Winning Days for NAHB Student Chapters in Las Vegas

It was an exciting week for the NAHB Student Chapters at the 2004 International Builders’ Show held in Las Vegas, January 19-22. The festivities for the Student Chapters began on Saturday, January 17 before the show officially opened as the Two Year/Secondary and Four Year Schools Residential Construction Competitions sponsored by Centex Homes, got underway.

For attendees not enduring the live judging of their presentations, KB Home provided a hospitality room with refreshments, easy chairs and a big-screen TV showing movies and NFL playoff-games to help fight off any competition butterflies.

The thrill of the weekend competitions culminated in a standing-room only awards ceremony on Sunday. The event began with one of the evening’s highlights as Jim Sattler, the Home Builders Institute’s (HBI) 2004 Chairman of the Board presented the Distinguished Service Award to Steve Nellis, HBI Trustee and Vice President of Recruiting for Centex Homes. Congratulatory shouts were followed by raucous applause as more than a thousand of NAHB’s youngest members rose to cheer someone they have come to equate with the NAHB Student Chapters and the Residential Construction Competitions.

Connie Edwards, Corporate Co-Chair of NCHI — The Supplier 100 of NAHB presented three NCHI Outstanding Student Chapter Awards.Third place went to Brigham Young University in Rexburg, ID; Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center in New Stanton, PA, placed second; and the $2,000 check was presented to first place Southeast Community College in Milford, NE.

Thomson/Delmar Learning joined the NAHB Student Chapters’ roster of corporate partners last year with its sponsorship of the awards for Outstanding Educators. Alison Weintraub, Acquisitions Editor at Thomson/Delmar Learning the award for the Two Year/Secondary School category to NAHB Student Chapter Advisory Board Chair, Jim Gronski of York County School of Technology. Rick Druckenmiller of Penn College was honored in the Four-Year School category.

Shouts of glee and joyful hugs followed the announcements of the competitions’ winners.Centex Homes’ Bill Faulk and Steve Nellis, announced the winners of the Secondary, Two-Year and Four-Year University competitions.

Bloomington Area Vocational Technical School of Bloomington, IL and Juneau Douglas High School in Juneau, AK won first and second prizes, respectively in the Secondary School category. In the Two Year category Penn College of Williamsport, PA won first place with Brigham Young University–Idaho finishing in second.

First place in the Four Year School category was Michigan State University, taking away the crown from three-year champion and second place finisher Brigham Young University. California Polytechnic State University rounded off top three winners.

Also presented during the lively event were 30 Outstanding Student Awards from BuilderBooks.com. Bruno Pasquanelli of the Lee Evans Scholarship Committee announced the winners of the National Housing Endowment’s Lee Evans Scholarships for 2004-2005. Schools with chapters of more than 100 members were recognized as 100 Plus Club members as were the Silver Club schools participating in the competitions for ten years.

Once the excitement of the ceremony calmed down that evening, and the students enjoyed another class-act reception sponsored by Pulte Homes, it was time for the second round of fun. On Monday, the agenda for most student members contained the Building Careers Job Fair, where sold-out booth space by some of the country’s top companies, together with plasma screens, balloon tents and a crowd of 600 helped ensure a capacity-filled room.

In between the time spent finding their first job in the industry at the Job Fair, the students were able to take time to join the other 104,000 attendees at the 1,640 exhibits and 260 education programs, all the while getting a sense of what the home building industry is all about at NAHB’s largest event the year. [ return to top ]