The Home Builders Association of Metro Denver held the 2017 Installation and Recognition Reception on Wednesday December 7th, 2016 at The Dome at AMG in Greenwood Village. The ceremonies began with a moment of silence to honor those who lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor, which happened on the same date some 75 years earlier. It was a celebratory evening as Craig Campbell, 2016 President of the HBA welcomed 2017 HBA President Karl Knapp, Denver division President of CVL Consultants. The HBA also presented the highly coveted awards for Builder of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, and Associate of the Year.

Jeff Whiton, Executive Officer of the HBA began the night by highlighting several industry accomplishments from 2016 before turning his attention to the specific achievements of 2016 HBA President and President of Starwood Land Ventures, Craig Campbell. “Craig possesses a unique quality of leadership, he diligently focused on listening to HBA board member feedback and worked tirelessly to put their comments directly into action” Whiton recalled. Whiton also noted that Campbell “did not serve as a figure head president,” instead he was an “activist president” constantly making things happen.” Among many accomplishments, Campbell’s major achievement was the creation of the HBA’s Trade Council to specifically address the trade labor shortage plaguing the Denver housing industry.

As the evening proceeded, a heartfelt thank you and applause were given to the serving 2016 HBA Board Members, and subsequently the 2017 Board Members and Executive Committee were installed. With that, Karl Knapp took the 2017 HBA presidential oath and was presented with the customary gavel and president’s pin. Knapp laid out his agenda for 2017, which includes continuing his advocacy efforts with the Denver Housing Coalition. Specifically, Knapp would like to work to reduce impact fees, restrictions, and encumbrances placed on builders by municipalities. He also intends to continue to fight the labor shortage, and to increase overall awareness of the HBA and the advantages of membership.

After the induction of Knapp, the HBA presented the 2016 award for Associate of the Year to Michal Smith, Owner of Colorado Construction Institute for his continuous commitment to construction education and training to alleviate labor shortages and issues. The Volunteer of the Year award was also presented to Tina Martelon, VP of Sales and Marketing at TriPointe Homes for her ongoing dedication and commitment to the HBA and the homebuilding industry.

Next, the presentation of the highly anticipated award for Builder of the year was given to Gene Myers, CEO of Thrive Home Builders. Gene was honored for his 30 year career in the Denver homebuilding industry and for his constant pursuit of offering and constructing high performance homes. With the acceptance of the award, Myers commented that he’s honored to be a part of “the most generous industry “ that consistently shares ideas and information.

As the night ended, the first ever “Icon Award” was presented to Angela Harris, Principal at Trio Environments for her constant drive and pursuit of bringing new and fresh ideas to the table, and for making things happen that other could only have dreamed of.
 

 

   Tweet