Code Council voting members elect 2021–2022 board officers and directors

Members of the International Code Council welcomed a new slate of officers and directors to its 2021–2022 board of directors during the Annual Business Meeting on Sept. 20, 2021, at the ICC Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Three senior officers were elected to the executive committee and five directors were elected or re-elected by eligible Governmental Member Voting Representatives and Honorary Members to serve on the board.

The board is comprised of four officers, eight at-large directors and six sectional directors who all serve the interests of code professionals in the building safety industry through advocacy, education and research; set the strategic direction for the association; and act as the voice of the association’s 64,000 members across the country and around the world.

The Nominating Committee — chaired by ICC Board Immediate Past President William Bryant with members Dwayne Garris, John “JC” Hudgison, Andre Jaen, Sarah Rice, Tim Ryan and Blake Steiner — presented the Report of the Nominating Committee during the Annual Business Meeting. In accordance with Council Policy 20, factors considered in selecting nominees include service on Code Council and industry boards and committees; jurisdictional support; support by Code Council chapters and other organizations; geographical location; education, registrations, licenses and certification; and active support of the Code Council’s mission and goals.

The Nominating Committee recommended the following for election to the 2021–2022 Executive Committee: Cindy Davis for the office of president, Michael Wich for the office of vice president, and Stuart Tom for the office of secretary/treasurer. The committee made the following recommendations for directors: Jack Applegate for a three-year term as an at-large director, Jim Sayers for a three-year term as an at-large director, David Spencer for a three-year term as an at-large director, Randy Metz for a three-year term as a section director (Section A includes the U.S. states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, and the Canadian province of British Columbia.), and Kris Bridges for a three-year term as a section director (Section E includes the U.S. states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia [Washington, D.C.], and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.).

President Cindy Davis

Taking the helm as president of the Code Council board this year is Cindy Davis, CBO, deputy director of the Division of Building and Fire Regulations for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. With more than 25 years of experience in the building safety industry, she serves on the board of the National Institute of Building Sciences and has managed to have a major effect on the Virginia code world — she spearheaded the move to reconfigure the Code Council’s cloud-based code process, cdpACCESS, to cut through cumbersome paper documents for Virginia stakeholders.

An ICC Honorary Member, Davis is the only woman to have served on the board of the Building Officials and Code Administrators International before it consolidated with the other legacy organizations to form the International Code Council in 2003. She is also a member of the Women in Code Enforcement and Development of Virginia (WICED of VA) chapter — a professional organization promoting the value, recognition and professional development of women in code enforcement and development within the Commonwealth of Virginia — which became the first state chapter of the national WICED organization as well as the first woman-focused International Code Council state chapter in the nation in December 2015.

A proponent of mentoring, education, networking and collaboration, Davis hopes to spread the word about what code officials and building officials do every day. “Building officials and code officials don’t get as much awareness as police or firefighters who are recognized for ‘responding,’” said Davis. “Code officials are proactive, reducing the need for response, keeping people safe and providing a resilient built environment for the community.”

Vice President Michael Wich

Michael Wich, CBO, director of building code administration and chief building official for the South Central Planning and Development Commission in Houma, La., was elected vice president of the Code Council board. This code official, engineer and former home builder has served on the Code Council Board of Directors for the last six years. Wich leads the regional-based code enforcement program that serves six parishes and five municipalities in Southwest Louisiana. After owning and operating a residential construction company for many years, Wich joined the code administration field in 2007.

“Serving on the ICC board allows me to help raise awareness of what code officials and our organization do to protect citizens in the built environment,” Wich said. “Since Katrina, we have made great strides in improving building and fire safety in communities across the region. It is an honor to be able to work with my fellow ICC Board members and colleagues to continue spreading this important message on the national and global levels.”

A Certified Building Official, Wich also holds Combination Residential Inspector and Commercial Building, Plumbing, and Electrical Inspector certifications from the Code Council. He is a Past President of the Building Officials Association of Louisiana, serving on the Chapter Board since 2009, and is a member of the boards of the Louisiana Homebuilders Association and Southwest Louisiana Homebuilders Association.

“It is a major commitment to serve on the ICC Board of Directors and that commitment is even greater on the executive committee,” said Wich. “I look forward to continuing to serve our outstanding membership.”

