The Official Online Weekly Newspaper of NAHB
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The NAHB Education group presented 11 housing industry professionals with 2010 Designee of the Year honors at the 2011 NAHB International Builders’ Show in Orlando last month for their outstanding service in elevating the image of NAHB designations.
“We feel honored to be able to recognize outstanding designees,” said Robert Bell, CAPS, CGR, of Bell’s Remodeling in Duluth, Minn., and chairman of the NAHB Education Committee. “In the midst of one of the most challenging housing markets of our time, they go far beyond their job descriptions to reach out to their communities, mentor their colleagues and make their careers and companies shining examples of what our industry can achieve.”
NAHB Education offers professional designation programs on topics ranging from green building and remodeling to sales and marketing and affordable housing to help those in the housing industry advance their professionalism and business knowledge.
Certified Active Adult Specialist in Housing (CAASH) of the Year
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Jane Marie O’Connor, CAASH, MIRM, CAPS, CMP, is the principal of 55 Plus, LLC, a coaching, consulting, training and speaking firm based in Charlemont, Mass.
A 50+ Housing Council trustee, O’Connor served as the 2010 chair of the council’s education committee, is on the board of the Builders Association of Greater Boston and was also a founding member of the 50+ New England Housing Council. O’Connor was the lead author for the NAHB Education course, “Selling to the Active Adult.” She also lent her expertise to the development of the courses, “Trends and Research Methods to Define the Active Adult Lifestyle” and “Marketing to the Active Adult.”
Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) of the Year
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Carolyn Sithong, CAPS, is the founder and owner of Home for Life Consulting & Design in Orlando, which collaborates with architects and designers who assist in the home renovation or adaptation process.
Sithong, a licensed occupational therapist, works in a level-one trauma hospital helping families and patients plan for post-injury transitions back to the home. In addition to speaking on occupational therapy topics at conferences throughout Florida, Sithong has also developed home safety programs for organizations such as Rebuilding Together Orlando. She has promoted the CAPS designation in numerous public service events and educational seminars for both consumers and industry professionals.
Certified Graduate Associate (CGA) of the Year
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Beverly Koehn, CGA, GMB, CGR, MIRM, CMP, CSP, CAPS, is the president and owner of Beverly Koehn & Associates, a San Antonio-based consulting firm.
In addition to her work as an instructor and content developer for multiple NAHB Education courses, Koehn has been tireless in her efforts to promote NAHB designations. She publicizes her own designations at her many public speaking engagements and fields calls and e-mails from members and other professionals interesting in earning the designations. Koehn also serves on the NAHB Education Committee and is a former chair of the Joint Venture Curriculum Development subcommittee.
Certified Graduate Builder (CGB) of the Year
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Todd Usher, CAPS, CGB, CGP, GMB, is the president of Addison Homes in Greer, S.C.
As the 2008 president of the Home Builders Association of Greenville, Usher mentored and encouraged fellow NAHB members to pursue designations. He also worked with the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability at Furman University, advising students on energy conservancy, and with local builders and student volunteers with Greenville’s Habitat for Humanity group. Usher promotes NAHB designations in all of his professional capacities and makes education a priority at his company.
Certified Green Professional (CGP) of the Year
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Drew Smith, CGP, is president of Two Trails, Inc., a Sarasota, Fla.-based green building consulting firm.
Smith works to promote NAHB and NAHBGreen standards to all Florida HBAs and spearheaded the development of the Tampa, Sarasota, Manatee, Lakeland, Melbourne and Venice HBA green building councils. He was one of the first green consultants to certify a home to the National Green Building Standard.
Certified Graduate Remodeler (CGR) of the Year
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Joseph Irons, CAPS, CGB, CGR, GMB, is the principal of Irons Brothers Construction in Shoreline, Wash.
Irons considers it his mission to promote professionalism in the building and remodeling industry and to encourage consumers to hire designees. He has encouraged his staff members to earn NAHB designations and has worked to promote designations at student career fairs and builder/remodeler industry events. He has also made significant efforts to educate the public on the importance of hiring professional remodelers with designations, speaking at chamber of commerce meetings and home shows. Irons is the 2011 chair of the remodelers council of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties and the 2011 chair of the Building Industry Association of Washington Remodelers Council.
Graduate Master Builder (GMB) of the Year
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Steve Zbranek, CGB, CGP, GMB, is a co-owner of Zbranek & Holt Custom Homes in San Antonio.
Zbranek considers his GMB designation, and those of his business partner and four other associates, his company’s most effective marketing. He promotes the designations on the company website, business cards and in presentations to clients. Zbranek pens articles for several local industry publications and includes his designation information in his byline and biography. In 2009, Zbranek won the Texas State Custom Builder of the Year, the Austin Custom Builder of the Year and the Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year awards. He has said that he attributes the honors to his NAHB designations.
Graduate Master Remodeler (GMR) of the Year
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Scott Sevon, CAPS, CGB, CGP, CGR, GMR, is a partner at Men at Work Chicago, LLC and the owner of Sevvonco Custom Home Builders.
Sevon promotes his GMR and other designations to consumers through presentations and seminars and lists it prominently on his company’s websites, blogs, Facebook pages and business cards. He also promotes his multiple designations and their benefits to new members through his leadership positions at the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago Builders and is proud to have helped “energize” many new members to pursue designations.
Housing Credit Certified Professional (HCCP) of the Year
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Christine Petty, HCCP, is the executive manager of the LEDIC Management Group in Atlanta.
Petty has been a champion of the value of education in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and of the HCCP designation. She is known for her success as an “ambassador” to new employees on LIHTC properties and for her ability to accurately and succinctly explain tax credit requirements from the management perspective to owners, partners, residents and fellow employees.
Master Certified Sales Professional (Master CSP) of the Year
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Tammie Smoot, CAPS, CGP, CMP, CSP, MCSP, MIRM, is a regional sales manager at Builders Digital Experience (BDX), a digital marketing firm offering services to the new home industry.
Smoot serves on the National Sales and Marketing Council’s (NSMC) board of trustees and is the immediate past chair of the Professional Women in Building Council (PWB). She continually encourages colleagues to learn all they can about the building industry and is a sought-after mentor for those working on their Institute of Residential Marketing (IRM) designations. She has worked to recruit new members and designees at the local and national levels and encourages others to serve on committees.
Master in Residential Marketing (MIRM) of the Year
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Bonnie Alfriend, CMP, MIRM, is the owner of Alfriend & Associates in Pebble Beach, Calif.
Alfriend is an instructor of and contributor to all of the IRM courses. A past president of the IRM, Alfriend has served on every IRM committee and has been an active committee member for more than 25 years. She continually volunteers her expertise on course revisions and promotes IRM programs at speaking engagements industry-wide. In addition to her work with the MIRM-Aid designation assistance program, Alfriend has mentored more than a dozen participants through the MIRM process. She was also a recipient of the NAHB/NSMC Trina Ripley Excellence in Education and Bill Molster awards.
Each designee honored this year was selected by the designation’s respective board of governors based on their successful promotion of their professional designation to consumers and NAHB members through innovative techniques, elevating the image of the designation in their communities through charitable work or community projects and by participating in mentoring activities focused on helping others start or complete a professional designation.
For more information about NAHB Education’s Designee of the Year Program, call NAHB’s Professional Designation Help Line at 800-368-5242 x8154.