Builders Association of the Twin Cities Honors its Best at the 2015 Building Industry Gala

ROSEVILLE, MINN (October 23, 2015) — Over 600 Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC) members attended the industry’s biggest event of the year, a red carpet Awards Gala on Thursday, October 22nd. The gala was held at Mystic Lake Casino Event Center with singer/songwriter and Cities 97 DJ, Keri Noble, emceeing the festivities. The Building Industry Gala, or BIG Night, brought together members of the home building and remodeling industry to network, and present awards to its top companies and individuals.

Several other industry awards were presented, including the Robert L. Hanson Service Award for industry service, Spike of the Year for recruitment of new members, and Advocate of the Year for work by a member in the advocacy arena. BATC also bestowed its Legislator of the Year award to State Representative Bob Vogel, Elko New Market, for his support of the housing industry. See these winners below.

The Gala culminated in the presentation of the coveted Builder of the Year, Remodeler of the Year, and Associate of the Year trophies to firms that exemplify the highest standards in business conduct as judged by their peers and customers. See these winners below.

“There is something truly amazing about having our industry all together in one room celebrating the incredible work we all do,” said Chris Contreras, BATC 2015 President of Ryland Homes. “It was a wonderful evening with builders, remodelers, their vendors and trade partners all together toasting the industry.”

For the complete winners list including all REGGIE, ROMA, and TRILLIUM award winners, click here. Continue reading for other BATC awards presented at the BIG Night.

Photos available upon request by contacting Katie Eldred, Katie@batc.org.

NEW Rising Star Award

This New Award honors emerging leaders. Rising Stars at the beginning of their career the exemplify leadership qualities and show dedication to activities which build industry relationships and promote professional development. The Rising Star will be awarded to one or more individuals representing excellence as a builder, a remodeler, or an associate.

2015 Rising Star Award

Andy Michels, Bob Michels Construction, Inc. – North Oaks

NEW MN Green Path Leadership Award

The MN Green Path Leadership Award is given to a recipient that inspires us with innovation, passion, and commitment to building energy efficient and sustainable homes. This award is presented by BATC and Residential Science Resources.

2015 MN Green Path Leadership Award**

JMS Custom Homes, LLC – Hopkins

Builder of the Year Remodeler of the Year and Associate of the Year

The evening culminated with the presentation of BATC’s most coveted honors, the annual Builder, Remodeler and Associate of the Year Awards. The winning companies were selected based upon evaluations (ratings points plus subjective criteria and comments) of trust, communications, loyalty and ethics by the firms which they do business, and in the case of Builder and Remodeler of the Year, by their customers. The subjective criteria and comments from the five companies receiving the highest point scores were reviewed by past award winners to determine the year’s winners, which are:

Robert L. Hanson Industry Service Award

The Robert L. Hanson Service Award was created to recognize the contributions members make to BATC and the homebuilding industry. BATC’s committees and staff nominate members who have gone a step above in supporting the industry during the past year. Nominees provide biographies which are reviewed by BATC’s current president and previous winners of the award who confer to choose the winner.

The 2015 Robert L. Hanson Industry Service Award Winner:

Craig Plekkenpol, Plekkenpol Builders, Inc. – Bloomington

Spike of the Year

The Spike of the Year is awarded to an individual BATC member for recruiting new members to BATC.

2015 BATC Spike of the Year

John Zirbes, Lyman Lumber Co. – Chanhassen

Advocate and Legislator of the Year

BATC is the voice for builders and remodelers, and works to ensure local, regional and state legislators and government officials understand the impacts of regulation and law on the industry’s ability to provide affordable, durable and quality homes for Minnesotans. A healthy residential construction industry is a huge boon to the local economy as well. In fact, according to a study from the National Association of Home Builders, building 1,000 single family homes in the Twin Cities generates over $275 million in local income, over $20 million in taxes and other revenue for local governments, 3,615 local jobs and almost $200 million in wages.

The Advocate of the Year honors an individual BATC member for efforts helping BATC in its advocacy work. BATC’s Legislator of the Year honors one or more state legislators for their support of the housing industry. The winners are selected by BATC’s public policy committee.

2015 BATC Advocate of the Year

Frank Kottschade, North American Realty, Inc. – Rochester

2014 BATC Legislator of the Year

Representative Bob Vogel District 20A – Elko New Market