MCLEAN, VA The Construction Manager Certification Institute (CMCI), recognizes David Elerby as its 3,000th Certified Construction Manager (CCM).

Elerby is the Deputy Assistant Inspector General of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana's, Office of Inspector General. He is a long time CMAA member with more than 25 years of experience as a construction manager.

"I chose the CCM because I wanted to be part of the community that's establishing benchmarks for construction managers and the [CM] industry," said Elerby. "I'm looking forward to developing a comraderie with other CCMs and I appreciate the rigorous certification process as a demonstration of professionalism."

Elerby's certification comes as part of a growing interest in the CCM, which began in 2012. Since then, the annual number of new CCMs has increased each year. In 2015, CMCI recognized 458 new CCMs, a record high.

CMAA is optimistic that the growing interest in the CCM is a sign that construction management has achieved widespread recognition within the AEC industry.

"It's a great time to be a CCM," said CMAA President, Bruce D'Agostino, CAE, FCMAA. "Construction management has proved itself an integral part of the capital project equation. With the industry back on its feet and projects moving forward, owners are looking for highly qualified CMs now more than ever."

Given January's application rate and professional construction manager course enrollment numbers, CMCI anticipates that the total number of CCMs will continue to grow strongly.