Shon Smith, prefabrication manager with ACI Mechanical from ABC’s Iowa Chapter, won ABC’s first Young Professional of the Year Award, and the University of Cincinnati won both the 2015 Construction Management Competition and the 2015 ABC Student Chapter of the Year Award. The awards were presented at the Future Leaders Awards Luncheon during ABC’s Leadership Week in San Diego Nov. 11.

ABC’s Young Professional program was founded in 2014 and aims to shape the future of our industry by supporting the growth of professionals under the age of 40 who are employed by ABC member companies. Smith was among three finalists for the Young Professional of the Year Award chosen from a field of more than 100 nominees representing 47 ABC chapters and more than 80 member companies. In addition to the award, Smith received $1,000 and will be interviewed for a feature story in Construction Executive magazine.

The 2015 Construction Management Competition, sponsored by FASTTAC, featured teams from 23 universities. Each team provided a price and technical proposal for this year’s project, a 40,000-square-foot museum for the Fort Collins community in Northern Colorado, before competing in a spontaneous exercise led by the competition committee. Top teams were interviewed by the committee, and the University of Cincinnati team was selected as the winner based on its presentation along with the grades for estimating, project management and scheduling, safety and quality control.

The ABC student chapter at the University of Cincinnati was also named the 2015 Student Chapter of the Year for its accomplishments in programming, community service, communications and public relations and interaction with its sponsor, the ABC Ohio Valley Chapter, during the academic year. The student chapter was chosen from a list of five finalists and received a $2,000 cash prize, complimentary registration, hotel accommodations and airfare for two members to attend ABC’s 2016 Legislative Week in Washington, D.C., June 20-23, 2016, and coverage in ABC National publications.

2015 ABC Young Professional of the Year Shon Smith

Photo credit: Ken Randall

ABC's University of Cincinnati Student Chapter

Photo credit: Ken Randall