Mar 03, 2009

Associated Builders and Contractors

Spokane's James Elmer, founder and president of James W. Elmer Construction Co., last week was sworn in as national chairman-elect for the Associated Builders and Contractors. Elmer previously served as ABC's Region 1 vice chairman, representing members and chapters in 11 western states. He has been involved with the association since 1986. He holds a bachelor's degree in construction management from Washington State University.

Central Washington University

Three of the four Central Washington University construction management teams recently won awards at the Associated Schools of Construction Student Competition 2009 in Reno, Nev. The school's commercial team took first place and is competing this week in San Diego at the National Student Championship. Its heavy-civil and multifamily teams took second place in their divisions. The commercial team is coached by Bill Bender, who chairs the school's Industrial and Engineering Technology Department. It is made up of David Kortekaas of Marysville, Michael Crook of Spanaway, Garrett Gibson of Gig Harbor, Jake Wells of Pendleton, Ore., Michael Yellam of Burien, David Igelmund of Medina and alternate Ian Knowles of Graham. The judges honored CWU student Stacy Goetz as the most outstanding student for the multifamily presentation. CWU competes in Region 7, which includes 12 schools.

Synergy Construction

Synergy Construction of Woodinville won an Award of Merit from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials for its work on the Jim Wiley Community Center in the Greenbridge development in Seattle's White Center. The King County Housing Authority-owned project also was nominated for a national Award of Excellence for its design. Tonkin Hoyne Architecture & Urban Design of Seattle is the architect. NAHRO is a housing and community development advocate for adequate and affordable housing.

Swinerton Inc.

San Francisco-based Swinerton Inc. surpassed its goal of staffing 250 LEED Accredited Professionals. In 2007, the general contractor started a program to get 250 employees certified. It now has more than 264 LEED AP staffers, more than 20 percent of its workforce, ranging from superintendents to senior executives. Swinerton operates an office in Bellevue under the name Swinerton Builders.

MacKay & Sposito

Chris Sherby was promoted to survey manager at MacKay & Sposito’s corporate office in Vancouver. Sherby holds a bachelor’s degree in geomatics from the Oregon Institute of Technology. He has nine years of land surveying experience, is a member of the Land Surveyor’s Association of Washington and sits on the Clark College Field Survey Advisory Committee. M&S offers civil engineering, land and construction surveying, land-use planning, landscape architecture and construction management services.

Feb 24, 2009

PCA Northwest

The Northwest Cement Producers Group, a multi-state trade association based in Washington, merged into the national Portland Cement Association. John V. Arroyo of Gig Harbor has been executive director of the Northwest Cement Producers Group since its inception in 1994. Arroyo is serving a similar role for PCA Northwest, which is a regional office covering Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

Canyon Creek Cabinet Co.

Monroe's Canyon Creek Cabinet Co. won a Better Workplace Award for safety from the Association of Washington Business. The company lowered its accident rate by 52 percent for the last six months of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007.

Materials Testing & Consulting

The Olympia laboratory of Materials Testing & Consulting has been approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform tests and inspections on construction projects under its oversight. MTC is now one of three validated laboratories in Western Washington to perform the combination of aggregate, bituminous, concrete, grout, masonry, mortar and soil tests for corps projects. The Seattle District of the corps has about $1 billion in projects planned over the next three years, according to MTC co-owner Curtis Shear. MTC also has offices in Bellingham and Burlington.