Secretary/Treasurer Stuart Tom

Stuart Tom, P.E., CBO, FIAE, Superintendent of Building and Fire Safety for the city of Burbank, California, was elected secretary/treasurer of the Code Council board. Tom is a recognized expert in various fields of structural design and life-safety systems and has worked for the cities of Los Angeles — within the Department of Building and Safety — and Glendale as both a building official and superintendent of buildings and a fire marshal. “Building officials make sure the structures they are working on are safe from the plan stage through construction,” said Tom. “Fire inspectors make sure they are safe to live and work in, through annual inspections. Since I have worked in both now, I can see where the two meet: building as safely and economically as possible for the builders, the occupants and the community.”

A registered engineer in the states of Washington and California, he holds a host of professional certifications and is active in the development of fire and life safety codes and standards at the national and state level. He has taught numerous courses throughout California and authored a self-study training program, which assisted in California’s transition to the International Building Code. He is a recognized expert in various aspects of the California Building Code.

In his native state of California, Tom has been recognized as the 2006 Building Official of the Year by the California Building Officials Association (CALBO) and was selected as Building Official of the Year in 2009 by the California Fire Chiefs Association Fire Prevention Officers (CalChiefs FPO). He is the only person to be so honored by both organizations. In 2010, CALBO honored him with the President’s Award and two years later CalChiefs FPO made him a lifetime member. He received the William E. Fox Award in 2019 from the California Fire Chiefs and was inducted as a Fellow into the Institute for the Advancement of Engineering in 2001.

Immediate Past President Greg Wheeler

Remaining on the association’s leadership as immediate past president of the ICC board is Greg Wheeler, CBO, a Colorado building official with a career spanning more than 35 years in the building safety industry. Wheeler is the chief building official for Thornton, Colo. He serves as the chair of the ICC Disaster Assessment Ad-hoc Committee and as a member of the ICC–NCSEA Disaster Response Oversight Committee; serves on the Colorado State Board of Appeals for School Construction; and is a charter member and former president of the Colorado Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials.

Before being elected as a director on the Code Council board in 2012, Wheeler had already served on and/or led a multitude of Code Council committees, including the Codes and Standards Council, chair of the Board of International Professional Standards, chair of the Ad Hoc Committee for the International Existing Building Code and chair of the International Building Code Council. He was elected secretary/treasurer of the Code Council board in 2017.

As part of the code process that would ultimately help create a safe built environment not only in the United States but throughout the world, Wheeler hopes to help people realize the codes are there not only to help but to challenge them to improve the codes through strong involvement. “It has been an honor to serve the Code Council in many capacities,” said Wheeler. “It is my intention to continue the success of the company as the premier resource for all involved in the built environment.”

Directors At Large and Sectional Directors

Voting members also elected representatives to two sectional director positions and three at-large director positions on the Code Council board during the Annual Business Meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Candidates for sectional director must represent a governmental member located in a state or province within the section.)

Benjamin Breadmore, building official and manager for the town of Holden in Maine, was elected as an at-large director for a three-year term. A past chair of the Emerging Leaders Membership Council Governing Committee who contributed to the charter adoption and amendments since the council’s inception, Breadmore recently served on the Code Council’s By-Laws Committee to provide a recommendation to the Code Council Board of Directors to propose two amendments to the association’s bylaws. President of the Maine Building Officials and Inspectors Association, he also serves on the boards of the Northern Maine Chapter of Maine Building Officials and Inspectors Association, the New England Building Official’s Education Association, the Eastern States Building Officials Federation, and ICC Region VI as well as a member of the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code Board.

Jim Sayers, commercial plans examiner for Clackamas County, Oregon, was re-elected as an at-large director for a three-year term. Sayers has more than 30 years of construction experience, more than two-thirds of those in the public sector. Prior to employment with Clackamas County, he was the building official for Tualatin and Baker City, Oregon. Sayers is a member of the ICC Commercial Exam Development Committee, chair of the Oregon Building Officials Association’s Education Committee, and is the current president of the ICC Region II Board of Directors. The region was awarded the Spotlight Region of the Year Award in 2019 and Sayers was recognized for his hard work, dedication and service, particularly in the areas of mentorship and outreach. He carries six ICC certifications along with 11 certifications issued by the state of Oregon.

