When Mark Roberts is asked what his proudest moment has been in his time at ICC, he originally misunderstands the question. "What has ICC done that has made me proudest of the organization?" he asks. When clarified that the question is about a personal accomplishment, he still demurs, mentioning a successful certification effort that he participated in as part of a team that took a lot of coordination. It's that kind of humility and willingness to work with a diverse group of individuals toward a common purpose that makes him such an effective Government Relations (GR) manager, a humility one might not otherwise expect from a diehard Saints fan.
A Louisiana native, Roberts spent the first 23 years of his career in the electrical industry before moving to the inspections department of St. Tammany Parish. There, he discovered his passion for the technical aspects of building codes and, encouraged by his superiors in the parish government, took as many Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI) certifications as he could, becoming chief electrical inspector within a year and earning his CEAP (the SBCCI equivalent of the ICC Master Code Professional certification) in three years.
From there, his career rose to serving as a building official under the State Fire Marshal of Louisiana, a four-time state legislator, under whom Roberts learned the value of coalition-building and working to promote unity in an often divisive regulatory climate. After cutting his teeth on the regulatory rulemaking and legislative activities in Louisiana, he came to work for ICC as a regional manager, covering many of the states around his home state, including the substantially larger geographic challenge of Texas.
Roberts has come a long way from being an electrical contractor and become well-versed in a diversity of the I-Codes. Recently, he has had a hand in a notable ICC success as Louisiana passed legislation last year to adopt the 2012 International Plumbing Code, replacing the state's home-grown code. While it has yet to take effect, Roberts has been working with the Plumbing Transition Commission as a resource for the Commission's technical questions.
That's a phrase that comes up a lot in talking about what he does as GR Senior Regional Manager: "being a resource." He has a vast knowledge of codes from both the theoretical and the hands-on side, and he's always willing to share — although he's got even more of a challenge now that, for the time being, he's managing seven states due to the recent retirement of the GR manager to his east, Mel Cosgrove.
Roberts finally gives an answer to the initial question so he actually takes direct credit for a change: "If you're asking what it is about my job that I like doing the most," he explains, "that's working with Members to solve problems that to them may seem insurmountable — whether that means getting them the information they need myself, or connecting them with the right people in ICC who can." He worries that the answer sounds corny. We worry that the answer sounds like he's trying to give credit to other people yet again, and that we're going to have to think of another way to get him to boast, just a little bit.
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