Individuals honored for contributions to innovation, mentorship, sustainability, global vision and PMG advancement during 2021

Each year, the International Code Council recognizes peers and colleagues who are a reflection of what the association stands for: dedication to developing model codes and standards used in the design, build and compliance process to construct safe, sustainable, affordable and resilient structures. The Code Council and its Membership Councils honored several outstanding individuals and organizations for their accomplishments and contributions to building safety and resiliency in their communities during the 2021 Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Innovation in Code Administration Award — City of Modesto, California

The Innovation in Code Administration Award (established in 2016) recognizes fire and building departments for innovation in the delivery of code administration services to their communities. Jointly sponsored by the International Code Council Government Relations Department, the ICC Fire Service Membership Council and the ICC Building Membership Council, the award recognizes fire and building departments for new and innovative approaches to delivering code administration services as part of their overall approach to community risk reduction. The city of Modesto, California, was presented with this year’s award for their “Plan Check with Us” program.

To address natural inefficiencies in permitting, the city’s Development Review Team implemented its new “Plan Check with Us” program, which works by electronically centralizing plans so that the applicant’s team and city departments are working on the same version of the plans and can see all comments, status and issues in real-time. An invitation is sent to the applicant’s team to “Plan Check with Us” in which they can see comments placed directly on their plans in real-time from all departments. This helps to create a transparent permit process and removes much of the mystery from the process, thus reducing frustration and perceived delays.

PMG Leadership Award — Daniel Rademacher

Given to an individual or organization for exceptional service to the plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas and swimming pool/spa (PMG) industry, the PMG Leadership Award recognizes contributions to the growth and enhancement of PMG codes and standards, advocacy in state and local code adoptions, publication of PMG technical articles or research papers, advancement of PMG knowledge through training and education, extensive Code Council committee or council service, development of innovative PMG products and services, or notable advancement of the PMG industry. This year’s recipient of the 2021 PMG Leadership Award is Daniel Rademacher, program manager of the Viega Trades Education Network, who was honored during the PMG Membership Council meeting on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, for his commitment to helping with the advancement of PMG knowledge by providing training and education opportunities for plumbing professionals around the globe.

As program manager for the Viega Trades Education Network, Rademacher has served as an instructor for the plumbing code curriculum at the United Association’s Instructor Training Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Seen as the “go-to guy” for best-in-class, train-the-trainer sessions, his work connects more than 2,000 instructors from all over the U.S. and Canada. He has also been instrumental in getting grants through the Viega Trades Education Network for training centers around the world.

Recently, Rademacher was awarded a scholarship from the World Plumbing Council to research plumbing methods overseas and he is sharing his knowledge by volunteering to teach a plumbing seminar for the Rwanda Plumbers Association. His passion for providing relevant and engaging learning opportunities so that plumbing professionals can achieve their career goals — no matter where they are located — is unmatched.

National Leadership in Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Awards — Ana Salguiero and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network

The National Leadership in Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the growth and enhancement of codes or public policy embracing the principles of the Code Council Sustainability Membership Council. The award honor states, cities, towns and individuals who go above and beyond to raise compliance with building energy codes—and by doing so, help unlock billions in savings and improve the efficiency of America’s new and existing buildings and homes using cost-effective, practical, and innovative strategies. This year’s recipients of the 2021 National Leadership in Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Awards are Ana Salguiero, building official for Miami Beach, Florida, and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network.

Throughout her tenure, Salgueiro has supported the development and implementation of several policies and programs that improved citywide sustainability. In particular, she has been instrumental in the successful implementation of the city’s Sustainability and Resiliency Ordinance, which requires that all new construction over 7,000 square feet in Miami Beach be LEED Gold or Living Building Challenge certified. It will help to create a new generation of more resilient and sustainable buildings, which will improve energy efficiency, water conservation, recycling of materials and renewable energy in Miami Beach. The ordinance received the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association’s Award for Excellence in the Best Practices Category.

The Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) is a leading network organization that effectively connects local government practitioners to accelerate urban sustainability in U.S. and Canadian communities. Through peer exchange and collaboration between local governments, USDN has catalyzed the creation and implementation of urban sustainability solutions amongst sustainability leaders. As part of the resources provided by USDN, members learn about the importance of model codes to help advance their goals of reducing greenhouse emissions and mitigating the effects of a changing climate. About 65 percent of USDN’s 220 U.S. members have Code Council memberships and the USDN provided several meeting opportunities on code updates and the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) appendixes. Almost all of the USDN jurisdictions that are Code Council members participated in the 2021 IECC process and 10 USDN members volunteered to serve on the IECC Standards Committees and the new Energy and Carbon Advisory Council.

ICC Global Membership Award — Abdul Latif Helaly

The ICC Global Membership Award recognizes distinguished service to the Code Council’s global mission and vision. This year’s recipient of the 2021 ICC Global Membership Award is Engineer Abdul Latif Helaly, project director of the Urban Resilience Project: RAJUK part.

