RCI members celebrated their peers’ outstanding professional career and volunteer efforts on behalf of the association over the past year at the Annual Awards Luncheon on March 19 in the California Ballroom of the Anaheim Hilton. David Hawn served as emcee before the packed crowd. He recognized Art Sark for attending all 32 of RCI’s conventions.
The late Don Bush Sr. was honored with a tribute that will be a part of RCI’s Annual Awards Luncheon from now on. Bush, who died December 28, 2016, at the age of 78, was the longtime chair of the RRC Exam Development Subcommittee, having earned the very first Registered Roof Consultant designation in 1988. He served as president of the association in 1991 and was named a member of the Jury of Fellows in 1992. Current RRC Exam Development Subcommittee Chair John Gimple noted that “RCI would like to commemorate the time, effort, and heart that Don Bush, Sr. devoted to the development and continual updating of the RRC exam; this registration has become the backbone of the widely recognized and highly respected RCI Registration Program repertoire.”
Earning top honors among awardees was Mike Blanchette, who received only the fourth-ever RCI Lifetime Achievement Award. Mike was feted for a “lifetime of service and contributions to the success of RCI.” Blanchette, in a letter of thanks afterwards, expressed, “Truth be told, I just always wanted to give something back to anyone and everyone in our organization. My career as a consultant has been extremely rewarding…” Blanchette is a past president of RCI and longtime treasurer of the RCI Foundation.
Entry to the prestigious Jury of Fellows is a goal many contributing volunteers to RCI may desire. This year, the Fellows awarded this honor to outgoing President Robért Hinojosa and longtime RCI educator Jerry Teitsma. Both men can now add “RCIF” to their long list of accomplished career designations.
Another major award given on behalf of the Fellows was the William C. Correll Award, for “people who have demonstrated a high degree of professionalism, leadership, ethics, unselfish dedication, or significant contribution to the growth and recognition of RCI, Inc.” The award was granted to Past President Albert Duwyn, current chair of the RCI Foundation Canada Board of Directors.
The Herbert Busching Award is occasionally presented by the Fellows. The award is granted to “people who have contributed to the research, standards, and education of the roofing, waterproofing, and/or exterior wall industries.” RCI Senior Director of Technical Services Wanda Edwards, PE, was granted the award.
The Richard Horowitz Award is granted each year for the best technical article published in RCI Interface the previous year. The award is chosen by a committee chaired by Russ Raymond, who this year presented the award to Pat Conway for his article, “Masonry Movement and Joint Failures,” in the July 2016 issue of RCI Interface.
A major coveted award given each year by the president is the Michael DeFrancesco Volunteer of the Year Award. This year, the award was granted to Jonathan Cannon for his outstanding committee involvement and contribution. Cannon is chair of the Chapter Development Committee, and as such serves as emcee of the annual Leadership Conference. He was also on the Emerging Professionals Committee and the Advocacy Committee.
The Emerging Professionals Award is given to a professional who has shown exceptional leadership, professionalism, and/or industry contribution at an early stage in his or her career in the field of roofing, waterproofing, and exterior wall systems. This year, Kenrick Hartman, with Wiss Janney Elstner Associates, was granted the award. Hartman earned his RRC, RWC, REWC, and RBEC—all in the past year.
Recognized as “Outstanding Educators” for RCI were several individuals who have taught RCI-developed classes at both a chapter and national level. They have taught over 60 hours of lectures each and maintained a 4.0 out of 5.0 on their evaluations. They are: Brian Gardiner, D. Keith Davis, Raymond Ramos, Joshua Summers, and Patrick Downey.
Winners of the Document Competition were announced by committee Chair Chris Giffin. Profiles of the winning projects will be highlighted in the July issue of RCI Interface. The winners were:
Recipients of the Outstanding RCI Affiliated Chapter Awards, announced by Secretary/Treasurer Bob Card, were as follows:
Robert Hinojosa recognized three individuals as Outstanding Volunteers over the course of his presidency. The following received certificates of appreciation:
Certificates of Appreciation were granted to the following committee and task force contributors at the end of their terms:
Outgoing region directors were given a round of applause and plaques for all of their work over the past several years. They were:
In addition, new RRCs, RROs, REWCs, REWOs, and BECs were recognized and announced by their respective registration exam development chairs: John Gimple, Paul Buccellato, Stephen Hentz, Ray Wetherholt, and Robért Hinojosa (for the BECs). Groups shots and lists of those individuals have been published on the RCI Newsfeed.
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