Tampa, FL (October 30, 2017) — The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Florida Gulf Coast Region has announced the winners of its 2017 LEEDership and Green Awards Program.
The nonprofit organization’s eighth annual LEEDership Awards celebration recognized and honored those outstanding projects, inspirational businesses, dedicated volunteers and community stakeholders who are LEEDing the way to a more sustainable built environment in the Florida Gulf Coast community. Nearly 150 guests attended the awards ceremony on October 26, 2017, at the Le Meridien Hotel in downtown Tampa.
Rick Fedrizzi, Chairman & CEO of the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), highlighted the evening of recognition and appreciation for the Florida Gulf Coast’s green-building community as the event’s keynote speaker. Fedrizzi’s inspiring presentation focused on advancing human health through better buildings and communities, as well as the challenges worldwide of building resiliently in the face of climate change and its impact on infrastructure demands. The foundation of his speech was built on a simple premise: “Buildings start with a story about people.”
Alexis Muellner, editor of the Tampa Bay Business Journal, served as the evening’s guest emcee. Taylor Ralph of REAL Building Consultants and Chair of the USGBC Florida Gulf Coast Region, welcomed a packed room, and Mike Hess, Chair and President of USGBC Florida, provided guests with an update of USGBC Florida. Marshall Gobuty, President of Mirabella Florida, the night’s Presenting Sponsor, also greeted attendees with opening remarks.
In addition to the awards presentations and keynote address, LEEDership included a pre-event sponsored reception, dinner, networking with industry professionals from throughout the USA, and a raffle. As the Region’s sole fundraising event of the year, LEEDership raised funds to support educational events, building tours and community initiatives held throughout the year.
LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. LEED addresses all building types and emphasizes state-of-the-art “green” strategies in five areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality. The awards event recognized projects and individuals that help move our region in a more sustainable, responsible and healthy direction, creating environmental, social and financial prosperity for all.
The 2017 LEEDership Award winners were:
- Outstanding Transit Program — Coast Bike Share
- Outstanding Community Project — Urban Conga Urban Interventions
- Outstanding Green Business / Consultant — REAL Building Consultants
- Outstanding Green Business / Contractor — Rokop General Contractors, Inc.
- Outstanding Green Business / Developer — Koral & Gobuty Development Co, LLC
- Outstanding Green Business / Transportation Agency — Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART)
- Outstanding Green Business / Financial — Renew Financial
- Outstanding Community Leader / Elected Official — Pat Kemp, Hillsborough County Commissioner
- Outstanding Green Business Commitment — Suncoast Credit Union
- Outstanding Green Government — City of St. Petersburg
- Greenest Apple — Sustainability Committee of BOMA Greater Tampa Bay
- LEED for New Construction / Private — Auto Nation Mercedes Benz Wesley Chapel
- LEED for New Construction / Public/State — Wauchula National Guard Armory
- LEED for New Construction / Public/Local — Pasco County Utilities Administration
- LEED for New Construction / Non-Profit — Bob Sierra YMCA Gymnastics Center
- LEED for Schools — Metropolitan Ministries Patricia J. Sullivan Partnership School
- LEED for Commercial Interiors — TLC Engineering for Architecture Tampa Office
- LEED for Homes/ Community — Mirabella
- LEED for Homes / Single Family – Small — Breese Residence
- LEED for Homes / Single Family – Large — CompassHaus
- Outstanding Community Leader — Suncoast Sierra Club
- Branch Volunteer of the Year / Myakka River — Sara Kane
- Branch Volunteer of the Year / Southwest Florida — Jim Keohane
- Branch Volunteer of the Year / Tampa Bay — Thomas Wilkinson
- President’s Award — Taylor Ralph
Sponsors for the evening were:
- Platinum Presenting Sponsor: Mirabella
- Award Sponsors: Tampa International Airport, Creative Contractors
- Signage Sponsors: REAL Building Consultants, Walter P. Moore, Rokop General Contractors
- Cocktail Reception Sponsors: Water Street Tampa, VHB
- Green Schools Sponsors: FleishmanGarcia, Everglades University
- In-Kind Sponsors: Renewable Choice Energy, Ambius
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About IWBI:
The International WELL Building Institute’s (IWBI) focus is to advance human health through better buildings and communities. With more than 125 million sf registered and certified in more than 30 countries, IWBI’s evidence-based WELL Building Standard is the premier system for measuring and monitoring real estate features that impact health and wellbeing, as well as third-party certification of their successful achievement.
About USGBC Florida:
The U.S. Green Building Council Florida Chapter, a nonprofit (501[c][3]) organization, embraces innovative building practices that conserve land, energy, water, resources and materials. Its Mission is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life. USGBC Florida has nearly 15,000 members, volunteers and friends providing educational programs and market transformation services to the Sunshine State from seven Regions — Central Florida, Florida Capital, Florida Gulf Coast, Heart of Florida, Northeast Florida, Northern Gulf Coast, and South Florida. Contacts: Lee Cooke (Executive Director, 561-373-7367, lcooke@usgbcflorida.org) and Sarah Boren (Director of Policy and Programs, 904-535-0055, sboren@usgbcflorida.org).
