2014 Santa Barbara Contractors Awards Dinner - Eyman Parker Insurance is a Title Sponsor

Annual awards recognize association members for their work in a variety of fields, niches and crafts

The Santa Barbara Contractors Association honored its finest at the 2014 Construction Awards Dinner on Monday night at Fess Parker's DoubleTree Resortin Santa Barbara. Utt Construction Inc.garnered the Builder of the Year Award, with Rodney Utt accepting the recognition plaque on stage.

“Thank you to the judges and to my peers,” Utt said. “This business is so much fun. What a great honor.”

The Builder of the Year Award program recognizes exceptional performance in various categories in an effort to promote excellence in construction. Nearly 300 area construction professionals, suppliers and vendors joined together for the festive evening, which included a social hour, a sit-down dinner and the awards program. Eyman-Parker Insurance Brokers and Hayward Lumber & Design Centerwere recognized at the evening’s Title Sponsors.

Gold sponsors included Allen Construction, HiFi Club, Paolo’s Tile Company, Santa Barbara Window Forensics and Tileco. Silver sponsors were Beneflex Insurance Services, Sierra Pacific Windows and the State Farm Insurance Fund.

Winning projects were judged on the basis of overall quality of workmanship, uniqueness, difficulty of project, green building practices and aesthetics, epitomizing SBCA’s mission statement: “Construction professionals shaping, serving and educating our community with integrity, quality and environmental balance.”

The well-qualified committee of judges included Todd Buynak of Seguro Construction, Seth Hammond of Specialty Crane & Rigging, Melanie Hunter of Stock Design Center, William Wolf of Pacific Architects Inc., interior designer Kristen Spann of The Kitchen & Bath Studio, Stephen Fontenot of Wells Fargo Bank and George Estrella, the City of Santa Barbara’s chief building official.

Estrella was also honored for his 17 years with the city. It was estimated that he had issued more than 49,000 building permits during his tenure.

Board members participating included president Jack Martin, David James, William Mace, Paulo Sitolini, Brian Larowski, Hans Betzholtz, Patrick Foster, Jon Kenney, Mark Magid, Shane Mahan, Robert Mislang and Rodney Utt. Bill Mace served as the Awards Committee chairman.

"We have some pretty incredible projects from some pretty incredible companies," Mace said. "It is an honor to recognize this outstanding talent every two years by the Santa Barbara Contractors Association.”

“Santa Barbara is the most beautiful place to live and has some of the best architecture in the country," Martin said. "I am proud to be a part of this event and SBCA. This is a night of celebration and all we have done for this community.”

The 2014 Builder of the Year Awards presented were:

» Builder of the Year: Utt Construction

» Subcontractor of the Year: Insulate Santa Barbara

» Industry Professional: Hayward Construction

» Members Choice Award: Young Construction

» Hall of Fame: Dennis Allen

Awards in other categories included:

» Green Building Commercial Construction: Allen Construction, formerly Allen Associates

» Landscape and Hardscape, Commercial: Schipper Construction

» Landscape and Hardscape, Residential: Grace Design Associates

» Outstanding Craftsmanship by a Subcontractor-Finish Trades: D.D. Ford

» Outstanding Craftsmanship by a Subcontractor-System Trades: HiFi Club

» New Residential — Construction cost up to $1.5 million: Vernon Construction

» New Residential — Construction cost up to $500,000: Utt Construction

» Residential Remodel up to $500,000: D.D. Ford Construction

» Residential Remodel $500,000 to $1.2 million: Young Construction

» Residential Remodel $1.2 million to $2 million: BeckerConstruction

» Residential Remodel over $2 million: Landmark Construction

» Commercial Remodel/Tenant Improvement — cost up to $1,00,000: Allen Construction

» Commercial Remodel/Tenant Improvement — cost over $1,00,000: Frank Schipper Construction

» Projects outside Santa Barbara County: Allen Construction

The Santa Barbara Contractors Association was founded by local builders in 1948 for the purpose of discussing common problems and exchanging ideas relating to their crafts. The original association was incorporated as The Building Contractors of Santa Barbara Inc., a nonprofit organization, and has grown to its present size of more than 700 members from its nine founders.

In 1967, the organization changed its name to the Santa Barbara Contractors Association Inc. and is recognized as one of the leading organizations representing the overall construction industry on the Central Coast. The SBCA continually strives to lead the way in innovation, strategic solutions, business opportunities and peer-to-peer networking.

Click here for more information about the Santa Barbara Contractors Association, or contact SBCA executive director Karin Perissinotto at 805.884.1100 or email[email protected].

— Noozhawk contributing writer Rochelle Rose can be reached at[email protected]. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk,@NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan ofNoozhawk on Facebook.