The awards were made by the U.S. Green Building Council Florida Gulf Coast Region.

TAMPA BAY – A St. Petersburg council member and the city of Largo were among those awarded for being environmentally aware.

The awards were part of the U.S. Green Building Council Florida Gulf Coast Region’s seventh annual LEEDership Awards celebration. The nonprofit organization recognized and honored those outstanding projects, inspirational businesses, dedicated volunteers and individuals, and instrumental chapter members who are LEEDing the way to a more sustainable built environment in the Florida Gulf Coast community. More than 100 guests attended the awards ceremony earlier this month at USF St. Petersburg’s LEED Gold Certified University Student Center. Winners were

• Outstanding Green Community LEEDer — Caroline King / Everglades University
• Outstanding Green Business — Willis A. Smith Construction
• Outstanding Green Elected Official — Darden Rice / city of St. Petersburg
• Outstanding Green Government — city of Largo
• Outstanding LEED for Homes / Single Family Project –Lotus on Orange
• Outstanding LEED for New Construction / Education –University of Tampa / Daly Innovation and Collaboration Building
• Outstanding LEED for New Construction / Education — Eckerd College / James Center for Molecular and Life Sciences
• Outstanding LEED for New Construction / Nonprofit — Metropolitan Ministries / Miracle Place
• Outstanding LEED for New Construction / Nonprofit — Sarasota Audubon Nature Center
• Outstanding LEED for New Construction / Public — Pinellas County / Public Safety Building A
• Outstanding LEED for New Construction / Public– city of Oldsmar / Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant
• Branch Volunteer of the Year / Myakka River — Robbie Gronback, Willis A. Smith Construction
• Branch Volunteer of the Year / Tampa Bay — John Eveland, George F. Young, Inc.
• Branch Volunteer of the Year / Southwest Florida — Cheryl Lewandowski, JMC Distributors
• Chapter Volunteer of the Year — Sarah Mason, Strategic Property Partners
• President’s Award — Michael Carlson, Carlson Studio Architecture
• Greenest Apple Award — Travis Barnes, Hillsborough County

St  Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman highlighted the evening of recognition and appreciation for the Florida Gulf Coast’s green-building community as the event’s keynote speaker. Kriseman’s presentation focused on the challenges of building a resilient city in the face of climate change and its impact on infrastructure demands.

Alexis Muellner, editor of the Tampa Bay Business Journal, served as the evening’s guest emcee. Sophia Wisniewska, Regional Chancellor of USF, welcomed attendees to campus. Mike Hess, chair and president of USGBC Florida, provided guests with an update of the U.S. Green Building Council.

In addition to the awards presentations and keynote address, LEEDership included a pre-event sponsored reception, dinner, networking (the organization calls it GREENworking) with industry professionals from throughout the USA, and a raffle. As the region’s sole fundraising event of the year, LEEDership raised funds to support educational activities and initiatives held throughout the year.

LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. Created and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is a voluntary, consensus-based national rating system for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. To receive LEED Certification, building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification. LEED addresses all building types and emphasizes state-of-the-art “green” strategies in five areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality. LEED Accredited Professionals (LEED APs) have demonstrated a thorough understanding of green building techniques and the LEED Green Building Rating System.

The U.S. Green Building Council Florida Chapter is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings that conserve land, energy, water, resources and materials. Its mission is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life. USGBC Florida has nearly 15,000 members, volunteers and friends providing educational programs and market transformation services to the Sunshine State from seven Regions — Central Florida, Florida Capital, Florida Gulf Coast, Heart of Florida, Northeast Florida, Northern Gulf Coast, and South Florida.

For information about the U.S. Green Building Council Florida Gulf Coast Region, go to usgbcflorida.org.

U.S. Green Building Council | Green Awards | Darden Rice | Largo | Oldsmar | TB Reporter

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