BC’s Residential Construction Person of the Year 2011

Chad Jensen, president of Cranbrook's New Dawn Developments, was surprised to hear about winning the award

Chad Jensen, president of Cranbrook's New Dawn Developments, is eager to attend the awards ceremony in April 2012. — Breanne Massey photo

To be named BC's Residential Construction Person of the Year 2011, you not only have to be an excellent builder and visionary leader, you have to be inspirational.

Chad Jensen, president of New Dawn Developments in Cranbrook, B.C., meets and exceeds all three of these criteria, and has won this year's honour bestowed by the Canadian Home Builders Association of BC (CHBA BC) and BC Homes magazine, after a detailed nomination and judging phase.

"The nominations we received for the fifth annual award were all tremendous, but the glowing testimonials about Chad Jensen—personally and professionally—were unmatched," said M.J. Whitemarsh, editorial director of BC Homes magazine. "He was singled out for his vision as a leader in the Kootenay region's development industry, which started in its time of incredible growth, and also during the devastating downturn in the region about three years ago. But, perhaps even more importantly, he was earmarked as a wonderful family man and person of great integrity who is dedicated to giving back to his beloved hometown."

Chad Jensen was humbled when told about the award, but echoing the name of his company, he says it symbolizes a "new dawn" for the industry. Jensen refers to himself as that "next generation of builder," taking the reins from the baby boomers like his father, Rick Jensen, who started the company when Chad was still a youth.
  
This "next generation" has had a bumpy ride so far with the recession, but Chad has shown his innovation and perseverance by continuously looking for new ways to grow and expand the business and industry in the region overall. He is also a board member of the one-year-old Canadian Home Builders Association of the Rocky Mountains.

Jensen will be honoured by his colleagues at an awards event in Cranbrook in April 2012, details on purchasing tickets and the venue will be released next month.

Jensen is the first winner from the Kootenay region. Previous winners of the province-wide award have included David Podmore of Concert Properties in Vancouver, Doug Wittal of DW Builders in Kamloops, Doug Bromage, president of InSight Developments in Nanaimo and Tim Kasten of Hillside Contracting in Kamloops.

Read Chad Jensen's profile or subscribe and receive the February/March issue of BC Homes for the full story.

For more information on this award or on BC Homes magazine, please visit www.bchomesmag.com