PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE


By GHBA President MIKE DISHBERGER, GMB, Sandcastle Homes Inc.


"Houston created 65,000 jobs this year. And with jobs, come new home purchases and work for all our associates. We are so lucky to be in the


state of Texas, and in particular Houston, which is doing much better than the rest of the country."


s the old Frank Sinatra song says, “It was a very good year” for GHBA and its members. We started out the year with questions about whether the economy was going to get better, and I think with the 65,000 jobs Houston created, it was more than expected for Houston. With jobs, come new home purchases and work for all our associates. We are so lucky to be in the state of Texas, and in particular Houston, which is doing much better than the rest of the country.


GHBA saw increased attendance at most of its events, had three Benefit Homes close, saw the revitalization of the Montgomery County Division, hosted a record breaking Houston’s Best Awards show, and great speakers at its events. I would like to thank all the councils, divisions and committees for their tireless work this year. Thanks to Mel Audain, Karen Krenek and Lisa Pepitone for their part in making most of these things happen.


PHOTO CENTER:


"Team GHBA" supports HomeAid Houston by selling Project Playhouse raffle tickets at the Astros game on June 20, 2011. Pictured are Vilma Bonilla, Lincoya Ferguson, Erika Morton,


Bette Moser, Maggie Yancey, Toy Wood, Lea Pipitone, Lisa Gentry, Janet Todd, Donna Buenik and Peggy Means.


6


The state legislature was fairly quiet and produced very little that impacted building or development in Texas. Locally, the same can be said. 2011 also saw the rapid growth of Green Built Gulf Coast, one of my top priorities. Our government affairs group, Donna Buenik and Maggie Yancey, were truly outstanding in moving this forward.


We welcomed in Joshua Dick in a new GHBA position as chief operating officer. He is backed up by Lisa Gentry, Janet Todd and Lincoya Ferguson. I got to see firsthand the top work of all of them.


We also brought in Liz Newman down in the Bay Area and she directed BABA through several successful events.


It Was a Very Good Year A


Lisa Pepitone was helped out in membership by Vilma Bonilla who was always on top of things. Membership has been a difficult task the past few years and both of them made it happen. Peggy Means kept our array of classes interesting and pertinent to our business, as well as directing the Associate Council with successful events including the BBQ Cookoff.


Brittany Feldmann not only made our magazine the best in the country, but also maintains the website that supports us all, and don’t forget the new e-newsletter. Terry Swenson was there all the time for every Benefit Homes and HomeAid event.


One of my great pleasures this past year was interacting with the people that HomeAid supports. Hearing the many stories a b o u t


t h e i r


situations and how they were helped by the HomeAid or ganiza tion was amazing. Bette Moser, Lea


Pepitone and Judith Drummond are always full of energy and constantly promoting HomeAid.


Finally, I could not have done it without Toy Wood, our CEO. She has put together a top team of individuals who work as a team. If someone needed help on an event, volunteers were lined up to help. Toy was always available to talk to about issues, both good and bad. And it did not hurt that she is an Aggie too. Whoop!


Good luck to the new incoming president, Will Holder. You have a strong team of individuals to help you make your year a special one.


P.S. - I am not going anywhere and plan to remain an active member of GHBA. See you in 2012!


DECEMBER 2011 | HOUSTON BUILDER | GREATER HOUSTON BUILDERS ASSOCIATION – BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48