Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/294207
It is with great honor and enthusiasm that I am serving as the 2014 HBAA President. I want to commend Taylor Burton for his outstanding leadership as our 2013 President, and to express my gratitude to him and our other Senior Officers and Executive Committee members for their support of me this year. is is going to be another busy and exciting year for our association, and we'll all be working hard together to make this our best year yet. Like most of my predecessors, I have some specific goals for our association this year. One of those goals is to bring in 500 new members in 2014. at seems like a loy goal, but aer several years of membership numbers declining we are finally seeing some turnaround, and I am confident that we can make this happen. We've planned an action-packed membership drive for the year, a football-themed competition with the state divided into five regions. We've recruited five of our most active members to serve as coaches for each region: Cathy Brown, Joe Hocklander, Alicia Huey, Steve Steele, and Pheza Sumners. Each of these coaches will be working with their "quarterbacks," (local HBA Presidents), "team captains" (local HBA Membership Chairs) and "scouts" (Area Vice Presidents and other designated leaders) to come up with a game plan for recruiting new members. We've also got our All-Time Big Spike, Hugh Cole, serving as referee to keep us all in line. Considering our state's love of football, I think this theme is entirely appropriate and will be a fun way to get everyone involved. Let's bring the passion that we have for our favorite football teams to this membership drive and, to quote our membership drive cheer, Go…recruit…win! Another goal that I have for this year is to offer top-notch education focusing on cutting-edge technology for the home building industry. Over the past few years the HBAA has expanded its educational offerings to include more emphasis on technology, and I want these topics to take center stage. I'm working with HBAA staff on planning educational sessions for our state meetings as well as throughout the year, including some webinars to make full use of technology and provide a convenient way for you to learn without having to leave your office. is world is constantly changing, and if we don't adapt our business and building practices to keep up we're in danger of being le behind. I'm looking forward to the education that we'll be offering and I encourage each of you to take full advantage of it. I'm also looking forward to the opportunity to visit each of the local Home Builders Associations this year and meet all of you. Getting to know my fellow members from around the state has been one of the greatest membership benefits for me. I know that there are many members that I can call on at any time for help or advice, and I hope that you'll feel free to call on me anytime as well. is is going to be a fantastic year, and I'm proud to represent you and work with you to make this association better than ever. Sincerely, Les Letlow 2014 HBAA President 6 | President's Perspective P E R S P E C T I V E