Jimmy Strusowski, right, accepting his award for Young Professional of the Year.
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One of the biggest challenges this year for Jimmy Strusowski of Seiberlich Trane Energy Services has been the company- and industry-wide crisis of getting parts and materials.
Coping with that and other challenges helped him earn the Young Professional of the Year award last week at the Associated Builders & Contractors, Delaware Chapter’s annual Excellence in Construction Awards dinner.
“I don’t really look at challenges as an issue or really stay too concerned with them,” he said. “We will always have challenges with whatever we do and that to me adds the fun to work. My life challenge is the daily juggle of work, family and the extra after work activities to be successful.”
Finding time for all, he said, can be difficult but can always be accomplished by being open for change.
Strusowski was one of five individuals and 29 companies honored Thursday at Wilmington’s Chace Center.
“The award to me exemplifies our hard work of staying focused and the challenges that are brought to being a young person in the construction field,” Strusowski said. He brought home the award for Young Professional of the Year.
“The ceremony gave us all a platform to go in front of the association itself and say let’s get involved and let’s be one, let’s be a stronger group moving forward,” he said.
Strusowski and other winners were nominated for awards from ABC members.
“The process involves filling out a nomination form, then coming in for an interview with a panel of committee members to best describe how you can forward the construction industry,” he said.
ABC is a national construction industry trade association representing more than 22,000 members in 68 chapters.
ABC Delaware Chapter has more than 500 members statewide.
The group helps members develop its staff, win work, and deliver that work safely, ethically and profitably for the betterment of the communities in which ABC and its members work.
Strusowski said he went for the award because he saw an opportunity to get in front of the association and thank his mentors.
“I also wanted to explain the difference ABC made in my career by getting involved and giving my part to the association to try and better it,” he said. “The certain program that really pushed me forward was the ABC Next Gen mentor program which partners a young professional with a board member.”
He said the program helped him and others learn life experiences and can save young workers from going down a bad road or choosing a wrong decision in their career journey, as well as doubling down and getting reinsurance for good ideas.
“You can get smarter in a shorter period of time and it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” said Strusowski, a graduate of the Delaware Military Academy and the York College of Pennsylvania.
For the 31-year-old, what pushed him the most as a young professional in the field was being involved in an association and putting in the extra time.
“I am a wrestling coach and wrestled all the way through college,” he said. “What made athletes successful was not just going to practice every day, it was also doing the extras after practice.”
Professional work life is the same philosophy, he said.
“I decided to focus on ABC Delaware and joined committees while also doing mentor programs every time they were offered,” he said. “The skills, disciplines, and philosophies you learn from veteran professionals drive you into the future, and it really is an opportunity that you cannot miss.”
Here were the results from Thursday’s event:
ABC Delaware Craft Championship Winners
This September ABC Delaware hosted the trades competition to recognize the best apprentices in the electrical and plumbing trades.
There were 10 competitors, and the gold medal winners will be representing Delaware in the ABC National Craft Championships in Florida in March 2024.
The gold medalist for electrical was Andrew Antinora of Nickle Electrical Companies.
The gold medalist in plumbing was Meallan Hammond from Apex Mechanical & Fabrication.
The Silver medalist in electrical was Anton Bahrynivskyi from Pace Electrical & Generator Services and the silver medalist in plumbing was Eddie Kirkley of Ralph G. Degli Obizzi & Sons.
The Charter Cup
Mike Horsey of Common Sense Solutions was awarded the Charter Cup, presented annually to the ABC contractor member who exemplifies the true meaning of the Merit Shop philosophy and has contributed to the success of the association.
Horsey has served a six-year term on the ABC Board of Directors.
He also has served on various committees including legislative/legal rights, Kent/Sussex Counties Advisory Committee, and recently chaired the Kent/Sussex Membership Committee.
In his acceptance speech, Horsey said, “Someone once told me love and cherish your family and friends and the rest will take care of itself. I’m a testament to that. I look at all my friends here in this room, along with my family, and am humbled to be honored with this award. I especially thank my family for letting me be me and helping with the successes we enjoy today.”
Associate/Supplier Member of the Year
Stephanie Hultberg of United Rentals was honored as the associate/supplier of the year, given to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the association through committee involvement and sponsorship of ABC events.
Hultberg has committed countless hours of her time to ABC, providing guidance to ABC during our expansion into Kent/Sussex counties by providing contractor contacts.
She was a member of ABC’s Kent/Sussex Advisory Board and Membership Committee which helped with recruitment and retention of members in this area.
Excellence In Construction Building Awards
ABC Delaware honored 29 companies this year in the Excellence In Construction Building Awards program. The program recognizes as the “Best of the Best” in the construction industry, with projects in six different states this year.
The judges are non-ABC Delaware members and represent a wide cross-section of the industry.
Project criteria includes size of the project, relationships with owners/developers, safety and a commitment to excellence.
The full list of winners includes:
- GGA Construction
- EDiS Co.
- Whiting-Turner
- Nason Construction
- BPGS Construction
- Nowland Associates
- DiSabatino Construction
- Wohlsen Construction
- Bancroft Construction
- Ralph G. Degli Obizzi & Sons
- Worth & Co.
- Apex Mechanical
- JF Sobieski Mechanical
- Service Unlimited
- Delaware Heating & A/C
- Nickle Electrical Companies
- Pace Electrical & Generator Services
- Filec Electrical Services
- M. Davis & Sons
- The Tri-M Group
- George & Lynch
- Corrado Construction Co.
- Assurance Media
- R. S. Widdoes and Son
- GFP Cement Contractors
- Wayman Fire Protection
- Tri-State the Roofers
- RC Fabricators
- Eastern Industrial Services
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN’s Michael Smerconish’s YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
Jarek can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (215) 450-9982. Follow him on Twitter @jarekrutz
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