I am honored to be the 2015 President of the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver, and the first woman President in our prestigious HBA history.  I don’t take this role lightly, and I am committed to doing all I can to promote both the HBA and the home building industry at large, as well as represent the amazing women who are doing incredible things in our industry every day. 

 

I’d like to take this opportunity to share with you the vision for the HBA over the next year and beyond.  I say beyond because what I want to share with you is not just my vision for this year.  It’s a culmination of ideas that was collectively discussed with HBA members, HBA staff and the Executive Committee, with the hope that these ideas will continue to move forward even after this year is over.  At the heart of these ideas is the principle mission – To drive the value proposition of the HBA.  

  

With that in mind, several critical areas of focus were identified:

 

 

The greatest value proposition we can provide our members is Advocacy.  It’s a direct benefit to our builder members as well as our associates.  Successfully garnering both regulatory and political influence helps to remove industry barriers and promote moving our industry forward.  An example of this influence was recently evident with the construction defect legislation that was passed through the City of Lakewood.  Our HBA was instrumental in getting this important piece of legislation passed, setting a precedence for other municipalities in the metro area to follow.

 

The HBA will continue to use its financial resources to ensure that we can influence issues that affect our industry.  In 2014, the HBA made a contribution of $100,000 to the Metro Housing Coalition, and we have allocated another $100,000 in 2015.  In addition to this commitment, we have reserved an additional $100,000 for a ‘Special Issues’ fund to help in our local government affairs efforts.

 

In addition to our funding initiatives, we recently doubled our advocacy staff by bringing on Shiley Johnson as our new Government Affairs Manager.  This will increase our ability to be more involved in the issues that impact the housing industry now and in the future. 

 

 

Outside of advocacy, the value proposition of the HBA lies heavily within the multitude of member services that originate from our councils and committees.   Driving our value proposition means providing our councils and committees support to continuously improve and elevate our member services.  To this end, we have spent considerable time meeting with each of the councils, listening to their goals and agenda, and identifying ways in which we can provide support.  We have also encouraged an environment where the councils support and engage each other.  Our council leadership will play a big role in this effort. 

 

 

The labor shortage has become one of the biggest issues facing our industry today.   We now recognize that this is not a short term issue, and the HBA is focused on a long-term strategy to impact this critical area. To elevate this important issue, we realigned the Executive Committee roles to allow our President-Elect, Craig Campbell, to lead a task force to develop a long term plan that promotes residential construction as a career, and brings new employees to our home building trade partners.

 

 

Through the dedication of the Education Task Force, our educational programs are evolving and integrating into the HBA brand and our value proposition. Our goal is to create intriguing, relevant content for our audience, increasing engagement and awareness of the HBA to members and non-members alike.  Support and promotion of these activities is a critical component to the success of our educational programs. 

 

 

This initiative has become front and center, as our organization needs both an internal and external public relations plan to provide more effective communications with our members, as well as the public.   As a result, we have reinstated the Public Relations Strategy Committee, which has already made great strides in executing website and brand initiatives.  Moving forward, this committee will work with Connie Dahl, the new Director of Marketing and Communications for the HBA, to develop a PR Strategy, and once adopted by the Board, execute on the program.

 

While it may seem like a lot of areas to cover, I truly believe we have the right group of engaged leaders and members to drive the value proposition of the HBA through each of these areas.

 

Finally, as the first woman President of the HBA, it was important to me to bring a long time national council to Denver - the Professional Women in Building (PWB) Council.  The overall goal of this council is to promote the professional development of women in the home building industry.  There are amazing women who hold leadership roles in homebuilding companies and the companies that service the builders, along with rising stars who are up and coming leaders.  Many of these women are active members in the councils, committees and leadership in our HBA.  My personal vision for the new PWB Denver Chapter is to create an environment where these women can connect, that will uplift the women who work in various roles in the home building industry and provide a platform to help them learn and grow to their full potential.

 

As the message in the Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams suggests, “If you build it, they will come.”  I truly believe this holds true for the HBA as well.  By driving our value proposition in these critical areas, we will build a professionally sound organization that provides ample resources to our members, successful influence in our local government, and promotes our industry throughout the Denver Metro area.  In doing so, our membership will also grow.

 

I take pride in moving into the future with all of you.

 

Sincerely, 

 

2015 HBA of Metro Denver, President