David Spencer, CBO, CBCO, operations manager for Adams County, Washington, was re-elected as an at-large director for a three-year term. First elected to the board in 2017, Spencer has worked within the built environment for more than 30 years, with 10 of the most recent spent within the municipal government setting working for five different municipalities throughout Washington State. He has served on the ICC Foundation Board of Directors and the Building Membership Council Raise The Profile Subcommittee, currently serves on the ICC-ES Board of Managers, and has been ICC Region II president and served on the Washington Association of Building Officials board as government relations and legislative chairperson. A member of the North Central Washington chapter of ICC, the North West Washington chapter of ICC and the PermitTechNation chapter, he is a former ICC Code of Honor Scholarship recipient and the 2015 Washington State Code Official of the Year.

Kris Bridges, building official in Martinsville, Virginia, was re-elected as a sectional director for a three-year term. Beginning his career in 1995 as a property maintenance and amusement device inspector, Bridges secured a position in Martinsville where he currently works. He holds 27 certifications, including Certified Building Official and the prestigious Master Code Professional designation, and was appointed to the Virginia Manufactured Housing Board by the governor, is the Past President of the Virginia Building and Code Officials Association (VBCOA) and served two terms as ICC Region VII treasurer. He has received multiple awards, including the 2010 VBCOA President’s Award, the 2014 and 2015 ICC Region VII Chairman’s Award, and the 2015 VBCOA Meritorious Service Award.

Randall Lee Metz, MPA, EFO, CFO, FM, battalion chief and fire marshal for the Carlsbad Fire Department in California, was elected as a sectional director for a three-year term. Chair of the ICC Fire Service Membership Council Governing Committee and a member of the ICC International Fire Code Development Committee, Metz also serves on the ICC Ad Hoc Committee for Building Safety and Security, the ICC Codes & Standards Council, and the California Building Standards Commission Building, Fire, Other Code Action Committee. He is a past president of ICC Region I, the San Diego County Fire Prevention Officers ICC Chapter, the Southern California Fire Prevention Officers ICC Chapter and the Orange County Fire Prevention Officers Association. With more than 25 years of fire safety experience under his belt, Metz was a recipient of the California Building Officials Association’s Fire Official of the Year Award and the California Fire Chiefs Association’s William Fox Award.

ICC board members who did not stand for election this year are:

Director at Large Michael Boso, Chief Building and Zoning Official, Grove City, Ohio

Director at Large Shirley Ellis, Energy Code Specialist, Energy System Laboratory, Texas A&M University Experiment Station

Director at Large Steve McDaniel, Code Enforcement Officer, City of Corning, New York

Director at Large Michael Savage, MCP, CBO, CFPS, CEI-M, Director of Building Safety/Building Official, Marion County Board of County Commissioners, Ocala, Florida

Director at Large Angie Wiese, P.E., CBO, Fire Safety Manager, Saint Paul, Minnesota

Sectional Director Alan Boswell, MCP, CBO, Chief Building Official, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Sectional Director Jim Brown, CBO, CFPS, Deputy Building Official, Gillette, Wyoming

Sectional Director Ron Hampton, MCP, CBO, Field Inspector II, Division of Building Code Enforcement, Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, Commonwealth of Kentucky

Sectional Director Thomas Peterson, Building Official, Division of Facilities Construction and Management, Utah

Rounding out the association’s leadership is International Code Council Chief Executive Officer Dominic Sims, CBO, who heads up a professional staff of 350 and works out of the Code Council’s Eastern Regional Office located in Birmingham, Ala. Appointed to the position in 2012, Sims is responsible for the overall activities and financial performance of the association, including its six subsidiaries. “This newly elected group of directors represents what our board has consistently been — a representation of the best professionals in the building safety industry. Their years of experience in the field, combined with their diverse backgrounds in building safety, will help bring a fresh perspective to our strategic thinking,” said Sims. “These directors volunteer their time to make our buildings safer and our communities more resilient. We are very grateful to have their expertise and we look forward to working together to ensure the Code Council is providing communities with the best products, services and support. We thank them for their leadership.”

Congratulations to the new officers and directors, and thanks to all the candidates for your commitment to the Code Council. Click here for the full 2021–2022 board roster.