Atlanta Real Estate Forum congratulates Dennis McConnell with McConnell Homes for being named the Greater Atlanta HBA’s 2015 Builder of the Year at this year’s OBIE Awards. Presented by the Atlanta Sales and Marketing Council, the OBIE Awards are the premier awards given in the Atlanta new home construction industry.
If you’ve been active in Atlanta’s homebuilding industry for any length of time, you’ve probably crossed paths with Dennis McConnell. An Atlanta builder for more than 43 years, he has actively invested his energy to make the industry better throughout his career.
Dennis has been extraordinarily active in his work with the permitting process in the City of Atlanta. He has served as a member of various task forces and committees, including the City of Atlanta Housing Task Force, the Task Force for Building Permit Reform, the City of Atlanta Permitting Improvement Committee, the Scopes of Work Committee and the City of Atlanta Building Enterprise Advisory Fund.
He has also been a leader in the effort to build better homes in Atlanta. All homes built by his company, McConnell Homes, have been built under energy efficiency programs like ENERGY STAR®, Environments for Living, GoodCents®, EnergyWise, the Watt Count System or EarthCraft House. He is currently building American Lung Association “Health Homes,” which are certified as allergen-free homes. Dennis was also a founding board member for the HBA’s Green Building Council and served on the HBA’s Green Building Council Board of Directors from 2009 to 2011. In 2004, he was named the EarthCraft Custom Builder of the Year, and in 2005, he won the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Exceptional Merit Award for Context Sensitive Neighborhood Infill Design for the Lampkin Street Cottages.
Other industry involvement includes his work as a member of the Atlanta Mortgage Consortium, the Steering Committee for the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Housing Task Force, and the Custom Builders/Atlanta, LLC and CB USA, LLC buying cooperatives. Throughout the years, Dennis has served on countless other boards and committees that have facilitated financing opportunities and community improvement in the City of Atlanta.
Dennis’ work within the HBA is also extensive and spans much of his career. The founding President of the HBA’s Inner Atlanta Chapter, Dennis has been an active leader ever since, even being awarded the chapter’s Builder of the Year award in 1991. He has also served on the HBA’s Executive Committee, was a BPAC Trustee and was a past Membership Chair for the Sales and Marketing Council. Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors for the local HBA, the Home Builders Association of Georgia, and the National Association of Home Builders. He is also a lifetime member of the HBA’s Board of Directors, and was honored last year with the prestigious Presidential Award for his service to the industry and the HBA.
Dennis’ volunteer efforts and work to improve the lives of others even extends beyond the building industry. He has been an adult leader and Assistant Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America for more than 25 years. In addition, he was a past President of the Virginia Highland Civic Association and the Virginia Highland Civic Fund.
The HBA is proud to recognize Dennis McConnell as the 2015 Builder of the Year.
Presented annually, the Builder of the Year award is given to a member that has demonstrated their commitment to professional excellence. In addition, the award recognizes them for their contributions to furthering the goals and mission of the HBA through volunteer efforts within the association and the housing industry, as well as community and charitable service.
The Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association’s OBIE Awards celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2015. The awards began in 1980 and have grown throughout the years to include more than 100 building, remodeling, marketing and personal achievement categories. The OBIE Awards are named after the obelisk shape of the actual award given. To see all of this year’s OBIE award winners, visit www.AtlantaRealEstateForum.com/OBIEs.