Looking for help with ideas for a retirement cake for the director of the Houston District of the Texas Department of Transportation. I work for a major highway contractor and our biggest contracts are in this district, among them several contracts totaling over a billion dollars to rebuild a large section of I-10 in Houston. Cake is for next Thursday, 8-14-08. His secretary said they call him the Billion Dollar Man because he manages a budget in excess of a billion dollars a year. During his 40 year career with the department he has been recognized with numerous awards including a landscape enhancement project called the Green Ribbon Project. The district also has one of the largest freeway traffic management systems in the country, they call it TranStar. There are cams and electronic message signs on all the major freeways. My incohesive thoughts include an outline of the district, which is comprised of 6 counties, maybe in fondant on the top of the cake, some kind of glittery sign or maybe just a flat plaque that says Billion Dollar Man, a green ribbon around the base of the cake, and a few photos of notable construction projects around the sides, maybe a TranStar type sign that says Happy Retirement or Retirement Up Ahead. He doesn't seem to have big plans after retirement except a trip to Colorado and a date with the weeds in the garden. I could make a few weeds with his name on them. His secretary is going to call his wife to see what kind of ideas she has. Oh, and he also likes cowboy songs.

I have no concrete plans on the shape or structure of this cake so feel free to throw out any wild ideas that pop in your head. It could be a 2 tier with the top having a TxDOT theme and the base cake having a retirement theme, or vice versa. Thanks for any input!

I'm thinking of a piece of I'10 across the top of your cake, with construction, maybe a bulldozer. YOu can have construction signs and billboards that say all of the Messages, Like Billion Dollar Man..... and the major them is ROAD TO RETIREMENT.

If you're good with figures, A figure of him could be being pushed into retirement by a Bull dozer.

Have fun with it!

Dee in AZ