The Building Systems Councils (BSC) of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) announced its 2012 Board of Trustees last month during the International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla. The BSC represents the concrete, log, modular and panelized building system industries, as well as builders and suppliers to those industries.

Dwight Hikel, president and CEO of Shelter Systems Limited in Westminster, Md., will lead the BSC Board of Trustees as the group's chairman. He founded Shelter Systems, a component manufacturing company, in 1976 with his family. What started as a plant with a little over 14,000 square feet of production space, five employees, a saw and three truss assembly stations is now a facility with 120,000 square feet of manufacturing operations, another 11,000 square feet of office space and eight acres of storage. Hikel is also a member of the Home Builders Association of Maryland.

"Over the past several years, we have seen builders and consumers alike become more and more interested in what the building systems industry has to offer," said Hikel. "Being a part of the BSC is a great opportunity to spread the word about our industry."

Kevin Flaherty, a 28-year veteran of the building systems industry, will serve as the vice chairman. He is the vice president of marketing for Genesis Homes and Champion Home Builders in Troy, Mich. Flaherty led Champion's modular efforts in 2002 in his position as vice president of sales and marketing for its Genesis division. In 2008, Flaherty assumed his current position in which he leads and manages national initiatives and provides marketing support services to 21 Champion manufacturing facilities. Flaherty is also a member of the Home Builders Association of Raleigh and Wake County.

"There are plenty of misconceptions in the public about the building systems industry, and the BSC council members and Board of Trustees will continue to address those misconceptions and promote the industry," said Flaherty.

Rounding out the leadership team is Jason Blenker who will serve as the second vice chairman. Blenker is the president of Blenker Building Systems Inc. in Amherst, Wisc., which he is part owner along with his family, and has been in business since 1974. He is also the president of Envision Home at Last--a network of professional home builders that assist home buyers in designing their home through 3-D virtual home design software. In addition to NAHB and the BSC, Blenker is an active member of the Golden Sands Home Builders Association and the Wisconsin Home Builders Association.

"As part of the building systems industry, there is the opportunity to work on a variety of projects," said Jason Blenker. "For example, the apartment and condo housing sector has been among the strongest markets for us in recent years because of the speed of construction and cost savings through reduced schedules and guaranteed pricing."

To learn more about building systems, visitwww.nahb.org/bsc.