MBIA's 2015 Leadership Awards Lou Baker Honored with Kettler Award Lou Baker, Founder and CEO of Goodier Baker, a long-time active and dedicated member of MBIA (formerly HBAM/ MNCBIA) and a past President, was chosen to receive the 2015 Milton E. Kettler Lifetime Achievement Award, presented in recognition of his nearly 20 years of achievement, meaningful participation and contributions to the building industry and to the community in which he lives and works. Lou received this prestigious award in recognition of numerous contributions to the Association, including participating on multiple technical and legislative committees throughout the years, serving on the former Home Builders Association of Maryland’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee and stepping up to serve as president in 2008. In 2014, Lou threw his support behind the proposed merger of HBAM and the Maryland Building Industry Association and played an active role on not one, but two merger working groups, who worked tirelessly to ensure the merger went smoothly and resulted in the establishment of a new strong, successful association. Apart from his Association work, Lou is heavily involved in community and charitable activities, including the American Diabetes Association, Habitat for Humanity, Johns Hopkins Children’s House, Darrell Green Youth Life Foundation, Lombardi Cancer Institute, Ronald McDonald House, and the George L. Baker Jr. Scholarship Fund. As a proud Loyola University graduate, he served as a board member of the school’s Alumni Association and was a steering committee member for their Accounting Alumni Circle. His achievements over the years have not gone unnoticed. He was honored as Home Builder of the Year in 2008 by HBAM and also received the Homebuilding Lifetime Achievement Award from Maryland Life magazine. Now he is being honored with the prestigious Milton E. Kettler Award for his service to the industry and for contributions that go above and beyond “normal” volunteer activity. The award presentation was made on December 5 at MBIA’s Winter Ball held at the Cattail Creek Country Club in Glenwood, MD.
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Liza Bowles Honored with Rodgers Award Liza Bowles, President of Newport Partners, was selected as the 2015 recipient of the Maryland Building Industry Association’s Joseph C. Rodgers Sr. “Associate of the Year” Award. The award is presented annually in recognition of extraordinary and outstanding services by an associate member to the Association throughout the current year of the award. Liza has been an active member of the Association since joining the former MNCBIA in 2002 and has also heartily encouraged participation by employees of her company, most notably on the Codes & Standards Committee. In fact, she and Newport Partners provided training programs throughout 2015 on residential provisions of the New Energy Code for MBIA members. Since 2007 Liza has been a dedicated member of the Home Builders Care Foundation’s Board of Directors. In 2011 and 2012, she captained HBCF’s first energy efficiency retrofit projects, drafting some of her business partners for financial support and donations of equipment, and enlisting many of her staff members as volunteers to monitor the effectiveness of the projects over the course of two years. Liza was installed as President of Home Builders Care in 2013 and has held that position for three years (serving as co-President in the last quarter of 2014 during the merger with the HBAM Building Industries Foundation). The position of HBCF President is normally a two-year term, however, in 2015, Liza agreed to serve one additional year as Foundation President to oversee and manage the merger process of the Home Builders Care Foundation and the Building Industries Foundation and assist in the development of a united board of directors with a shared focus on vision, mission and goals. During her term as President and specifically in 2015, Liza was also instrumental in helping the Foundation renew its accreditation with the Standards for Excellence Institute, expand its participation with the Combined Federal Campaign, as well as develop a new strategic plan for the Foundation as it explores various ways to help the building industry give back to help the homeless and others at-risk. Liza’s dedication and service are exemplary. She has made outstanding contributions over the past three years through her commitment of time, knowledge and expertise in her role as President of the Home Builders Care Foundation. She is a shining example of what the Joseph C. Rodgers Sr. Award was established to recognize. The award presentation was made on December 5 at MBIA’s Winter Ball held at Cattail Creek Country Club in Glenwood, MD.