The Reeds Spring School District, the team behind the Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Co. building project and a trio of construction and development powerhouses are the top honorees in the Salute to Design and Construction Awards.
The 41st annual awards event was held tonight at Oasis Convention Center.
The Springfield Contractors Association tapped the team behind the Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Co. new can line and corporate office facility as the winner of the Design Team of the Year Award.
The team behind the design-build project included the company’s ownership plus Buxton Kubik Dodd Design Collective, architect and mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer; Own Inc., civil engineer; Miller Engineering LLC, structural engineer; Creative Design Consultants Inc., interior design; and Ross Construction Group LLC, construction manager.
SCA also named the Reeds Spring schools as winner of the Developer of the Year Award for its work on three projects spurred by a $40 million voter-approved bond. They are a $14.9 million primary school renovation and addition, completed in 2023; and its $36 million Table Rock Career Center and its 125-acre Wolf Pack Park, both completed in 2024, according to past SBJ reporting.
Three Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented – two posthumously – by the Salute Council to recognize recipients’ lifetime commitment to the design and construction industry. They are Dwain Gold, who founded Gold Mechanical Inc. in 1987 and retired in 2015; the late Sheryl Letterman, who led SCA as executive director for nearly three decades, from 1986 to 2015, and died Sept. 29 at age 74; and the late Bill Nesbitt, who founded Nesbitt Construction Inc. in 1977 and died Oct. 22 at age 82.
The American Institute of Architects awarded Craftsman of the Year to Nathaniel Turner with Performance Contracting Inc. for his work on Reed Academy. Additionally, the organization presented the Superintendent of the Year award to David Simkins with Nabholz Construction Corp. for his work on the Springfield-Branson National Airport general aviation terminal.
The National Association of Women in Construction presented two Outstanding Women in Construction Awards: the Rosebud Award, for someone who has been in the industry for less than 10 years, to Jessi Looney of Springfield Builders Inc., and the Vesta Award, for someone who has been in the industry for 10 years or longer, to Stephanie San Paolo with DeWitt & Associates Inc.
The event also included the presentation of 32 scholarships, the recognition of four Missouri State University teams that placed in the Associated Schools of Construction Region IV Management Competition and a display of the annual photo contest award winners.
An expanded version of this article is planned in the Nov. 14 Daily Update and Nov. 17 print edition.