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By Jon Bell
For the HBA
Building an entire home in a single week.
Installing a simple grab bar in a bathroom.
Painting a homeless shelter on a Saturday
morning.
The many opportunities for HBA members
to give a little back to the community are
thanks to three organizations that make it an
easy thing to do. Those organizations — the
Home Builders Foundation, Habitat for Hu-
manity Portland/Metro East and ReFIT — all
have close ties to the region’s building and re-
modeling industry, and all are always looking
for more hands to help out.
“I think the HBF along with ReFIT and Habi-
tat for Humanity who are members of the
HBA are a wonderful choice of charities to get
involved with,” said Ken Cowdery, executive
director of the HBF. “Each one has a little dif-
ferent focus, but each one can make such a
big difference.”
Habitat for Humanity Portland/
Metro East
While a good portion of the volunteers who
help out at Habitat for Humanity are people
who have retired from the homebuilding and
remodeling industry, there is still plenty of
room for active builders and remodelers to
get involved. Case in point: Habitat for Hu-
manity’s Home Builders Blitz 2012, utilized
four area builders — including HBA members
Neil Kelly, Fish Construction NW and Schum-
acher Custom Homes — working with local
trades contractors and suppliers in a speed-
building event to build four houses for people
in need in a single week. The blitz usually hap-
pens every two years.
“We did (the Building Blitz), and it was
a great project to be a part of,” said Harry
Schumacher, president of Schumacher Cus-
tomHomes. “To be able to do that for a family
that really deserved to have a home was very
rewarding.”
It’s not just the blitz that finds builders and
remodelers helping out. Every year, Habitat
in Portland builds about 20 homes and sells
them at cost to families who meet certain
income requirements. Those families put in
at least 500 hours of sweat equity and a 1
percent down payment; they also make pay-
ments on no-interest mortgages. The organi-
zation is able to sell the homes at cost thanks
to volunteer labor and donations.
To date, Habitat in the Portland area has
served more than 200 families; last year alone,
due in part to increased demand, it built close
to 30 homes.
Sasha Davis, director of communications
for the local Habitat chapter, said the orga-
nization offers many ways for HBA members
and others to get involved. For starters, Habi-
tat can always use in-kind donations, includ-
ing supplies, services and volunteer labor.
Monetary donations are also welcome. More
importantly, Davis said Habitat always appre-
HBA
News
HOME BUILDING
HBA
pdx
.
org
HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITAN PORTLAND •
MArCh, 2013
HBF gears up for the annual
Gala auction
Be a part of it in more ways than
one. Find out how you can help
and attend!
—See page 8
WHAT ’ S INSIDE THIS MONTH’ S ISSUE
YOUR BUSINESS, page 11
UP FRONT, page 2
HBAMP receives national
recognition at IBS
More than 200 HBAmembers
from Oregon enjoyed the
largest Oregon Hospitality
event in Vegas for many years.
We had fun AND took home an
award!
HBA members find
diverse ways to give back
From helping expand health
care services for people in
Zimbabwe to giving sick
children a chance to just be
normal, HBA members give
back in a variety of different
ways. Here are just f ive
members doing well by doing
good.
UP FRONT, page 6
Show Spotlight: Tour of
Remodeled Homes
Presented by Standard TV
& Appliance, the 2013 Tour of
Remodeled Homes features a
weekend filledwith remodeling
inspiration offering the latest
in remodeling trends, smart
sustainability and stunning
design, March 9-10.
YOUR INDUSTRY, page 9
Legal Cases Affecting the
Industry
In recent court decisions
the relationship between
contractors and insurers
and contractor licensing are
explored and def ined. Bill
Joseph of Dunn Carney gives
us the lowdown
Gear up for EcoVative BuildRight
This year’s conference and Expo features leading
industry experts. Check out a session overview from
George Tsongas.
—See page 13
By Steve Heiteen,
2013 HBA President
From
The Top
See ORGANIZATIONS / page 7
We are officially coming back,
baby. Last month’s International
Builder Show (see related article
in this issue, page 10) was full of
optimism and provided lots of
data that the housing market is
coming back strong.
With increased building and re-
modeling activity, businesses in
the housing industry are all look-
ing for ways to increase their ex-
posure to prospective clients and
to create or capture market share.
The HBA offers members a way
to do that through various spon-
sor partner opportunities that
can be targeted to bring you face
to face with potential customers
– whether you want to reach oth-
ers in the industry, general con-
sumers, or both. These are not
old school “sign and logo and
thank you very much for your
money” deals. HBA has reshaped
its value proposition at every lev-
el and can give you a variety of
ways to connect with customers,
build your brand, create leads,
generate awareness and build
relationships.
If you don’t believe me, you can
ask some of the growing list of
sponsor partners who are getting
a jump on the market and talking
with our staff to find the right mix
of events, communication, social
media and direct contacts that
works for them. Of course, if they
are your competitor, they might
not want you to discover what
they have come to realize – that
HBA is one of the best ways in
town to grow their business.
And while we will always lead
with the fact that being a sponsor
partner should first and foremost
be about helping you grow your
business, there is another ben-
efit. When you put money into
other corporate sponsorships,
your dollars and support simply
goes to helping another compa-
ny grow. When you partner with
HBA, you are in a way giving back
to yourself, your company and
your industry. Those resources
are used to further strengthen
our industry, support our hous-
ing advocacy efforts, and de-
velop new benefit programs and
services that are designed to help
your bottom line.
Get a jump
on the market
with the HBA
Organizations make it easy for HBA
members to give back to the community
PRO member Frank Dagostino of Cascade Builders and Brenda Ketah of the HBF join HBF Board member Jim Fisher and his recruited
volunteers in building garden boxes for the Family Relief Nursery.
ANISH VONAHLEFELD,
Huckleberry Resources
Onceyou’ve talked to thepeople
who have been impacted, you’re
changed forever.
the 16th annual Home Builders
Foundation auction
Presented by Bank of the West
WHEN:
Friday, April 5, 2013
WHERE:
Governor Hotel, Portland, OR
Cocktail attire, Black tie optional
COSt:
$100 per ticket. $1500 per corporate
sponsorship table seating of 10
Please call Nicole at 503.684.1880 to reserve your seats
See FROM THE TOP/ page 5