Helaly was chosen by the Code Council Global Membership Council to receive the award in recognition of his leadership in the Urban Resilience Project: RAJUK Part, which began in October 2018. His dedication to building safety and ability to skillfully manage and balance the needs of a wide group of stakeholders has benefitted all citizens of Dhaka. This work was particularly difficult during the ongoing pandemic, and his perseverance throughout is worthy of recognition. Helaly’s work supports and strengthens the Code Council’s global building safety mission and vision.

“I have the honor of presenting the 2021 ICC Global Award to a deserving individual who is a champion for resilience in a very challenging environment,” said Lynn Balfour, chair of the Global Membership Council Governing Committee, as she presented the award virtually during the Global Connections Day event on Tuesday, October 12, 2021. “Engineer Helaly has shown determination, creativity and commitment in his tireless efforts to implement the multiple projects that interweave to improve resilience in Bangladesh. In addition to successfully managing the Urban Resilience Project since 2019, Engineer Helaly has done an excellent job moving the project forward during the pandemic despite most international contractors not being able to work in person with stakeholders in Bangladesh. He has convened multiple online stakeholder workshops and pivoted in a very professional way to move existing projects forward and kick off new projects. He has also skillfully managed and balanced the needs of stakeholders while remaining focused on improving building safety for the benefit of all citizens of Dhaka. I am pleased to present Engineer Helaly with this award on behalf of the Global Membership Council. Congratulations and thank you for the work that you continue to do to support the strong building codes to foster resilience.”

Engineer Helaly joined remotely from Dhaka, Bangladesh, to receive the award. “I would like to thank you all from the core of my heart for awarding me this global honor. I am so glad that you count me suitable for this award. This kind of honor was once my dream but today it’s a reality. This award is very important for me and my team and in all forthcoming projects of similar technology, we want to work with the International Code Council. I will continue working relentlessly with the ICC team to make Bangladesh a structurally resilient country. Thank you all once again for this award and encouragement.”

Trailblazer Award — Frederick Herzberger

The ICC Trailblazer Award, established this year, seeks to inspire the Code Council membership to reach out and serve as mentors to guide others in their code-related careers, especially those who are relatively new to the profession. Based on the nominations sent in by Code Council members and chapters, the Trailblazer Award will annually recognize an outstanding example of a recent mentor-mentee relationship. This year’s Trailblazer Award is presented posthumously to Frederick “Rick” Herzberger, chief building official for the city of McKinney in Texas, who passed away unexpectedly on May 1, 2021, from a sudden stroke.

Known as a code professional who continuously helped “blaze a trail” for the next generation of building safety professionals, it is fitting that Herzberger is the inaugural recipient of this award. A leader in his local community, he welcomed the opportunity to mentor others and actively supported his team of building inspectors in McKinney. He regularly went out of his way to make sure that his team had the resources they needed to achieve their professional goals. Truth be told, he was generous with his time and helpful to individuals outside of his department as well, often taking time to personally respond to requests for professional advice.

Herzberger worked tirelessly in service of others and often proactively poured over codebooks, looking for ways to help residents and local businesses. He strongly supported continuous growth for his team and made it known that McKinney would serve as the gold standard for the profession. To that end, Herzberger set big goals for the city of McKinney, lobbying for and successfully achieving International Accreditation Service accreditation and making McKinney just the third city in the state to receive this designation. And with this IAS accreditation, he left behind a better, more professional and dedicated public workplace than the one he found. It’s now part of Herzberger’s legacy.

“Those that knew him described him as a beloved leader, coach, mentor, friend and, of course, trailblazer,” said ICC Awards Committee Chair Shirley Ellis in presenting the award. “He is richly deserving of this award and we remember him at this time with love and respect.”

Dana Stillwell, project expediter with the city of McKinney, and Jeff Harris, chief plans examiner with the city of McKinney, accepted the inaugural award on behalf of Herzberger. “Rick was not only a true student of the code, but a great mentor, teacher, colleague and friend. He loved learning and he loved teaching about the code,” said Stillwell. “He made every person that he came into contact with feel valued. He was very invested in taking care of his family, personal and professional. In McKinney, our values are ‘Rise, Respect, Integrity, Service and Excellence’ and Rick epitomized those values every single day. We really miss him. There will never be another Rick Herzberger.

The Emerging Leaders Membership Council (ELMC) hopes that its new, annual Trailblazer Award will promote the kinds of mentorships that are needed to create success stories for new generations of code officials. “The Trailblazer Award was established to recognize inspiring examples of successful mentor relationships among veteran code officials and young careerists finding their paths in the built environment,” Andre Jaen, chair of the ELMC Governing Committee, said. “The Emerging Leaders Membership Council’s Governing Committee created this award to promote more veteran code officials to reach out and shape the next generation of code officials.”