Code Council Members Elect 2016-2017 Board Officers, Directors

International Code Council Members elected Board Officers and Directors during the organization’s Annual Business Meeting at the 2016 Annual Conference and Group B Public Comment Hearings in Kansas City, Mo. Georgia State Fire Marshal M. Dwayne Garriss was elected President of the Code Council Board; Mission Viejo, Calif., Building Official Jay Elbettar was elected Vice President; and Anne Arundel County, Md., Assistant Director of Inspections and Permits William R. Bryant was elected Secretary/Treasurer.

As the Chief of the Georgia Safety Fire Commissioner’s Office, Garriss coordinates activities of the various industries regulated by the Safety Fire Commissioner throughout the state. With an educational background in architecture and after beginning his career as a Mechanical Engineer Project Manager, Garriss relocated to the Office of the Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner in 1988 as a Fire Safety Engineer. Since 1993, until he was appointed as the Georgia State Fire Marshal in 2011, Garriss served in the position of Assistant State Fire Marshal overseeing the Engineering and Inspection Division and the licensing of fire suppression contractors, inspectors and special hazard system technicians.

Garriss has adopted the theme for his presidential term, “Many Voices for One Purpose,” to further unite the various stakeholder groups within the Code Council Family of Companies, and to continue ongoing initiatives such as fostering and mentoring the next generation of code officials.

“At the International Code Council, we are truly ‘Many Voices for One Purpose,’ and that purpose is to advance our mission of providing a safe built environment while serving our member jurisdictions,” Garriss said. “My predecessors launched new and successful initiatives that will greatly benefit the Code Council’s and our industry’s futures. I am not about changing direction, but I am about building momentum and enhancing these goals.”

Garriss is a past chair of the ICC Fire Service Membership Council Governance Committee and has served on two exam development committees, the Codes Correlating Committee, and the Joint Fire Service Review Committee.

Elbettar manages and directs the operation of the Mission Viejo building division through Charles Abbott Associates, including plan check, inspections, counter operations and permit issuance. From 1997-2010, he was the Director of Building and Safety for the city of Newport Beach, Calif.

Bryant holds several Maryland state licenses as well as ICC certifications, including Master Code Professional and Certified Building Official. He also is the Assistant Director of the Anne Arundel County Permit Center.

Code Council Voting Members also elected and re-elected representatives to sectional and at-large positions on the board.

Alan Boswell, Chief Building Official for the city of Tuscaloosa, Ala., was re-elected to represent Section F for a three-year term on the Code Council Board. Section F includes the states of Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and the Caribbean.

Tom Peterson was elected to represent Section C for a three-year term on the Code Council Board. Section C includes the states of Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Mexico. Peterson serves as the Assistant State Building Official with the Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management.

Brenda Thompson and Michael Wich were re-elected to at-large, three-year terms on the Code Council Board. Thompson is the Manager of Building Inspections for the Clark County, Nev., Department of Building and Fire Prevention. Wich is the Chief Building Official for the South Central Planning and Development Commission in Houma, La.

Cindy Davis was elected to an at-large, three-year term on the Code Council Board. Davis currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Division of Building and Fire Regulations for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

Shirley Ellis, Energy Code Specialist with the Energy System Laboratory at the Texas A&M University Experiment Station, was elected to an at-large, two-year term on the board.

Code Council Board Members not standing for election this year are: Immediate Past President Alex Olszowy, Building Inspection Manager, Lexington Fayette Urban County Government, Ky.; William Jeff Bechtold, Senior Building Official, Kenton County, Ky.; James E. Morganson, Code Enforcement Officer, Fire Marshal, Zoning Administrator, Village of Lake Placid/Town of North Elba, N.Y.; M. Donny Phipps, Director of Building Codes and Inspections, Richland County, S.C.; Greg Wheeler, Chief Building Official, Thornton, Colo.; Jim H. Brown, Deputy Building Official, Gillette, Wyo.; Jerry Mallory, Building Official and Fire Marshal, Johnson County, Kan.; Stuart D. Tom, Fire Marshal, Glendale, Calif.; and Richard C. Truitt, Sr., Deputy Code Director, Harford County, Md.

“Members of the Code Council Board of Directors devote their time and expertise to representing the interests of code officials who are working every day to ensure public safety and resiliency in the built environment,” explained Code Council Chief Executive Officer Dominic Sims, CBO. “We thank them for their leadership, and we thank their local jurisdictions for supporting their service to our association.”

About the International Code Council

The International Code Council is a member-focused association. It is dedicated to developing model codes and standards used in the design, build and compliance process to construct safe, sustainable, affordable and resilient structures. Most U.S. communities and many global markets choose the International Codes.