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Awards
Recognizing the outstanding achievements of our members and partners.
For more than 40 years, the Denver Chapter of IFMA has taken great pleasure in recognizing the outstanding achievements of individual members and our partners. Our Holiday Gala is a time our chapter comes together to celebrate the prior year’s achievements and successes and support a local nonprofit in the process with our silent auction. Our Gala ensures award-winners are recognized in front of their peers for their extraordinary accomplishments.
The Diamond Awards Program recognizes the finest advancements and contributions in facility management within the Denver A/E/C community. Be among the elite who recognize excellence in an individual, a project, a service, or an improved process or system.
2025 Awards:
2025 New Member of the Year Award - Hayleigh DeLoach
This award may be presented to a Denver Chapter member who has been a member for less than three years, is an active emerging leader within the chapter, and shows initiative in both their work and professional settings. They consistently go above and beyond, with skilled execution, follow-through, and a strong motivation to encourage others to participate.
Hayleigh is an exceptional choice for New Member of the Year. Since joining in 2023, she has served on the Programs Committee from the outset and, through her hard work and dedication, has already risen to the role of Vice President of Programs. In just a short time, she has contributed more than 300 volunteer hours, bringing creativity, energy, and fresh ideas to strengthen engagement and connection within our membership. Her commitment and innovative spirit have had a remarkable impact on the chapter, setting a high standard for new members to follow. She is truly a rising star of the industry!
2025 Associate Member of the Year Award - Josh McIlwain, SFP, LEED Green Associate
This person & company have demonstrated exceptional participation and contributions to the facility management profession in the greater Denver area.
Josh McIllwain embodies IFMA’s mission through his leadership, innovation, and commitment to sustainability in facility management. With more than 20 years in facilities services and sustainability, he helps organizations achieve measurable energy and carbon reductions as a Senior Account Executive at Ameresco. Josh helped restart the IFMA Denver Sustainability Committee, growing it into one of the chapter’s most impactful programs, so effective that other chapters now use his model to launch their own initiatives. His efforts have advanced member education, engagement, and awareness of sustainable operations.
2025 Associate Member of the Year Award - Josh McIlwain, SFP, LEED Green Associate
This person & company have demonstrated exceptional participation and contributions to the facility management profession in the greater Denver area.
Josh McIllwain embodies IFMA’s mission through his leadership, innovation, and commitment to sustainability in facility management. With more than 20 years in facilities services and sustainability, he helps organizations achieve measurable energy and carbon reductions as a Senior Account Executive at Ameresco. Josh helped restart the IFMA Denver Sustainability Committee, growing it into one of the chapter’s most impactful programs, so effective that other chapters now use his model to launch their own initiatives. His efforts have advanced member education, engagement, and awareness of sustainable operations.
2025 Pillar Award - Vimol Mitchell, CFM, FMP, SFP, LEED Green Associate
This person has gone above and beyond for the chapter and the FM community worldwide for many years. They are pillars of our Denver Chapter of IFMA for their experience, participation, and contributions to the facility management profession. The Pillar Award is the highest honor a member can receive and is not given out lightly. The nominee must demonstrate that businesses go beyond commerce and are genuinely invested in our FM community, as neighbors helping neighbors, creating ties that bind us together. They help make FM a part of their mission, vision, or culture.
Vimol has been with Anschutz for over 27 years and is currently the Associate Director. He has over 21 years of experience as an assistant director, facilities manager, and supervisor. He is responsible for a total of 3.4 million sq ft of space. Responsible for hiring, retention, training, and supervision of 86 direct staff reports and three managers. Vimol has been a dedicated professional member of IFMA Denver for many years and currently serves as our president. He consistently goes above and beyond in his role, demonstrating outstanding leadership. His personable nature has dramatically enhanced our events, making them memorable for all. His efforts to encourage his team's involvement have been remarkable, successfully motivating them to join IFMA and become more involved. He fosters a welcoming and engaging atmosphere. Vimol is the chapter's current president through 2026.
