Building Industry Association presents 2009 APEX awards

The Building Industry Association of Okaloosa and Walton Counties, Inc. presented its prestigious 2009 APEX Awards during ceremonies Oct. 13 at the Pelican Beach Resort in Destin. 

Since 1999, the APEX Awards have annually recognized the “Achievement of Professional Excellence” by its members in a number of categories which include many of the crafts, trades and professions involved in the homebuilding and remodeling industries, as well as citing companies and individuals who support and enhance the industry. 

Judging for categories in the APEX Awards is done by an independent panel of judges from outside the local area who have a wide range of expertise in many aspects of the industry. The judges do not score the entries in competition with one another, but instead rate them against a standard of “Excellence”.  Consequently, there may be more than one award presented in the same category or the judges may elect to present no awards at all in a category.

In the category of “Home Design Elements”, one award was presented.

Waugh Custom Homes was awarded a trophy for amazing ceilings in which the judges said “Love the ceilings!  Fantastic Trim Detail!” This entry was also chosen by the judges to represent the BIA in the 2010 Aurora Awards at the Southeastern Builders Conference in Orlando.

In the category of “Outdoor Living and Landscaping,” Terry L. Crew Construction, Inc. was awarded a trophy for a rental home's outdoor living space in which the judges said “Great fit with the site's natural amenities!”

In the category of “Architecture,” there were two awards given out. One for residential and the other for commercial.

Lifestyles Design Group was awarded a trophy for a whimsical nautical themed home with an elevator, bamboo floors, 10' high ceilings and more.

Service First, LLC won for a commercial building inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright and Craftsman style architecture.

In the category of “New Construction — Residential,” two trophies were given out.

Decks N Such Marine was awarded for a home that won an award by Lifestyles Design Group in the Architecture category. The judges called this home “Liveable fun!”

Babin Development Company was also awarded a trophy for a home in which the judges said “Beautiful Villa Look!”

There was one winner in the category of “Energy Efficiency.”

Gordon Air Conditioning won their award for a 6,640 square floor home that uses only 10KWH per day more than the average 1,500 square foot home. This includes their heated pool and lawn pumps.

New to the APEX Awards, the judges decided on a Golden APEX winner.  The entry that won this award had the highest score among all of the entries.  The 2009 Golden APEX winner was Waugh Custom Homes.

For more information on the APEX Awards or the Building Industry Association, visit www.biaow.org or call 850-863-5107.

This article was contributed to The Log by the Building Industry Association of Okaloosa and Walton Counties, Inc.