Lambert Construction earns Build Oklahoma Award, Builder of the Year

Lambert Construction Company received two prestigious Build Oklahoma Awards and company President Mark Lambert was named Oklahoma Builder of the Year at the 71st Annual Meeting of the Associated General Contractors of Oklahoma- Building Chapter. The awards were presented on January 22, 2011, in Oklahoma City.  

Lambert Construction was honored first with the Build Oklahoma Award in the Renovation and Remodel Category for the Payne County Jail and Courthouse. In the Construction Management Category, the company received a second award for the Ponca City Aquatic and Family Center-YMCA.

The Payne County Jail and Courthouse, completed in December 2010, was a three-phase project that included construction of a new jail facility, conversion of the old jail space into offices, and renovation of the west end of the existing Payne County Courthouse. The $18.7 million project was planned and managed to avoid interruption of jail operations, county business, and court proceedings. The five level, 72.000 sq. ft. jail has been certified by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to house 326 inmates.  The jail incorporates state of the art video technology for inmate monitoring, remote arraignment and prisoner visitation. The result is maximum security with reduced staffing and operational costs.

Lambert Construction earned its second Build Oklahoma award for the Ponca City Aquatic and Family Center-YMCA. Completed in December 2010, the Ponca City YMCA was funded by a combination of private donations and voter-approved bonds and a sales tax extension. The modern fitness and lifestyle facility includes a rock-climbing wall, kid-friendly zero-entry pool with slide and hot-tub, Olympic pool, basketball and racket ball courts, and indoor track. Exterior facilities occupy 46 acres and include two multipurpose playing fields for soccer and football as well as a baseball/softball complex with four regulation softball fields, four little league baseball fields, and concession areas. Soon after the facility was completed, membership at the Ponca City YMCA rose from 3,000 to 9,000.

The final award at the Associated General Contractors of Oklahoma-Building Chapter ceremony went to Mark Lambert, President of Lambert Construction, who was honored as the 2010 Builder of the Year. Mr. Lambert has been president of Lambert Construction since 2005, when his uncle, David Lambert, retired. Lambert Construction has been family owned and Stillwater-based since its founding in 1939.

The Association also bestowed special recognition to David Lambert for his contributions as a trustee for the OCAF – Oklahoma Construction Advancement Foundation.

The Associated General Contractors is regarded as the “voice and choice” of the construction industry nationwide, representing a network of more than 33,000 firms and 95 chapters.

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Photo 1 - Pictured, from left to right, are Bryan Timberlake, AGC Past President; Stephen Mitchell, Daniel Lewis, and Kevin Jennings of Lambert Construction; Gloria Hesser, Payne County Commissioner; and Bill Knowles, Architect.

Photo 2 - The five-level Payne County Jail and east entrance to the Payne County Courthouse, part of the project’s first phase, completed in June 2009.