By Robert Benedict
Past Executive Director
SN-ICC has its roots as an organization in the early 1960’s when it was a chapter of International Council of Building Officials.
According to Bob Weber (past president, around at the beginning, retired former building official for Las Vegas, etc.) his first recollections of ICBO/ICC were in 1976. That spring Weber took the 1976 UBC-1 course from Bill Adams, a teacher at UNLV and assistant city manager for Las Vegas. In March of 1979, he was hired as CCBD Director of the Building & Zoning Department making him the building Official & ex-officio Secretary of the Planning Commission.
During his tenure, Weber began and continued a training program for staff. (Note: there was essentially no department or external training of CCBD staff under the previous Building Official prior to Feb 1979, which created a substantial problem for CCBD staff, and local architects, engineers and contractors.
Ron Lynn took on the role for training CCBD inspection staff and inviting plan review staff as applicable. Greg Franklin took on the task to establish and grow Educode. The objective was to establish training and education and work with industry toward obtaining code compliant buildings.
“We started teaching classes in Building Codes at Clark County Community College in the fall of 1987,” said Weber,” and we obtained volunteers to teach other Code courses and to assist the Community College staff with courses. We met with CC Community College staff and the College Board of Regents individually to obtain their support for Building Construction Technology & Construction Management degree programs (60 semester hours) and one year certificate programs. The Construction Management and other programs were added by the architects, engineers and contractors for project managers.
“Meanwhile, at Clark County Community College, we met with Community College staff and classes began in the fall of 1987; they were available to the public and to governmental employees .
“We started with Introduction to the Building Code & CCBD staff taught structural inspections courses beginning in the fall with the second semester of each in the spring 1988. The structural inspection courses were required for third-party structural inspections for CCBD.
“The fall 1989 and spring of 1990 included seven courses each semester in Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical and Administrative Code courses, Structural Inspections, Soils/ Geotechnical and related materials. Additionally, college core courses, Blue Print Reading for Building Trades and Architectural Drafting & Design were offered. Other courses were also offered in Construction Estimating, Computer Technology, Surveying, Math, Fire Science and Management. These program also grew to include scopes for offsite construction and utilities.”
The word spread and many organizations began recognizing the Clark County Community College as a means to train employees, thereby providing an option to hire future trained staff.
“My first recollection of the ICBO chapter,” said Bob Weber, “was about 1975 when meetings were held in the Sands Hotel on Las Vegas Blvd in the evening. The attendees typically totaled about two dozen. Clay Hymer, City of Las Vegas Building Official, was the only Building Official who attended to my knowledge and he encouraged participation and training. Around 1977, the chapter meetings were scheduled during lunch attendance improved and other staff from other jurisdictions began to attend, said Weber.”
This sharing of ideas, code training and helping each other was a significant step toward improving code enforcement in Clark County Incorporated areas (Cities of Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas & Boulder City). The Clark County Building Official in the 1970s typically did not cooperate with the cities or uniformly enforce the codes. Once a new Building Official was hired in March 1979, the Clark County Building Department began participating in all code and Chapter programs.
The cooperation between the cities and county jurisdictions with uniform education/ training, common interpretations of codes, plan review and inspection processes was a tremendous benefit for the architects, engineers, contractors, the licensing boards of architects, engineers and contractors, the equipment and product suppliers and all of those served as customers such as business owners, home owners, etc.
Members of the Chapter were also involved with other code writing groups, technical standard groups and shared their knowledge with others.
Evolution from ICBO to ICC
“The success of the ICBO and SN-ICC Chapters is related to the Southern Nevada Community College and Educode, which together, resulted in dreams come true for Ron Lynn, Greg Franklin and I when we established a plan of action in the early 1980s to move forward with safe buildings that are code compliant,” said Weber.
“When the merger and creation of ICC took place in the 1980’s,” said Ron Lynn, “we applied to be the first chapter of the new organization. The application was rejected. We asked if they planned on having chapters and they said yes, so we made sure they accepted our application to be the first one. And they did.”
“As we evolved and got larger, our officers and board of directors decided it was time to streamline the organization and formalize it. So, in 1991, we incorporated it and applied for a tax-exempt status from the IRS. We were approved on both fronts during 1991, said Lynn.
Education has always been a major aspect of the chapter both when it was part of ICBO and now as a chapter of ICC. Bob Weber was one of the early educators in the 1970s when he was looking for code education and found Bill Adams at what was then the Community College of Southern Nevada.
“I was looking for some formal codes education,” says Weber, “and in those days there just wasn’t any. I was very lucky to find Bill Adams.”
Adams was able to provide education to Weber and eventually out of that came an associate degree in the field which was available to all of the local code enforcement people, as well as local engineers and architects.