2025 Lou Doyle Outstanding Achievement Award - Justin Gallo, CFM
Lou Doyle Distinguished Member Award is for exceptional service as a Denver Chapter of IFMA member while providing sustainable, outstanding leadership to the Denver Chapter of IFMA, an IFMA council, or community, in Denver. This individual is highly valued by his or her company, IFMA, and the facility management profession. Who keeps current on changes in the facility management profession and educates other IFMA members and peers. Recipients demonstrate the best in leadership and ethics.
Justin has served the Daniels Fund as a Facilities and Administrative Services Manager for nearly 5 years. Before that, he was a Senior Facilities Technician for over 5 years with Janus Henderson Investors. Justin stepped right up to serve as our new Vice President of Education for Denver when the Executive Board asked him to serve this past January at our 2025 chapter retreat. He has been an exceptional leader on the Education Committee, supporting our credentials courses for multiple years.
2025 Industry Impact Award - Daniels Fund, Justin Gallo, CFM
The Industry Impact Award is presented to a company that has made a positive impact through its community service support in the FM industry. The company is an active leader within the chapter and shows initiative in both their work and professional settings. They go above and beyond in their efforts with skilled execution, follow-through, and motivate others to participate. This company serves as a resource and representative for facility management in the greater Denver Metropolitan area and beyond.
The Daniel Fund, founded by Bill Daniel in 1997, provides scholarships to high school graduates in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, while also supporting education, homelessness, and addiction recovery initiatives. By 2021, it had awarded over $220 million in scholarships and millions more in grants, consistently upholding values of ethics, integrity, and community service.
Justin is the Facilities Manager for the Daniels Fund and the first VP of Education for the Denver Chapter, a position added by the board at the leadership retreat this past January. He stepped right into the role and has been a great asset to the educational success of our chapter. Justin has just recently celebrated 4 years with the Daniels Fund as a Facilities and Administrative Services Manager. Before that he was a Senior Facilities Technician for over 5 years with Janus Henderson Investors. The Daniels Fund has provided several free locations for multiple meetings over the 2024-25 timeframe.
2025 Facility Management Project of the Year Award - CU Anschutz Facility Services
This award discussed a Facility Management achievement through an outstanding project completed in 2025. This award is presented to the individual or team whose facility management, new construction, or renovation project has had a substantial, positive effect on the success of their organization. They will demonstrate how their project impacted business objectives and contributed to improved success by going “above and beyond” the normal project scope.
Faced with post-COVID hiring challenges, CU Anschutz Facilities took a bold approach—growing their own skilled trades workforce through hands-on internships, apprenticeships, and mentorship.
A three-tiered Workforce Development Committee united leadership, management, and staff to drive change—revamping salaries, launching sign-on and referral bonuses, and creating a Training and Development Manager to lead the charge.
That manager introduced a structured Mentor/Mentee Program, aligned on-the-job training with trade school curriculum, and secured grant funding for a no-cost registered apprenticeship program—opening doors for over 150 employees to gain new skills.
Partnering with CITC, Pickens Technical College, and Lincoln Tech, CU Anschutz built a robust pipeline from classroom to career—allowing participants to earn while they learn.
The results speak for themselves:
- 8 mentors trained, 12 apprentices graduated, and more are joining every session.
- 25% of interns and apprentices hired full-time.
- Dozens of internal promotions and expanded professional development across the board.
- Through collaboration, innovation, and commitment to people, CU Anschutz Facilities is cultivating the next generation of trades professionals—building their workforce from the roots up.
(New) 2025 Sustainable Facility Innovation Award - Arapahoe Libraries
This award recognizes a project, team, or organization that has demonstrated exceptional commitment to sustainable facility management practices. The award celebrates innovations that significantly reduce environmental impact, improve occupant health and well-being, and promote long-term operational efficiency. Eligible awardees must have completed projects or initiatives “placed-in-use” OR with results and outcomes realized between 1-1-24 to 12-31-25 in Colorado, reflecting the goals of sustainable facility management best practices by demonstrating at least 4 of the 7 of the following.
- Achievement of LEED, WELL, Energy Star, or other Accredited Green Building certifications.
