CITC Instructor Honored by National ABC

Chris Thorstensen Porter named National Craft Instructor of the Year at ABC’s national conference.

Christine “Chris” Thorstensen Porter, instructor for the Construction Industry Training Council of Washington based in Bellevue, Wash., has been honored as the Associated Builders and Contractors’ National Craft Instructor of the Year. The award was announced at the ABC national conference earlier this year.

Every year the ABC names seven regional Craft Instructors of the Year with one of those winners awarded National Craft Instructor of the Year.  The award recognizes an individual exhibiting the highest level of dedication, professionalism, ingenuity, instructional creativity and ability to motivate students, while promoting craft training and the merit shop construction philosophy.

Porter has been teaching electrical code for 23 years. She also performs follow-up inspections for the Intertek Testing Service and delivers custom classes to the IAEI Electric League of the Pacific Northwest.

Schlecht Construction of Kelso and Vancouver, Wash., recently honored operations superintendent Richard (Dick) Lindquist for 20 years of service.

Lindquist joined the company in 1984, bringing with him extensive experience in a wide range of construction techniques and settings. Lindquist has managed field operations for some of Schlecht’s most important projects, including new facilities for Northwest Pet Products, Hamilton Materials, and Cresline Plastic Pipe. He also serves as the liaison between field personnel, administration and management as well as overseeing the coordination of purchasing and construction scheduling.

Four employees of Portland general contractor B. J. Cummings Co. were recently named to share in company ownership. The new owners are Don Nissen, Rick Madsen, Bob Stephens and Steve Bartell. Founder Bruce Cummings will continue as president and primary owner of the corporation.

Architecture firm MulvannyG2 Architecture recently promoted several Portland, Ore. office employees to associate.

Daniel Foeller has 29 years of architectural experience, managing new and renovation projects for various retail clients and developers in Oregon and Washington for the past seven. Foeller has coordinated the design of affordable and mixed-use housing projects in Pendleton, Prineville, and Burns in conjunction with the Oregon Corporation for Affordable Housing and Homestead Capitol.

Randy Trout has nine years of architectural experience and has been with MulvannyG2 since 1998. Specializing in retail projects in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, Trout’s main clients include Fred Meyer, Target, Safeway, WinCo Foods, and G.I. Joe’s.

Matthew Neish has 16 years of architectural experience and four years of practical construction experience. A member of MulvannyG2’s Portland office team since 1998, he works almost exclusively on national retail projects.

Les Lasher has 16 years of architectural experience and a retail team leader for clients such as NIKE, Fred Meyer, Best Buy, Safeway, and WinCo Foods, providing oversight on a local and national project basis.

Seattle architecture firm Arai Jackson Ellison Murakami recently announced several new promotions in the firm. Joining partners Steven Arai and Cliff Jackson are partners Bruce Ellison, Rich Murakami and Frank Silkwood; principals Ben Dayot and Mark Spitzer; and associate Ben Pongprot.

Electrical design and construction SME Inc. of Seattle has hired Lynette R. Sedeno as a project administrator.

Sedeno has 10 years of experience in the electrical industry managing customer service, supporting outside sales representatives and handling administrative functions. 

Don Cort has been named product support manager for the Pacific Northwest region of LBX Company, LLC, makers of Link-Belt earthmoving, forestry and material handling equipment.

Cort will be responsible for all aftermarket technical support of Link-Belt earthmoving equipment from his home base of central Oregon. This includes parts, service, warranty and technical services.

Seattle architecture, interior design, and strategic facility planning firm Emick Howard & Seibert Inc. recently announced the addition of Jay Pickering to its staff.

As a project manager and project architect, Pickering brings 20 years experience in designing and entitling commercial office, retail, and mixed-use project types in the Puget Sound region. Notable project experience includes work on 2200 Westlake, Lenora Square renovation and the O’Shea Building renovation.

Seattle electrical engineering and technology consulting firm Sparling recently hired Joshua Kam as a project designer and Brian Warn as a communications systems designer.

Kam has joined a Sparling electrical design studio that specializes in industrial and military projects. His current projects include a Valley Medical Center expansion project and the Naval Small Arms Training Facility at Bangor N.S. 

Warn’s prior work experience includes developing radio communications training curriculum for Navy and Coast Guard telecommunications specialists; supporting complex distributed UNIX and Windows computing systems and applications across multi-server environments; and radio wave propagation prediction studies. 

Seattle design and engineering firm Otak Inc. recently hired Kevin Kim, a structural engineering consultant, to serve as the firm’s Puget Sound bridge and structures lead. Kim specializes in bridge replacement, seismic rehabilitation and repair, pedestrian structures, retaining wall and slope stabilization and bridge inspections.

A professional engineer since 1984, Kim has designed, inspected, reviewed and managed numerous projects throughout the state of Washington. He has spent the past 20 years managing bridge replacements and rehabilitations for counties as well as local municipalities.

Seattle’s LMN Architects recently elevated six employees to firm leadership positions.

John H.V. Chau and Rafael Vinoly were promoted to principal; and Claudia Bartels, Lori Naig Wilwerding, Todd Schwisow and Michael Ward were promoted to associate.

The Aloha, Ore.-based Signatory Painting Contractors Organization recently elected new officers. Robert Puzas of Rainbow Painting Company of Oregon was elected president of the regional organization that represents union commercial, architectural and industrial painting contractors throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington. Tamera Given of W.E. Given Contracting was elected executive vice-president, and Dan Thomas of F.D. Thomas Inc. will serve as vice-president. David Lay of Lay’s Construction Company was elected secretary-treasurer. Jim Ferguson of Ferguson Commercial Coatings is the former SPCO president and remains on the board as the immediate past president.

Terry Edgar has been named the 2004 president of Associated General Contractors Oregon-Columbia Chapter, based in Wilsonville, Ore. Edgar is president and chief operating officer of Perlo McCormack Pacific of Portland, Ore.

The full slate of officers includes first vice-president John Bollier, vice-president of Stacy and Witbeck Inc.; second vice-president Bob Schommer, vice-president of A.C. Schommer and Sons Inc.; secretary Dave Alexander, project manager of Lakeside Industries; and treasurer Fred Williams, principal at the accounting firm Perkins and Co.

Paras General Contractor of Spokane, Wash., recently announced two promotions and a new hire.

Terry Martin was promoted to general superintendent. Martin has been with Paras as a superintendent since 1995. In his new position, he will provide leadership to the company’s field operations.

Randy Zutter was promoted to the position of safety administrator/craft labor manager. He has been with the firm since 1997 and has also worked as a foreman and project superintendent.

Reid Dickinson was hired as concrete division manager for Paras Concrete Contractors, the firm’s concrete contracting division. Dickinson has been in the construction industry since 1991 and has worked on projects in the aeronautics, retail, telecommunications, hospitality and industrial fields of construction.

The Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties recently installed its new president, Peter Orser, president of Quadrant Homes of Bellevue, Wash.

Other chair officers for 2004 are first vice-president Donna Shirey, Shirey Contracting of Issaquah, Wash.; second vice-president Jim Potter, Kauri Investments Ltd. of Seattle; secretary Lisa Kennan-Meyer, Kennan-Meyer Architecture of Seattle; and immediate past president Todd Bennett, Bennett Homes of Seattle.