Later, Weber worked with Greg Franklin and Ron Lynn to develop code training through the chapter and this was the birth of EduCode.
The Chapter is now becoming more involved in the code change process. We are organized with several committees now active in the process. And, of course, EduCode is our shining light.
“Financially, we are clearly one of the best there is,” said Ron Lynn. “And EduCode is the main reason why. It has enabled us to do so many other things for the chapter and its members. I think the chapter and the leadership are doing a great job. We have excellent leadership now. There is not a weak spot there. And they work well together,” said Lynn.
“We have more people serving on national ICC committees than any other chapter. We have several people who were president twice here because we could not find someone to serve. And we have had several Secretary-Treasurers over the years who served multiple terms. We struggled some years to find new leaders hence our goal this year of getting more people involved in leadership opportunities,” Lynn added.
“The chapter has also served a positive influence in the community; it has provided needed education to local and national code officials. The chapter is doing a good job in this endeavor,” Lynn concluded.
The Chapter today provides education, training and support to its members, assists in assuring uniformity in code enforcement and code administration and is dedicated to safeguard the life, health, property and public welfare of the building occupants within Southern Nevada. The Southern Nevada Chapter’s mission is to support its stakeholders in the creation and maintenance of a safe-built environment.
Early in 1997, the Southern Nevada Chapter was recognized as the first International Code Council (ICC) Chapter chartered within the United States. During 1997, the Southern Nevada Chapter of the International Code Council also launched EduCode International, now one of the premier building code training institutes in the United States today. EduCode International attracts thousands of code professionals from across the nation as well as from Canada and Mexico.
During the 2000 Annual Business Meeting of ICC, Ron Lynn, a Southern Nevada ICC Chapter member was elected to his first three-year term on the ICBO Board of Directors.
In 2004, the Chapter established a tuition scholarship fund for the Community College of Southern Nevada to benefit those pursuing careers in the building trades. Three (3) 2005 scholarships of $1,000 each were offered to students in the building trades with a preference given to those recipients who were Chapter members.
In 2004, Ron Lynn was also re-elected to the ICC Board of Directors during the Code Council Annual Business Meeting.
On April 7, 2006, the City of Las Vegas, NV was awarded the inaugural International Accreditation Service (IAS) accreditation acknowledging the City of Las Vegas Building and Safety Department as a “Building Department/Code Enforcement Agency Governmental Body,” meeting the acceptance criteria of AC251. This IAS accreditation demonstrates a building department’s competence, professional qualifications and ability to serve its jurisdiction using the highest ethical, legal and technical standards.
On August 18, 2006, chapter member Michael Bouse, Building & Fire Safety Director for the City of Henderson, was awarded an International Accreditation Service (IAS) accreditation acknowledging the City of Henderson Building & Fire Safety Department as a “Building Department/Code Enforcement Agency Governmental Body.”
During the 2007 Code Council Annual Business Meeting, Ronald Lynn was elected as the Secretary/Treasurer of the ICC Executive Board.
On September 8, 2008, Chapter member Lisa Conner, Building Official/Director of the Clark County School District Building Department also received IAS Accreditation acknowledging the Clark County School District Building Department as a “Building Department/Code Enforcement Agency Governmental Body.”
During the 2008 Code Council Annual Business Meeting Ron Lynn was elected as the Vice-President of the ICC Executive Board.
Greg Franklin had a number of memories of the chapter’s and EduCode’s evolution.
“I first joined the local chapter of ICBO in about my 3rd or 4th year of employment with Clark County, so around 1988 or 89,” said Franklin. The chapter was very small at the time, with our primary actions being a monthly lunch meeting held at the Showboat. About a year after this, i volunteered to work on the code committee. This was comprised of myself and one other, David Borbeaux who was the Building Official of Boulder City at the time. We would grab lunch at a Denny’s on Boulder Highway and discuss code change submittals and write a few rebuttals/proposals.
“In the early 90’s,” Franklin continued, “I attended my first ICBO National ABM. It was held in Spokane, WA. My greatest recollection of this ABM was the post conference, which was held in nearby Sandpoint, ID, to discuss adding accessibility requirements to the Building Code. It was very contentious at the time, with many representatives wishing to leave such requirements to the federal government.
Franklin was elected to the Chapter Executive Board in 1993 and served for four years on the board as an officer, moving thru the chairs and serving as president in the last year. He followed with one additional year as Past President.
“These were fun times for the Chapter,” said Franklin, “as we hosted the National ABM at the Riviera in 1995 and it was a big success. It really assisted in moving the Southern Nevada Chapter to an upper level status and recognition by the larger chapters in California and Texas.
