Mark Nabity, president of Grayhawk, LLC in Lexington, Ky., joined AWCI’s Circle of Leadership when he received the coveted Pinnacle Award during the Awards Presentation Brunch at AWCI’s 89th Annual convention in Long Beach,Calif.
A Pinnacle Award winner is recognized for giving unselfishly of his time and energies to benefit AWCI and the industry. Not only are the candidates evaluated on their dedication to the industry, but on their civic and community work and the excellence of their companies.
Nabity has held many leadership positions with AWCI, most notably as president in 1998–1999. He was instrumental as chairman of AWCI’s EIFS Curriculum and Examination Committee, having provided the impetus for the EIFSmart Contractor distinction. He later became president of AIC, Ltd., the AWCI-sponsored insurance company that provides coverage for quality contracting companies, including those who work with EIFS. Nabity has been both chairman of and participating member on many of AWCI’s industry committees, and is now serving on the board of directors of the Foundation of the Wall and Ceiling Industry.
Nabity also was one of the contributing authors to Light Gage Steel Framing Primer: A Guide to Understanding and Application, an industry standard that was first published by the Foundation of the Wall and Ceiling Industry in 1991.
But the Pinnacle isn’t the first award AWCI has bestowed on Nabity. He won AWCI’s Young Member Achievement Award in 1991, and in 2000 his company won AWCI’s Excellence in Construction Quality Award for its work on the Southeast Christian Church in Kentucky.
Back home, Nabity is very involved in his community. He’s been active in Leadership Lexington and United Way. He’s also been involved in a local organization called The Alternative Board, made up of small business owners. For many years, Nabity has also been involved with Lexington’s Living Arts and Science Center, which provides creative and unique opportunities for exploration and education in art and science.
Born and raised in Nebraska, Nabity was a boy scout, a member of the children’s choir and an accomplished athlete who played baseball, football and was captain of his high school swim team. At one point, he even performed synchronized swimming. As an adult, hobbies include golfing, skiing and playing racquetball.
After earning a degree in architecture from the University of Nebraska, Nabity went to work for USG. It was while working for USG that Nabity met Bill Bell, who was president of Grayhawk, LLC at that time. (Incidentally, Bell was AWCI’s 1992–1993 president and 1997 Pinnacle Award winner.) Nabity went to work for Grayhawk in 1981 as director of technical services, and he has been there ever since.
When Bell retired in 2001, he said several of his peers asked him how he was able to set up the company so that he could feel comfortable about it in his retirement. Says Bell, “I always tell my peers [that] first you have to start with a Mark Nabity, and then you can work out the rest of the details without any problem. He was the same dependable person from day one as he was the day I retired.”
