The Clark County, Washington, Building Safety Division was presented the Code Council's "Raising the Profile" Award during the 2011 Building Safety Month Reception at ICC Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Clark County was honored for its participation in the "Think Permit" public awareness campaign that reaches children as well as adults and addresses issues from construction design to energy efficiency. Code Council Board of Directors President Jimmy Brothers (right) presented the award to Clark County Chief Building Official Jim Muir.

The "Raising the Profile" Award was established four years ago to recognize efforts by individuals and organizations to raise public awareness of exemplary efforts to improve public safety in the built environment. For five years the Clark County Building Safety trailer has brought examples of good and bad construction and interactive displays and tools to neighborhoods. In their own words, they have "taken boring out of a governmental booth" and included parent and child activities ranging from building birdhouses to a rubber ducky toss.

Clark County's new "Planet Clark Dot Com" effort incorporates private sector sponsorship and interactive displays to teach county residents of all ages about the importance of energy efficiency. Clark County's reputation for innovation extends to being one of the first departments in the Pacific Northwest to incorporate laptop computers into field inspections, and having a disaster response program that includes training.