The Colorado Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services honored on March 5 the recipients of its 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards. The awards, which featured recipients in more than 17 categories, were presented at the Sherman Events Center.

Photo by Brad Nicol, Brad Nicol Photography, courtesy of SMPS

Leonardo Winner Dennis Richard (right), vice president of business development at Golden Triangle Construction, and a past president of SMPS, is pictured with Bob Trout.

Photo by Brad Nicol, Brad Nicol Photography, courtesy of SMPS

Michelle Ott (center), marketing manager at Denvers JE Dunn Construction, and the SMPS Colorado Membership Committee chair, was honored as the chapters Member of the Year. She is shown with Jane Pahl (left) and Kim Robertson.

This year marks the 33rd anniversary of the annual event, which is the longest-standing awards program recognizing excellence in marketing and communications by professional services firms in Colorado’s design and building industry.
The following SMPS Colorado members received individual awards:

• Leonardo Award: 
Dennis Richard, Golden Triangle Construction. 
The Leonardo Award is given by SMPS Colorado to honor achievement at the highest level in the AEC industry marketing and business development profession. This year’s award winner, Dennis Richard, is the vice president of business development at Golden Triangle Construction and a former president of SMPS Colorado (his second stint as president).

He is a graduate of Regis University with an MBA in market strategy and a recipient of the “Business Developer of the Year” award from SMPS Colorado in 2009. Before joining the construction industry, Richard was a sales trainer and also played drums in a rock-and-roll band that toured the western United States.

 • Member of the Year: Michelle Ott, JE Dunn Construction. Throughout her marketing career, Ott has found a tremendous satisfaction in serving as an advocate for her firm through the development of qualifications packages, proposals and award submittals. After graduation, she sought to focus on marketing full time and took a position at JE Dunn Construction in 2002 as the firm’s first Colorado-based marketing coordinator. Since 2009 Ott has significantly increased her involvement in SMPS, starting with committee participation, achieving her CPSM certification, and now serves on the board.

She has also grown in her professional role, currently as a marketing manager participating in marketing plan development, identifying long-term goals and defining plans for execution. Ott’s notable community involvement includes serving as team captain for the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk for four consecutive years and her continual support of other organizations, including the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure, the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure and United Way.

 • Marketer of the Year: Teena Morath, Saunders Construction. Morath has in-depth experience in the AEC industry, developing award-winning marketing communications as well as successful proposals and interviews. She has a master’s degree in marketing from the University of Denver and a bachelor’s degree in political science and business from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Her strategic thinking goes beyond simply creating outputs; she is an expert in building relationships that lead to value. Morath has served on various associations and nonprofits, including the SMPS Colorado Chapter, the U.S. Green Building Council and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. In 2013 she was the Leadership Council chairwoman with the American Lung Association of Colorado.

• Business Developer of the Year: Julie Witecki, Swinerton Builders. 
 Witecki has nearly 15 years of construction, real estate development and hospitality experience, with an emphasis in project sales and marketing. As the business development manager at Swinerton, she is responsible for developing long-term sales and marketing plans, establishing and maintaining client relationships, managing business development budgets and implementing the business development plans for the Colorado Division.

She also oversees the marketing efforts of the division with a focus in community outreach and public relations. Witecki is an active member of a variety of industry organizations, including the Urban Land Institute and the SMPS. She is also the former president of the SMPS Colorado Chapter.

• President’s Award Recipient:  Philippa Burgess, Shaker Painting. This inaugural award was presented to Burgess to acknowledge her commitment to the SMPS Colorado Chapter’s mission as evidenced by her integrity and passion. She is a member of the MEA committee and has provided relevant insights on social media strategy.

Burgess comes to the AEC industry with a background in film and television. She relocated from Los Angeles to Denver just over a year ago and joined Shaker Painting in the role of marketing and community relations. She also maintains a book of creative projects, such as producing the independent film “Boulder Buddz,” and more recently, doing a few projects with Red Thread Creative Group.

The following firms were winners in their respective awards categories:

• Advertising – MWH Global