The red carpet was rolled out last month to 200 guests who attended the 2014 BRICC (Building and Remodeling Industry of Cape Cod) Awards at the Ridge Club in Sandwich. By every definition, this HB&RACC (Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Cape Cod) blockbuster of an evening was a success.

A blockbuster success for Cape Cod’s building and remodeling industries

“This was our second awards dinner. We had 140 people attend our first dinner in 2012 and our goal this year was to have 175 people attend the banquet—we had 200 people register—and the event sold out,” says Christine Duren, HB&RACC’s executive director.

Not only did attendance at the banquet increase this year, the number of companies who submitted projects increased as did the overall number of projects entered.

PDF	2014 BRICC AWARDS	PDF
	2014 BRICC Award Winners		2014 BRICC Award Judges
	Anthi Frangiadis		Coastal Engineering Co., Inc.
	Lewis & Weldon Custom Kitchens		‘g’ Green Design
	McPhee Associates		Mid-Cape Home Centers
	Patrick Ahearn, Architect		Shepley
	Polhemus Savery DaSilva		White Wood Kitchens
	Cataldo Builders

Duren attributes the increases in this year’s event to the interest and demand for such an award ceremony. “I think the numbers demonstrate that there is a high level of interest from the people working in this industry to come together and recognize their peers’ achievements and to celebrate the work that they do. Nobody understands this industry better than the people who are working in it. It is just such a wonderful way to bring the building community together,” Duren says.

Growth and expansion is nothing new for the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Cape Cod. Started in 1950 with a mere five members, the organization now boasts 270 member companies representing 4,000 people. “We still have potential for growth,” says Duren, noting that there are 1,853 people on the Cape who hold building licenses.

With a mission to support homeownership on Cape Cod and its trade members through legislative, educational, business and civic endeavors, the organization has consistently progressed throughout the years. Though part of the organization’s mission is to keep its members up to date on legislative rules in the industry as well as to provide educational programs that keep members’ skills up to date, a significant part of the association’s goals is to build good community relations.

HB&RACC achieves this by working and partnering with other local non-profit organizations on various events. Last year, the association partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build a Habitat home in just five days. Called the Blitz Build, it was an undertaking like no other on Cape Cod.

“We had approximately 50 member companies involved in this event and a countless number of people working on the project. We had people working on the roof at the same time that we had people putting in windows and others working on the HVAC system. Some days it looked like an ant farm with everyone working together,” Duren says. Though many of the companies who donated services or manpower are, for the rest of the year, competitors, on this particular project for this week, they were partners—working side by side for the same cause. “It is inspirational to see so many people from this industry working together as a team,” says Duren.

The project earned Charles Orr and Hutker Architects the 2014 BRICC Community Impact Award. Habitat for Humanity won the BRICC Community Non-Profit Award. State Representative Randy Hunt presented the recipients with their awards at this year’s ceremony.

HB&RACC continues to grow and prosper in the community. This year—in partnership with the Cape Cod Children’s Museum in Mashpee and Cape Cod Community College— the organization held the first Lego Home Building Competition. Duren says the contest provided an ideal opportunity to get children involved in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), a national program focusing on these areas of study. “We wanted to show folks—especially kids—the building process and what goes into that. I don’t think people realize that building professionals use STEM every day,” she said.

Duren says professional trade organizations like HB&RACC not only benefit the trade industry and the community—membership in such an association is an assurance for consumers. “When a customer hires a trade person or professional who is a member of our organization, they can be assured that the person is licensed, insured, and has been vetted. Our members are committed to their trade and to the community,” Duren says.

For more information, go to capecodbuilders.org.