Scott Homrich becomes NDA president

Many of the usual elements of the association’s industry gathering were present – including awards, scholarships and a Lifetime Achievement announcement – but with the original four-day event and its two-day alternative both cancelled because of Covid-19, it was an online audience that viewed the proceedings.

Scott Homrich, vice president of the Michigan based family-run contractor Homrich Wrecking, succeeds Chris Godek in the president’s role and paid tribute to his predecessor and the NDA’s committees for their efforts in the Covid-hit past 12 months, especially in the fields of education and safety.

“It has been a challenging year for our industry and community to overcome, but I see a bright future ahead of us,” said Scott.

“Under the leadership of Chris Godek and my fellow board of directors we have persevered and emerged a stronger organisation. I look forward to continuing our work to advance the mission of NDA and inspire the next generation of great leaders in demolition.”

James Milburn, managing principal of Milburn Demolition in Illinois, will serve as vice president during Scott’s two-year term.

The Excellence in Demolition Awards went to Thornton Tomasetti in the $0 to $500,000 category, Veit & Company for over $500,000 to $2 million, and O’Rourke Wrecking for projects over $2 million.

Winners of the Michael J Casbon Safety Award were Cherry Companies (under 100,000 man hours per year category), Ferma Corporation (100,001 to 350,000) and O’Rourke Wrecking and The Winter Construction Company/Winter Environmental (350,000-plus).

Herbert T Duane Jr was awarded for Lifetime Achievement. President of demolition contractor Duane Corporation, he was a founder of the NDA and is a Fellow of the United Kingdom’s Institute of Demolition Engineers. He is also a noted demolition writer and columnist.

The keynote speaker was Ken Simonson of the Associated General Contractors of America. Discussing the prospects for US construction as it recovers from Covid, he said that the industry lost over one million jobs between February and April 2020, but despite that only 18% of firms expect it to be easier to hire staff in the next 12 months.

• For more coverage of the NDA’s annual event, please see the March-April issue of Demolition & Recycling International, which is published later this month