The Birth of EduCode
“While serving as vice president of the Chapter, I had the opportunity to arrange for local technical training once or twice a year. We held these at different locales, including the Fire Department Training Center and McCarran Airport. I enjoyed arranging this and spoke with both Ron Lynn and Bob Weber as my supervisors that I would like to work on developing a regional and even national training program after I completed my executive board duties.
“Also, I had attended the Technical Training Program hosted by the Colorado Chapter,” Franklin said, “and was very impressed with their program. But I felt we had the opportunity to provide equal or better training expertise and by hosting it in Las Vegas, we would have even better success because of the city’s offerings and the much better spring weather than most other locations.
“So with this idea, we hosted a Technical Seminar in year one, held at the Riviera Hotel, and then we renamed it to EduCode, developed our logo and the program built on itself each year. I served as the EduCode Committee Chairman for 7 years. I truly enjoyed developing the programs and working with the many hard working volunteers that allowed the program to happen each year.
“Just a few more things to close out the EduCode background,” said Greg Franklin. “When we started, we felt we could grow the program if we applied 3 basic ideals;
- Provide only the best technical instruction available. Pursue the best instructor for the topic.
- Provide technical instruction to the national codes – NOT modified by local amendments. Attendees would not come from outside jurisdictions across the country if we taught local amended codes, and
- Maintain the same dates as close as possible each year, allowing attendees to plan and schedule their attendance a year in advance which is often necessary with gov’t agencies, and further it allowed us to “sell” Las Vegas in the spring, when our weather was good and many other places across the country were not.
“We did stick with these ideals and the program did grow accordingly. Another ideal grew internally as the program developed, and that was to partner with local chapters of national organizations and in some cases directly with the national organization of technical code groups, such as Electrical Inspectors Org., Plumbing Inspectors Assoc., Code Enforcement, etc. Through this partnership, the chapters benefited financially and were able to obtain regularly scheduled training of high caliber and EduCode benefited with higher attendance and more diverse program.
“Also, in starting out, we established what our primary achievement goals were from EduCode. These were:
- Provide excellent, national level training in a local environment to ensure high attendance from each of the local jurisdictions’ department staff.
- Use any proceeds to provide further training necessary for local code amendment training and fund participation in the national code development process and business applications; and
- Use any additional monies made to further the profession of the code official through meetings/classes with industry; outreach programs to local schools and technical institutes; and sponsorship of college tuition for local students pursuing applicable degree programs.
“After 7 + years of working as the chairman and lead for EduCode,” said Franklin, ‘it was my idea to step down and develop a means by which the elected executive board would provide lead for the committee and future growth of EduCode. I felt this important because while I had ideas and missions and goals, I did not want EduCode to become just what I and a few long term committee members saw for it. So we developed a turn-over of duties in its 8th year and the executive committee began direct involvement to provide steering for its continued development and growth. I remained actively involved for a few more years with the committee and running a management track before mostly stepping aside. This allowed me time to actively participate as a member of the National Education Committee for ICC, where I served for four years.
“We addressed many problems and concerns thru the development and growth years of EduCode.” Franklin continued, “but I firmly believe that through the strong commitment of each jurisdiction’s Building Official to allow participation of their employees as committee volunteers, we accomplished many great things with very little funding. That, and adherence to our established ideals and goals, allowed us to each year grow and become more of a professional presentation. I fully believe that the professionals that continue to work in the SNICC will continue with this diligence and only improve upon the program.
“Again,” said Franklin, “we started on a shoestring. I remember signing the first contracts with ICBO for their instructors and just their costs far exceeded the total savings of the Chapter. Through special arrangements with the Riviera we were able to defer all costs until after the seminar when we had collected the attendance fees. But there were days that I was pretty nervous.
“There are so many people that made EduCode what it was and is today and to try and name them all is not within my scope today. But it is thru such dedication of volunteers and professionals committed to technical growth and knowledge that will carry this program forward.
“I will end my recollections with that it was always a privilege to serve both the local and national chapters of ICBO and ICC. I met so many professionals that were strongly committed to ensuring building safety throughout our country and the world.
Franklin named several people he thought deserved special recognition for their contributions over the years. They were:
“First,” said franklin, “both Bob Weber and Ron Lynn fully supported my actions and allowed me some of the time necessary to complete the arrangements. Also, the one committee member that was with me and all future committee chairs was “Wild” Bill the gas man! From our first arrangements with the Riviera, to developing the logo, to creating a website and ultimately an on line registration, he served tirelessly. It was great to have an industry rep alongside during these development years,” Franklin concluded.
The Chapter entered the new century with a solid base of success and many great things happened during those years, all the way up until today.
During the 2000 Annual Business Meeting of ICC, Ron Lynn, was elected to his first three-year term on the ICBO Board of Directors.