- Implementation of renewable energy or green technology (e.g., solar, geothermal, off-site renewables, smart building systems).
- Measured and reported impact on energy, waste, water reduction, or offsets.
- Strategies used for improved indoor environmental quality, occupant health, and wellness.
- Use of sustainably sourced or repurposed materials in construction or renovation, Reuse/Recycle methodology, Life Cycle Assessments and Environmental Product Declarations in decision making.
- Stakeholder engagement throughout the project or initiative.
- Or other initiatives that demonstrate the overall impact to the Triple Bottom Line.
2025 Facility Manager of the Year - Darin Rose, IFMA Fellow, CFM, SFP, GGP, GGP
This award discussed a Facility Management achievement through an outstanding project completed in 2025. This award is presented to the individual or team whose facility management, new construction, or renovation project has had a substantial, positive effect on the success of their organization. They will demonstrate how their project impacted business objectives and contributed to improved success by going “above and beyond” the normal project scope.
With over 30 years in facilities management, Darin Rose exemplifies leadership, innovation, and service to both his organization and the profession. As Director of Facilities & Real Estate for the Credit Union of Colorado, Darin oversees 19 facilities statewide and leads a team managing maintenance, capital projects, mail services, and central supply. He is currently directing the construction of a new headquarters, the organization’s largest project to date—delivered efficiently through collaboration, trust, and a strong commitment to excellence.
2025 President's Award - Debbie Reece, MNLM, CMP
It is a special honor, not only because it’s the highest recognition from the Executive Board but because it celebrates someone who embodies consistent, extraordinary contributions to the FM community. This award isn’t given for a single accomplishment; it’s reserved for those whose work spans many achievements, creating lasting, positive impacts in our field and beyond. It goes to an individual who has shown unwavering commitment, proven leadership, and consistently inspired others by going above and beyond in every endeavor.
With nearly 25 years of association management and almost 8 years with the Denver Chapter of IFMA, the Executive Board presents this year's award to Debbie, Denver Executive Director, who is nominated for the President’s Award in recognition of her exceptional dedication, professionalism, and leadership. She consistently exceeded her role’s expectations, most notably by independently preparing five award submissions that earned the chapter four major honors, establishing it as the “Winningest Chapter.” Beyond awards, Debbie significantly expanded the event calendar to boost member engagement and financial sustainability, successfully organizing impactful activities such as the WWP happy hour, Rockies baseball game, and the Fall Golf event. Her tireless efforts have elevated the chapter to new heights.
2024 Awards
Congratulations to all our award winners! We look forward to the next awards ceremony in 2025.
2023 Awards
Nomination Process
- Collect contact information for the nominator (the company/individual submitting the nomination) and the nominee (the company/individual where the project was completed). The company that is nominating, must have at least one IFMA Denver member in good standing.
- Prepare your written material. Each project category (Best Practices, Operational Innovation and Individual) have 2-5 specific questions to answer with a 300 word maximum per answer.
- Gather up to 5 photos of the project that help tell your story if applicable. Professional photography is not required.
- Gather up to 2 supporting documents (optional) that illustrate the accomplishments on the project, i.e. benchmark data, schedules, cost savings details, etc. Do not submit marketing materials.
- Gather hi-res jpg logos for both the nominating company as well as the nominated company.
Do you have a new construction project that was completed in the previous calendar year? Or did you implement a new operational innovation within your facility over the past two years (Operational Innovation)? And do they tell a Facility Management story like a fast-track schedule, complex restacking, integrated project delivery, cost reductions, energy conservation, improved productivity, data mining, smart building implementation, etc.? And/or do you have an IFMA member colleague that deserves recognition for their leadership and involvement in IFMA and/ or the Facility Management industry?
- Visit IFMAdenver.org site to register yourself as a nominator.
- Select the nomination type for your first nomination and then fill in all of the fields associated with that nomination.
- When complete, press save. You can continue to update your nomination until the November deadline. You can press save and submit when you are complete.
- Once you have saved your first nomination, you will have an opportunity to add a new nomination and can repeat the process.