EduCode began in the middle 1990’s as an idea when the Southern Nevada Chapter of the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO) officers and members met to discuss the training needs for the chapter in southern Nevada.
The chapter officials said let’s “go big.” The plan was to develop a multi-day format and a three day training program was proposed. Greg Franklin, Clark County Building Department, and past ICBO Chapter President, was the first chair of our “Institute.”
The first training program was called “Annual Code Education Institute” and was held February 10-13, 1998 at the Riviera Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV. The seminar set up the following tracks:
- Architectural Plan Review
- Building Inspections
- Combination Inspections
- Fire Prevention
- Performance Based Fire Protection
- Structural Inspection, Quality Assurance and Design
- Structural Special Inspections
The 1998 inaugural “Institute” had 28 classes attended by 615 construction professionals, code officials and architects. Attendees came from 19 states and Canada. The Institute was deemed a great success.
The second training program was held February 9-12, 1999 again at the Rivera Hotel and Casino. We officially became “EduCode International” and we offered classes to lead our 650 industry professionals into the 21st century. It also marked the first year in which we had a vendor trade show, composed of thirty (30) exhibitors. In addition, we added hosted lunches for the first time, as well as morning and afternoon refreshments.
EduCODE 2000 had about 525 attendees, the trade show had 27 exhibitors and the conference was held again at Riviera Hotel and Casino.
EduCODE 2001 was the year we developed our first webpage, http://www.educode.us It al.so marked our first advertisement in the EduCODE program (Southwest Gas), and it was the first year we used a third-party vendor to handle all 530 student registrations.
EduCODE 2002 was our first five (5) day conference, held Tuesday thru Saturday. We offered a limited class schedule on Saturday, primarily targeting Special Inspections for recertification, but also offered a NFPA class. We had 521 students.
EduCODE 2003 was the first year we hosted the conference at the Orleans Hotel and Casino. The Orleans Hotel and casino had more classroom and exhibit space than we had at the Riviera Hotel and Casino and we had 377 students.
EduCODE 2004 was the first five day conference, held Monday thru Friday. We offered the most classes in our history, increasing from 28 classes to 54 classes. We implemented many new training partners and exhibitors to assist with our conference. We also added an EduCODE appreciation party on Tuesday night at Brenden’s Pub (Inside the Orleans) as a way to thank our 736 students, our instructors and all of our volunteers.
EduCODE 2005 increased the number of classes to 60 and we had over 940 students. We also initiated our first EduCODE exhibit booth during the ICC Annual Business Meeting.
EduCODE 2006 offered 67 classes and this was the conference we first introduced half-day class sessions and we had 1,110 students.
EduCODE 2007 offered 69 classes and 1,255 students.
EduCODE 2008 offered 76 classes and it was our most successful conference to date. 1,325 students attended our 2008 conference.
EduCODE 2009 offered 87 classes and was attended by 939 students. The US economic downturn had just begun and government budgets tightened.
EduCODE 2010 offered 71 classes and was attended by 817 students. Even with the US economic downturn, education is still a priority for attendees to obtain their CEU’s in order to re-certify through ICC, IAPMO, IAEI and AIA. We also introduced our Monday night Welcoming Event, sponsored by the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC).
EduCODE 2011 offered 75 classes and was attended by over 900 students. We also had over 30 vendors participating in our EduCODE EXPO, a Monday night Welcoming Event, and our Tuesday night Mardi Gras Student Appreciation Event. We also received over $700 in donations from all attendees towards our Toddler Swim Lesson Grant Program.
EduCODE 2012 offered:
- 75 different building and fire code classes based upon the 2008/2009 and 2011/2012 codes
- A week-long EduCode EXPO
- ICC and IAPMO Bookstores
- Monday night Welcoming Event
- Tuesday night Mardi Gra Student Appreciation Event
- Lunches, break food and beverages included with registration