AWCI’s quiet leader made a loud impact on those around him on his path to the Pinnacle.
Brent Allen, vice president of Compass Construction in Dublin, Ohio, received the highest honor bestowed by the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry, the Pinnacle Award, during AWCI’s annual convention this past March.
The award is presented to a member who most merits the industry’s recognition for unselfish service to AWCI, the industry and his/her company.
Allen was chosen primarily due to his long involvement with AWCI and the Foundation of the Wall and Ceiling Industry, and the impacts he has had on the wall and ceiling industry. Records from 1998 through today show that Allen’s commitment to AWCI has been solid and steady. In addition to serving on various committees throughout the decades (see sidebar), Allen was 2010–2011 president of the association; however, his influences are especially obvious through his work with the AWCI Construction Technology Council.
In 2010–2011, Allen was part of the small team of subject-matter experts who were responsible for the creation of AWCI’s EIFS—Doing It Right® education program. His expertise and experience helped set the program’s policy, program content and certification exams. The EIFS program has since spawned many more trade-specific Doing It Right programs.
In late 2010, as AWCI’s president, Allen led the charge for a steel stud third-party code compliance testing program that incorporated equivalent metallic coatings. The end result was that the Steel Framing Industry Association was formed.
While he is well known for his technical know-how, his friends, colleagues and business associates describe him as being very humble, quiet, consistent, helpful, an asset and a leader. Here is what some had to say about him:
“He never wanted to be that front man that got all the attention.”
“He brought the technical part to AWCI—on the ASTM standards, on the steel framing. He brought so much technical to the table as the liaison between AWCI and whatever association he was working with that it helped the company he became a part of.”
“He’s really good about hearing everyone’s perspective, and then allowing the team that he is dealing with to come to a conclusion.”
“He’s a doer. He gets things done.”
“Brent has been extremely active as a member of AWCI serving in an extensive variety of leadership roles including the president. That by itself is a huge commitment, to walk through the chairs of AWCI, because it’s not like a year commitment, it’s probably a six- or seven-year commitment to the organization. And Brent walked that walk as elegantly as anyone could.”
“This isn’t a short-term thing. I think everything you see that he’s involved with, it’s not last year or the year before—it’s decades ago.
“Because he’s so tech savvy, he has taken the organization to a new level.”
Learn more about the man who has earned the respect and admiration of his peers, and now has AWCI’s highest honor, by watching the AWCI Pinnacle Award video that was presented at the annual convention on awci.org/awards.
