Unique contributions to the local housing industry and its professional association took centre stage when the 2023 Special Achievement Awards were presented at the recent annual general meeting of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA).
Linda Oliveri Blanchard, Enercare and Roy Nandram of RND Construction were presented with trophies before a full house of enthusiastic housing industry members.
Along with the awards and association business, the AGM included the inauguration of Glenview Homes’ Pat Daniels as the new association president. Daniels replaces outgoing president David Renfroe.
Colonel Boss Award
Oliveri Blanchard, who is senior regional manager of Eastern Ontario for HVAC specialist Enercare, took home the Colonel Boss Award. Named for the association’s first executive director, the award honours outstanding dedication and service to the association.
Winning the award is “very humbling,” said Oliveri Blanchard in an interview. “I rely on the association, my colleagues at Enercare, my clients, all the builders. Winning that award is really a reflection of a group effort. It makes me blush.”
A well-known personality in Ottawa’s housing sector, she’s been with Enercare for over 20 years, is a licensed gas fitter, and has long been a persuasive advocate for the local residential building industry. She’s currently secretary of GOHBA’s Housing Design Awards committee and has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity Greater Ottawa.
Noting the wide-reaching impact of Ottawa’s homebuilders — the way their projects mean work for tradespeople, manufacturers, distributors and others — Oliveri Blanchard said, “At the end of the day, development is what our city needs. The more we develop, the more modern, the more eco-friendly we are; it’s just the right thing to do.”
Fred Neilsen Award
Oliveri Blanchard also represented Enercare in accepting the Fred Neilsen Award for a company that has made outstanding and lasting contributions to the association and to the housing industry.
One of North America’s largest home and commercial HVAC services, Enercare provides and maintains heating, air conditioning and other products for almost two million customers in Canada and the U.S.
Saying the company was thrilled about the award and had trumpeted it on its social media pages, Oliveri Blanchard added, “We’re an Ontario company and we’re up against some international players and we’ve still grown to be the largest in North America. That’s one thing I’m very proud of.”
Enbridge Hall of Fame Award
Green building pioneer RND Construction took home this trophy awarded to a company that has provided 20 years or more of service and dedication to the local housing industry and to GOHBA.
A winner of dozens of national, provincial and local awards, custom home builder and renovator RND has operated in Ottawa for over 30 years. President Roy Nandram won the Fred Neilsen Award in 2021 and is a previous president of GOHBA.
Winning the award “makes me feel old,” joked Nandram, a man whose commitment to green building and the local housing industry is tireless.
“Homebuilders are a major part of our local economy — billions of dollars — and homebuilding is a very large employer. There’s a lot of spinoff business that comes from homebuilding: blinds, furniture, vacuum cleaners, snow blowers. Homebuilding is kind of the engine of the economy.”
Asked if he gets discouraged about the sometimes slow rate of progress on the green building front, Nandram said, “I don’t give up.”
