RIPTON — Alex Carver of Northern Timbers Construction has been selected as the first winner of the Leadership Award from Efficiency Vermont’s Efficiency Excellence Network. The award was presented during EV’s Better Buildings by Design event in February.
New for 2019 and part of EV’s “Best of the Best” recognition program, the Leadership Award recognizes an individual in the Efficiency Excellence Network who has demonstrated innovation, influence and commitment to the energy efficiency industry. Efficiency Vermont is the state’s energy efficiency utility, providing technical advice and financial support for efficiency projects to homeowners, businesses and communities.
Carver has been working in the construction business in Addison County for decades. In recent years, he has also worked extensively with Habitat for Humanity of Addison County (H4H), and joined the organization’s board in 2018. He has advised the group on energy efficiency, and collaborated with architect Jean Terwilliger of Vermont Integrative Architecture in Middlebury, who has designed several homes built by H4H, and Efficiency Vermont’s senior energy consultant Lee Ling Young to lead H4H toward a goal of producing high-performance homes.
Terwilliger designed the most recent house, completed by H4H in 2018 in Cornwall, with Carver contributing his knowledge and expertise to the volunteer builders, along with work by Northern Timbers professionals on some aspects of the project. The house, H4H’s 10th in Addison County, recently passed tests making it the first H4H home to be a certified high-performance home.
“Alex Carver has worked with Efficiency Vermont on just about every project he’s done in the last 10 years,” said Matt Sargent, a senior energy consultant with EV. “He builds most of his projects to a high-performance home level. Even if he’s doing a remodeling project, he’ll consult with us to make sure he’s doing it as well as possible. He is always willing to learn about and implement new techniques and technologies and to share that experience with us.”
Sargent also praised Carver as “very collaborative, not competitive,” and generous with his time. Carver enjoys giving back to the building community and sharing his experiences in hopes they will benefit others. He has taken a lead role with the latest Addison County H4H project, a collaboration with EV and Middlebury College professor John McLeod and his architecture students. The project aims to build two homes on a Seymour Street lot in Middlebury.
“Alex is committed to education and inspiring the next generation,” Sargent says. “His relationship-based approach lifts everyone up. There’s no ego tied up in it. We need more Alex Carvers out there!”
Carver said he was honored to receive the first Leadership Award, and that it “reflects what Northern Timbers is all about, the homes we build, and our commitment to spreading the word about energy efficiency.” He noted that he and Jean Terwilliger had given presentations on energy-efficient design and construction at trade shows, including EV’s annual Better Buildings by Design.
Carver lives in Ripton with his wife, Sally, a nurse at Middlebury College’s Parton Center for Health and Wellness. They have three grown children: daughter Virginia and twins Zander and Eliza. Efficiency Vermont also honored Carver in 2015, when he was named Residential New Construction Partner of the Year.