BSC Member Honored for Energy-Efficient and Resilient Building Advocacy and Education

Matt Belcher, principal at Verdatek Solutions, has been honored with the S.A. Walters Award.

Named after the man who became the first chairman of what is known today as the Building Systems Councils (BSC), the S.A. Walters Award is the highest honor the councils bestow. The award recognizes a lifetime of achievement in systems-built housing.

“I grew up in the systems-built industry — my father managed the prefab wall, truss and millwork operations of a lumber supply company — so it’s definitely an honor to be recognized for my contributions to an industry that has been such a large part of my life,” Belcher stated. “Thank you to everyone involved in this program for this distinguished award.”

Belcher has been actively involved in the St. Louis and eastern Missouri area construction industry for four decades, including serving as a top building codes official. He has always been a huge proponent of the priority and cost effectiveness of systems-built strategies. He is a nationally recognized consultant, educator and author on the business of energy-efficient and resilient building and development, and incorporates a variety of building systems in his projects to create homes and buildings that have been certified to the highest standards, including LEED Platinum, NAHB Green and international standards such as ActiveHouse. He has also consulted on large sustainable mixed-use commercial and residential developments.

As a longtime member of the International Code Council’s (ICC) Building and Energy Code development committees, Belcher constantly works to advise and educate building industry professionals and governmental administrators on pragmatic International Building, Mechanical and Energy Conservation Code structure, methodology, policy and application. This experience enables him to promote building practices shown to create commercial, residential and agricultural buildings and developments that are safer, healthier and energy-efficient, have much greater resilience, and are better for both the environment and economics.

For the past nearly 30 years, Belcher has proudly represented NAHB, including testifying in front of the US House Energy & Commerce Committee and educating the U.S. House High Performance Buildings Caucus on the business benefits of high-performance buildings. He has also been actively involved within the Federation, serving on the NAHB’s Construction Codes and Standards Committee and its subcommittees for more than 25 years and as the current chair of the Building Systems Councils Board of Trustees, and was awarded Life Member status on NAHB’s Board of Directors. He has also served on the board of the Structural Insulated Panel Association and The Green Building Initiative (GBI), and is a founding member and current board member of the International Mass Timber Alliance.

In addition to his work within and on behalf of the home building industry, Belcher is the co-founder and vice president of Operation Triage, a 501c3 organization that supports veterans, first responders, Active-Duty Service Members, and their Families. And his legacy will continue within the industry: His daughter Meg — the third generation Belcher in the home building industry — is as a manager with a large high-end building company in St. Louis.