Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) Announces 13th Awards of Excellence Winners: Celebrating Outstanding Contributions to the Green Roof and Wall Industry Across North America

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities just announced the first group of winners of its 2015 Awards of Excellence. Jeffrey Bruce, FASLA, GRHC Chairman of the Board, shared the news on August 28, 2015 in the lead-up to CitiesAlive®: 13th Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference coming up in October in Brooklyn, NY.

“Green Roofs for Healthy Cities is proud to have the opportunity to recognize and celebrate these examples of excellence, and share them with attendees at CitiesAlive.” ~ Green Roofs for Healthy Cities

Read on from their Press Release:

“Awards in 4 categories recognizing accomplishments in research, policy development, advertising design, and corporate leadership were deliberated on and awarded to the most engaging projects and engaged individuals in the industry.

The Awards will be formally presented at CitiesAlive (October 5-8, 2015) at the Brooklyn Marriott on Wednesday, October 7th. This year’s conference theme is Resilient People, Communities and Places, featuring cutting-edge designs, new technical performance research, innovative policy work, a trade show with industry leaders, and informative professional training and tours.

2015 Awards of Excellence Winners

Civic Award:
Award Recipient: Kevin Shafer, P.E. – Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
Mr. Shafer has been instrumental in providing the regional leadership in implementing green infrastructure in MMSD facilities and on private property. This leadership has resulted in a new development approach by the communities and developers in the region. He also coordinated a $58 million long-range planning process that produced the most intensive water quality research ever for six Milwaukee area watersheds. Mr. Shafer has been critical to the success of the Greenseams program and the installation of rain-capturing projects. Additionally, under his leadership, MMSD instituted a regional stormwater runoff rule and has been a leader for innovative ways to manage stormwater runoff.

Research Award:
Award Recipient: Bill Retzlaff, PHD – Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Dr. Retzlaff has a BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in Forestry with a minor in plant phyisiology. He has Post-Doctoral experience in Horticulture, Viticulture, and Environmental Sciences. He is currently the research co-director of the St. Louis metropolitan area research collaboration (G.R.E.E.N. – Green Roof Environmental Evaluation Network) based at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). His main areas of research interest include: evaluation of green roof and green wall technologies, sustainable green infrastructure, and sustainable use of residual waste products.

Advertising Design Award:
Award Recipient: Carlisle SynTec, Inc
Carlisle SynTec Systems has been the leader in the commercial single-ply roofing industry for more than 50 years. It continues to lead the roofing industry today by providing its customers with superior roofing systems and services through a select network of manufacturer’s representatives, distributors and applicators. Dedicated supporters of the Living Architecture Monitor, their ad-design communicate and exemplify their commitment to excellence. “After much deliberation Carlisle SynTec has won our first ever award of excellence for advertising design.” said Jeffrey Bruce, FASLA, GRHC Chairman of the Board.

President’s Corporate Award:
Award Recipient: American Hydrotech, Inc
American Hydrotech was an early adopter of green roofs and has supported the development of the industry in numerous ways for more than a decade. American Hydrotech has developed many Awards of Excellence winning projects, supported the development of training programs that lead to the Green Roof Professional Accreditation Program, and has contributed to CitiesAlive and the Living Architecture Monitor magazine for years. Representatives has stood on the GRHC Board of Directors as the Technical Standards Issues Representative, and has worked diligently to address FM Global’s unjustifiable wind uplift standards and promote the use of better root repellency standard tests. “American Hydrotech has been a long standing supporter of the green roof industry and we wouldn’t be where we are without them.” said Jeffrey Bruce, FASLA, GRHC Chairman of the Board.

The Awards of Excellence luncheon will be held on Wednesday, October 7, 2015 at the Brooklyn Marriott in New York City during CitiesAlive. Visit www.citiesalive.org for more information about the Awards (including photos and background materials). Visit www.citiesalive.org for conference, event, and media registration. For conference media passes contact Tracy Jackson at tjackson@greenroofs.org

MEDIA CONTACT: Steven Peck, founder & president, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, speck@greenroofs.org or 416-971-4494 ext. 223.”

Congratulations to this year’s first group of winners of the 2015 Awards of Excellence from Greenroofs.com, in particular to our own Sponsors American Hydrotech and Carlisle SynTec, and former Contributing Editor, Dr. Bill Retzlaff!

Stay tuned for the second half announcing the design award winners and – see you in NYC?

~ Linda V.