ICC Midwest Region V Honored With Code Council’s 2024 Regions Spotlight Award

Outstanding teamwork within the International Code Council’s Midwest Region V earned them the 2024 Regions Spotlight Award, presented during the Code Council’s 2024 Annual Conference in Long Beach, Calif.

The Code Council’s Regions Spotlight Award is bestowed upon a regional chapter that best demonstrates strong cooperation among the Chapters that make up the region, advancement of professionalism among its members, strong community service and growth of membership within the region on its contributing chapters.

ICC Midwest Region V currently serves four states and over 20 member chapters across Indiana (Indiana Association of Building Officials), Kentucky (Code Administrators Association of Kentucky), Michigan (Code Officials Conference of Michigan) and Ohio (Ohio Building Officials Association).

Mentoring Next-Gen Professionals

“The main goal for Midwest Region V is to reach out to the next generation of code officials and mentor our replacements as code professionals in the four-state area,” said Midwest Region V President Jeffrey Rettberg, CBO, RBO, BI & PI, building commissioner, City of Barberton, Ohio.

Rettberg said that former President Renee Snodgrass (2023-2024) worked with Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio and the Code Council to pilot a program to help bring individuals into the code enforcement industry. Midwest Region V hopes to further expand this program in 2025 to other colleges in several states.

“If I had to describe what drives Midwest Region V and me in this building safety environment, it is trying to leave a legacy for the future to build on,” said Rettberg. “All of us would like to leave this industry in better shape than when it was founded decades ago and continue to help in code adoption in our respective states.”

Rettberg is also a strong believer in paying it forward.

“Watching young talent like (Midwest Region V Secretary) Kota Wharton (MCP, CBO, CFM, Building Plans Examiner at City of Grove City, Ohio), evolve in such a short period of time has been a thrill,” said Rettberg. “In this young man I see an emerging leader.”

Chapter Growth and Unifying Licensing

ICC Midwest Region V has seen a 25 percent increase in membership, reflecting its strong commitment to growing its community. It added another chapter in Ohio last year, the Ohio Association of Plumbing Inspectors (OAPI).

“Efforts to establish the new OAPI chapter were underway/licensed by the Division of Industrial Compliance (DIC), which included health department inspectors, city and county inspectors,” said Rettberg. “The building, mechanical and electrical inspectors were licensed by the Ohio Board of Building Standards (BBS).”

But they spotted an unnecessary licensing overlap.

Rettberg explained that as Code Council plumbing tests became the standard for more plumbing inspectors in Ohio, more plumbing inspectors were licensed by BBS. With some inspectors paying for licenses in both DIC and BBS, it created a need for one licensing agency.

“BBS had most of the inspectors, while DIC was locked in statue,” said Rettberg. “A bill needed to go through the house and the senate to repeal this law. I had just completed my work as treasurer for OBOA, so I had time to lobby my local representative and many other representatives over the course of a year.”

“Many letters and emails transpired between the legislator and me,” continued Rettberg. “James Richardson wrote a letter in support of the change, which ultimately helped this long effort to unify licensing in Ohio. James later became OAPI president shortly after the bill went through and saw the future benefit that OAPI would have as a Code Council chapter which was voted into existence.”

ICC Midwest Region V plans to further expand with new chapters in Michigan.

Boosting Building Safety Month

ICC Midwest Region V plays a vital role in promoting the Code Council’s Building Safety Month campaign every May, including signing proclamations and educating elementary students on the importance of building safety.

“During this first year as president, I was surprised by the state of Kentucky’s efforts during my visit at the Code Administrators Association of Kentucky,” said Rettberg. “Each year, this state has the most Building Safety Month proclamations throughout the country. This does not include the visits to the schools by Ron Hampton and Bob Carpenter promoting Building Safety Month, which inspired me to visit Barberton High School with my fire official Dave Polacek.”

Rettberg also notes the work by the Code Officials Conference of Michigan to visit the large building retailers.

“Going forward, I hope Indiana and Ohio can expand this effort, too,” said Rettberg. “This will help our departments to have a better public view.”

OBOA Foundation for Education

The Ohio Building Official Association established the OBOA Foundation in 2020 as a 501(c)(3) to promote education within the building industry. The Foundation has had many fundraising activities including an annual golf outing.

“Without the effort of the Indiana Association of Building Officials, the region would have run out of funds,” said Rettberg. “IABO provided an educational seminar for the region through the Code Council, which has sustained us financially this year.”

“I believe in the Code Council’s vision and would like to join the global effort for safe and sustainable buildings,” said Rettberg. “It has been a privilege to serve the membership at the local, state and regional levels.”

To learn more about the Code Council’s annual awards, click here.