The construction industry lost one of its good guys

The construction industry lost one of its truly good people yesterday.  Mark Benjamin, President of Morley Builders, along with his son Luke, were killed in a plane accident on Monday.  I had the pleasure of sitting next to Mark this past summer at a meeting of the American Council on Construction Education, an organization dedicated to improving construction management education that Mark has donated a lot of time to.  In our brief encounter, I could easily determine that he was a genuinely decent man.  In an industry filled with ego and bravado, Mark was thoughtful and spent most of our 20 minute conversation plumbing me for ideas on how to improve the industry and what he could do to help.  

In addition to his work with ACCE, Morley Builders is the sponsor for the Associated Schools of Construction Region 7 Mixed Use competition.  Sac State has done very well in this competition over the past few years, placing in the top 3 several times and placing first back-to-back in 2011 and 2012.  Even when the economy was poor and Morley wasn't hiring, Mark continued the company's dedication to the competition because he understood its importance to construction education.  He is man that will be sorely missed in the construction industry.