Students Turn Out in Record Numbers for Builders’ Show

Coach Dr. Dave Hatfield (far right) and team members from Middle Tennessee State University accept their first place awards in the four-year division.  Photo by Oscar Einzig.

NAHB’s student members once again broke their attendance record at the International Builders’ Show (IBS) with more than 2,000 students in Orlando taking part in the Residential Construction Competitions, Student Chapters Award Ceremony, Building Careers Job Fair and other activities.

As always, the highlight of the NAHB Student Chapters' schedule was the Centex Homes-sponsored Residential Construction Competitions, in which students from the participating schools presented to the judges how their six-person teams had taken a large-scale housing construction project from groundbreaking to completion.

Fifty-one teams competed this year from 34 four-year universities, 11 two-year colleges and seven high schools/technical schools.

After three days of presentations, the winners were announced on Friday, Feb. 9 at the Student Chapters Award Ceremony:

• Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) dethroned two-time defending champion Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo to take home first place. MTSU was followed closely in the standings by Colorado State University in second place and Brigham Young University in third.
  
  
• In the two-year division, perennial winner Brigham Young University – Idaho brought two separate teams to the competition and they placed first and second, respectively. BYU-Idaho (Snake River) won the first-place trophy, while BYU-Idaho (Gallant) placed second. Coming in third was last year’s second-place team, Pennsylvania College of Technology.
  
  
• The secondary division boasted its largest participation ever and for the first time included a rookie of the year award. Santa Rita High School in Tucson, Ariz. received that prize for its first-time efforts, while Cumberland Perry Area Vocational Technical School (AVTS) won first place and Bloomington Area Vocational Center came in second.

Winning teams took home the coveted NAHB Student Chapters divisional trophy and individual plaques, along with high-tech calculators donated by Calculated Industries and duffel bags from Sage Timberline.

Rebuilding their student chapter after Hurricane Katrina forced many students to relocate, Delgado Community College earned third place in the Outstanding Student Chapter category.  Photo by Oscar Einzig.

Outstanding Leadership, Chapters, Faculty and Students

Although the competitions were the main event, several other prominent awards were given out at the ceremony:

• The National Housing Endowment received the NAHB Student Chapters Distinguished Service Award for its continuous support of the program. Ken Klein, a board member for the endowment, accepted the award on their behalf.
  
  
• Klein also acknowledged students who received National Housing Endowment scholarship awards from Centex Homes, Lee S. and Virginia Evans, Herman J. Smith, Dale and Bea Steward, the NAHB Women’s Council and the NAHB Past President’s Matching Funds Program.
  
  
• Sponsored by NCHI — The Supplier 100 of NAHB, the top Outstanding Student Chapter awards again went to University of Nebraska-Lincoln in first place, Southeast Community College and Texas A&M University in a tie for second and Delgado Community College, which completely rebuilt its chapter after Hurricane Katrina, in third.
  
  
• This year’s Outstanding Educators were divided into four-year and two-year categories and went to Dr. Jay P. Christofferson of Brigham Young University and Martha Garcia-Saenz of Purdue University North Central, respectively.
  
  
• Christine Charlip, editor of Builderbooks.com, presented $50 gift cards to 32 outstanding students who were nominated from each NAHB Student Chapter.

For more information on NAHB Student Chapters, e-mail Page Browning at HBI, or call her at 800-795-7955 x8918.

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