In 2004, the Chapter established a tuition scholarship fund for the Community College of Southern Nevada to benefit those pursuing careers in the building trades. Three 2005 scholarships of $1,000 each were offered to students in the building trades with a preference given to those recipients who were Chapter members.
In 2004, Ron Lynn was re-elected to the ICC Board of Directors during the Code Council Annual Business Meeting.
On April 7, 2006, the City of Las Vegas, NV was awarded the inaugural International Accreditation Service (IAS) accreditation acknowledging the City of Las Vegas Building and Safety Department as a “Building Department/Code Enforcement Agency Governmental Body,” meeting the acceptance criteria of AC251.
On August 18, 2006, chapter member Michael Bouse, then Building & Fire Safety Director for the City of Henderson, was awarded an International Accreditation Service (IAS) accreditation.
During the 2007 Code Council Annual Business Meeting, Ronald Lynn was elected as the Secretary/Treasurer of the ICC Executive Board.
On September 8, 2008, Chapter member Lisa Conner, Building Official/Director of the Clark County School District Building Department also received IAS Accreditation.
During the 2008 Code Council Annual Business Meeting Ron Lynn was elected as the Vice-President of the ICC Executive Board.
In 2008, Bob Weber received the Bobby J. Fowler Award. This is the most prestigious award granted by ICC and is presented to an individual whose contributions to the building and fire safety industry advance ICC’s goals in achieving a safer built environment. Bob was honored for career accomplishments that include serving as Chairman of the Code Drafting Committee that produced the ICC Performance Code for Buildings and Facilities. He also served on many other boards and committees in Las Vegas, Nevada and nationally.
In 2008, the Chapter launched its new web site, www.snicc.org. The site provided up to date information on the Chapter, the Southern Nevada Building Officials (SNBO) and EduCode. In later years, EduCode and SNBO would get their own sites.
In 2009, Chapter member, Michael Bouse was appointed Chair of the International Accreditation Service (IAS) Board of Directors. Bouse has served both the City of Henderson and the City of Las Vegas in various capacities over the years.
During the 2009 Code Council Annual Business Meeting in Baltimore, MD., Ron Lynn, Director and Building Official for the Clark County, Nevada, Department of Development Services, was elected President of the International Code Council Board of Directors.
Bill Laub was reminiscing with us recently and had the following observations:
“A 2015/2016 chapter statistic I find interesting is that among our active chapter members, we have two past ICC international presidents, Ron Lynn and Adolf Zubia, and a current international ICC board member, Brenda Thompson. And our Jay Elbettar, P.E., CBO is the current ICC Secretary/Treasurer. Plus, we have two Fowler Award recipients, Ron Lynn (2015) and Bob Weber (2008).”
SN-ICC Named Chapter of the Year
In 2010, SN-ICC was named Chapter of the Year by ICC. This award is bestowed upon the chapter that demonstrates exemplary performance in promoting the goals and mission of the International Code Council. The winning chapter is distinguished by its professionalism, participation in ICC, public support for building and fire codes, building safety, and the fields of construction and code administration.
Ron Lynn Wins Bobby J. Fowler Award
In 2015, Ron Lynn won the Bobby J. Fowler Award. This is the most prestigious award granted by ICC and is presented to an individual whose contributions to the building and fire safety industry advance ICC’s goals in achieving a safer built environment.
SN-ICC Wins Community Service Award
The Chapter won the 2015 National Community Service Award. Our submission…”Giving Back to the Community” can be found on our web site here. Over the last few years, with the financial assistance of EduCode, and with the assistance of the local Building Officials who have allowed their staff to participate, we have been able to partake in a number of endeavors that have assisted the communities of Southern Nevada in a number of
Finally, none of our success would have been possible without the leadership of our past and current presidents. For a complete listing of these giants of the industry, visit our Past Presidents page.
Fulton Cochran
We also talked with Fulton Cochran about the chapter’s early years and he had fond memories of the evolution of the organization.
“My earliest recollections were of attending the ICBO chapter meetings in 1993 to 2000 with the Henderson Fire Marshall Jim Madden at the Showboat Hotel and being the only fire folks in attendance.
“I first got involved with the Chapter through EduCode and the creation of the fire prevention track.”
Cochran was president of SN-ICC for two terms, served in the other office positions and was chair of EduCode.
“The primary challenges in the boom years,” said Cochran, “was finding volunteers to assist the chapter and worrying that if we had a bad EduCode we couldn’t pay the bills.”
Cochran said special thanks should go to Bob Weber, Ron Lynn, Greg Blackburn, Lee Guyette and Greg Franklin for their contributions to the Chapter over the years.