The International Code Council (ICC) honored several industry experts for their contributions to safety in the built environment Wednesday during its 2012 Annual Conference in Portland:

• John Terry, Manager of Code Services for the state of New Jersey, was presented the Gerald H. Jones Code Official of the Year Award.
• Joe Sauerwein, District Manager of the Blue Point Fire District on Long Island, New York, was honored with the Fire Service Award.
• Deborah Vanek, Code Compliance Officer for California’s San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, was the recipient of the Community Service Award.
• Judith Rothschild Dicine, Supervisor and Assistant State's Attorney of Housing for the state of Connecticut, accepted the Affiliate Award.

Terry Recipient of Gerald H. Jones Code Official of the Year Award

	(L-R) Acting CEO Dominic Sims; Board of Directors President William D. Dupler; John Terry; and Board of Directors member Gregori Anderson.

The Code Official of the Year Award is presented to an individual whose contributions to the code enforcement profession are meritorious. The individual must demonstrate professional abilities and be recognized as an example for all members of the code enforcement profession.

Since 1995, Terry has served on at least 14 code-related committees of the Code Council, including six terms as Chair or Vice-Chair. He also is Chair of the ICC Codes and Standards Council and Vice Chair of the International Building Code Council, and continues to serve as a moderator for code development and final action hearings for the International Codes.

"Receiving an award for doing what I love is a thrill,” Terry said. “But even more flattering is being acknowledged by folks I have so much respect for. I hold the membership of this organization in high regard. I've worked closely with many of you over the years. I've argued with many of you over the years. But I've learned from you. We might not always agree on every point. But we always come out with a better product for working together. Participating, thinking and debating in this forum make us all better at what we do. Thank you very much for this award. I'll cherish it.”

Terry serves as Chair of ICC’s Region VII Committee and has been recognized by numerous New Jersey Chapters for his dedication and outstanding leadership. In 2001, he was presented the Vincent Ozzie Pecllicchia Man of the Year Award by the Building Officials Association of New Jersey.

Sauerwein Presented ICC Fire Service Award

	(L-R) Acting CEO Dominic Sims; Board of Directors President William D. Dupler; Joe Sauerwein; and Board of Directors member Gregori Anderson.

The Fire Service Award is bestowed to an individual for service, professional abilities and leadership that are exemplary in the development of the International Fire Code and one who has served as an example to all fire prevention and fire protection professionals.

In 2009, Sauerwein retired from the town of Brookhaven, N.Y., after 27 years of service and returned to Long Island’s Blue Point Fire District, where he has served as chief and district fire commissioner. He remains active in the codes arena, serving on the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York Standards & Codes Committee as well as the New York State Code Council, and remains active in numerous activities of the International Code Council.

Upon receiving the award, Sauerwein said: “To all the fine men and women of the fire service, and all the building officials in the state of New York, and I might add, in the State of New Jersey, and most importantly to each and every one of you, the members of the International Code Council—my peers my colleagues, my friends, thank you so much for what you do every day for our communities.”

Vanek Recipient of ICC Community Service Award

	(L-R) Acting CEO Dominic Sims; Board of Directors President William D. Dupler; Deborah Vanek; and Board of Directors member Gregori Anderson.

The Community Service Award recognizes meritorious service that promotes public health, safety and welfare above and beyond normal expectations. Vanek was honored for her successful work in developing and maintaining the Caregiver Connection, a program in the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District where licensed residential care facilities and regulatory agencies work together to solve problems and have open communications relative to the fire and life safety of the facilities’ elderly residents.

The program’s goals include improving code compliance, reducing repeated code violations, cultivating emergency preparedness, reducing 911 calls, and encouraging trained facility staff to administer CPR.

“This is something that everyone can do in their communities,” Vanek said. “It just takes the vision and the heart to be able to say, 'Let's not go along traditional government lines that have been drawn in the sand and lets all work together.' That's my charge to you; you can make this happen.”

Dicine Presented ICC Affiliate Award

	(L-R) Acting CEO Dominic Sims; Board of Directors President William D. Dupler; Judith Rothschild Dicine; and Board of Directors member Gregori Anderson.

Recipients of the ICC Affiliate Award demonstrate the qualities of integrity, professionalism and dedication through service to the building safety profession, and personal standards that represent the spirit of public service to the development of codes and standards in the interest of public safety. Dicine was honored for her effective use of code enforcement while serving as the prosecutor in a trial involving illegal occupancy that resulted in a fire death. The court determined the death was the result of a code violation that required two exits from an attic apartment.

Dicine teaches seminars for code officials that address code enforcement, legal issues, stop work orders, unsafe structures and illegal dwelling units. She was named Code Enforcement Official of the Year and recipient of the John Potkay Award for Distinguished Service by the Connecticut Association of Housing Code Enforcement Officials.

“Thank you for this fantastic award and thank you for this recognition,” Dicine said. “I'm just a lawyer, but you are the thresholds to public safety. I understand that, and I hope that you do too. I know that your field is very difficult many days, but the fact is that the public owes you very much. The enforcement of building codes is a commitment to public safety. One, that is a law that we should all be enforcing, and I'm very proud to do so.”