caller answers the right trivia question, Morales' voice can be heard uttering that famous word "Correctamundo!" The drop has made Morales a sort of celebrity among sports radio listeners.
"If I got royalties from every time they played my sound clip, I'd be rich," explained Morales with a laugh.
Back at work, Morales is now coordinating with his department to determine a pilot project for implementing one of the new pavement systems in the Philadelphia region, and is in talks with the FHWA to host a pavement workshop at District 6.
It's hard work like this that helps Morales appreciate his long, sports-filled ride home.
Vincente Morales, front and center, attends training to enhance his position as pavement management engineer in PennDOT's Philadelphia-area District 6.