Islander talks at national convention

Published 11:07 am Saturday, February 13, 2016

Joe Honick, a Bainbridge Island resident and president of GMA International, was a principal speaker at the annual convention of the National Institute of Building Science in Washington, D.C.

Honick addressed the implications of terrorism in buildings and the role of creative communications to ensure effective involvement of those who design, build and occupy buildings across the nation.

“One of the main reasons insufficient security preparations are accomplished, including what the government provides,” Honick noted, “is excessively complex information material in federal and state manuals and other communications. “

As the founder and president of the International Commercial Tenants Association, Honick spoke to the problems faced mainly by small and medium businesses and professional businesses who find it difficult to get necessary information about facility changes and other factors, proposing specific steps that could be taken both for security and to minimize liability.

He stressed the urgent necessity for all elements related to the design, construction, financing and professional services for buildings to become part of a coordinated force to provide on-going creative communications through all media to those who must carry out security measures.

Honick, who is the published author of articles dealing with national and international public and political affairs, is a former senior vice president of the National Association of Home Builders of the United States and has chaired committees on modular construction and foreign investment in American real estate for NIBS. He is also a life director for NAHB.