Churchill County native Marie Henson took over the reins as county building official at the beginning of June, following the retirement of Cliff Van Woert.
Henson, who has been with the building department for 16 years (the last 14 as building inspector) brings a familiarity with the area and its contractors to the position and hopes to further advance the office by bringing it into the electronic age.
Immediate plans
“We are in the process of scanning older records for ease of retrieval and hope to bring in electronic plan check in the future,” Henson said.
Her immediate plans for the position include re-staffing the office to meet the county’s high demand for construction inspection and keeping current with changes in building styles, codes and technology.
Henson wants to continue the office’s advancement that was started under Van Woerts’ leadership. She wants to preserve and grow the good relationship the department has with area builders that helps to ensure safe and high quality construction projects in the county. She will continue to invite contractors and home owners into the building department for discussion and review of building codes and changes to make them part of the process.
Career background
Henson began her career by accompanying her husband Dave around the western U.S. serving as quality control inspector as he built digital telecommunications facilities.
She started as a part-time office clerk in the county building department in the 2003 and rose to the building inspector position within two years, holding that position for 14 years.
Largely self-taught, Henson learned the building codes through both professional and personal construction projects and has maintained her currency in building code knowledge by earning various certifications from the International Code Council including Certified Building Official and Master Code Professional, considered the “gold standard” of the profession. Henson is one of fewer than 900 people worldwide to hold the Master Code Professional designation.