November 2009 President's Report

HELP WANTED: at our local professional home builders association we are counting on each of our members even more than before.

As many of you may know, the SCVHBA office will offer reduced hours in the 2010 budget cycle that began November 1st, 2009. Reduced hours don’t necessarily mean reduced work.

Our committees will attempt to accomplish more with less. Leadership will continue accountability with-in committee, delegating tasks in-house and with new educational programs and exciting membership concepts being developed, your help is needed and would be greatly appreciated.

Little, simple tasks added together become big undertakings at some of our association events.

If you have found yourself less involved these days as in the past, think about helping in some small way. Lend a few minutes at the registration table; help distribute tickets for our general membership drawing, volunteer on any of our committees.

Pulling together as a team, we can continue the many great events and services that have been so successful in the past. We can share some of the burden associated with putting on an event or membership meeting. It has been said that volunteering can make you feel better (healthier). I invite you to give it a try.

As always, share your story of what being a member of the SCVHBA has done for you or your business. Take the message with you out in the community. Strong membership numbers are the best way to ensure our voices are heard. Demand for our goods and services depends on a vibrant, sustainable business climate in the areas in which we live and work.

Sponsoring new members is another way we can all play a small part. An easy way to start might be by keeping the association on your mind. Develop a few talking points about the good that comes from being part of a professional organization. The advantage they might have over their competition as our economy gains traction again.

I look forward to networking with each of you at our next event. Be well!

October 2009 President's Message

Often times as our business cycle enters the fourth quarter of the calendar year, we begin to take a mental inventory of how our business year has gone to date. How accurately it has followed our forecast.

We begin to anticipate what the “books” will look like at year end. Will we meet our sales goals, our profit goal? Are we expanding or just status quo?

The fourth quarter is also a time of many distractions. The beginning of a new school year, the change in our seasons to autumn, harvest time, fall outdoor hobbies and sports.

It’s easy for the fourth quarter to become a time of coasting to the finish line. To become satisfied with the results of the year and how the year should end if all goes well.

What is great about the fourth quarter is that only 75% of the information is “in”. We still have 25% of the year ahead of us. 25% of our opportunities are still out there. The fourth quarter can be (should be) a time to “race” to the finish line.

In many companies, little if any money is made until the final weeks of the year. Overhead and other fixed costs are not recovered until very late in the year.

This race to the finish line is where profit is made. The fourth quarter can be a flurry of activity. The entire year of any business can be impacted by the effectiveness of the fourth quarter.

Your SCVHBA gives you the opportunity to make new business relationships, new leads and new friends. This is a great tool to implement for the fourth quarter.

Don’t let the Minnesota Vikings beat you with their new fourth quarter strategy. They have upped their game and will use Brett Favre to guide them as they race through the fourth quarter.

Hope everyone had a great summer and look forward to seeing everyone at our events this fall.

September 2009 President's Message

Wow! It’s hard to believe it has been 30 years since the St. Croix Valley HBA opened its doors. It would be great to have been a mouse in the corner these last 30 years. I can only imagine the memories that must exist.

I remember one of the first meetings that I attended, it was a skit performed by Ron Schumacher, Jon Coty and maybe even Al Lingen. They had lost a contest or bet of some kind and had to perform the skit dressed as women. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

The holiday celebrations are always a great way to end the year. There is always a large crowd, longtime friends are reunited and fun is had by all.

Many contributions to our communities have been made possible through the efforts of many longtime loyal volunteers of SCVHBA. This speaks volumes about the kind of people that make up our fine association.

Special credit goes to Cemstone Ready-Mix, Peterson Construction, AnchorBank (formerly S & C Bank) and William Derrick Construction Co., our charter members that saw the vision and need for a professional home builders association in our area.

To continue our traditions and networking opportunities years from now we all need to remember the good times. The friends you have made, the business relationships you have developed over the years, and just talk to people about it. Invite them to join us.

We all gain from the collective knowledge and wisdom of others. We grow as a person putting ourselves out there and being involved in something. A membership in a professional association adds to a companies image and purpose. Spread the word, each of us invite someone to join in the memories that will take place over the next 30 years.

Remember, the SCVHBA Provides The Opportunity…You Make It Happen!!!

August 2009 President's Report

What is Grassroots? The encyclopedia defines it as a movement that is often driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it is natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures. Often, grassroots movements are at the local level, as many volunteers in the community give their time to support the local party, which can lead to helping the national party. For instance, a grassroots movement can lead to significant voter registration for a political party, which in turn helps the state and national parties.

How does this affect our industry? Grassroots involvement in your political process is the best way to secure your business future. At the time of this publication, the decision on the new health care program was not decided, but I sincerely hope that each and everyone of you voiced your opinions to your local legislator on your views on how this new plan will affect not only your businesses future but your personal life as well.

It may sound like I am taking a political stand here, I am not. It is not necessary. If you do your homework, you can develop your own opinions on this new program that will hinder the way you do business today.

I also wanted to talk about our recent decline in membership, which you will see on the next page for the July cancellations. This was a real shock to most of us when it appeared that most of the new members that we received last year during our drive were not renewing due to they did not get involved enough to understand the value of their membership and how to support the industry that supports them.

If any of you are doing business with these cancelled members, please talk to them about how important it is to stand together at this time of need and get them to renew and get active within an organization that can only provide them the opportunity to succeed...we all must do our part.

Thank you for all of your continued support, it is greatly appreciated.

July 2009 President's Message

Elections have consequences. Never has that been more evident than this last election cycle.

Whether you are a business owner, an employee or a consumer, the way you live your daily life or operate your business has changed dramatically!

Anti-construction or anti-small business policies or mandates affect us all. Only with a high level of political involvement does it become clear the many ways government is eroding the very fabric of our constitution and the freedoms we were born in to.

We, as a group, have to pull our heads out of the sand. Now is not the time to say “it doesn’t affect me, why should I care, someone else will do it, I don’t want to know or I didn’t know that.”

Follow our WBA staff on the hill for a day. It used to be we had a few issues at a time to argue our point of view. In many cases, we were able to make a positive impact for our members. The issues are now overwhelming. And on many serious issues we are now not able to make a difference. On the less serious issues we are not even able to have debate. Issues against business and, in some cases specifically against the construction industry, are being added during emergency rule or the rule making process by-passing normal legislative channels

As your president and a Build a Better Wisconsin trustee, I invite all of you to play some small part in a grassroots effort to take back our government. We need to identify and support potential candidates early and help mentor them and qualify them as leaders. We need a feeder system for election cycles as we move forward. This, I believe, will be much more cost-effective in the long run. Building an army of willing soldiers to take pro-business or pro-construction principles to the hill will greatly reduce the amount of time and money now being wasted just holding on.

Never again let our anti-business opponents out work us.

Let’s roll !

June 2009 President's Report

WE PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY….you might hear me say this more than once during my message, that is because it is extremely important that every member understand the role that this association has when it come to you and your business.

The St. Croix Valley HBA provides you the opportunity to succeed, not to guarantee new business. What do I mean? The biggest misconception about belonging to any association is that it will automatically bring in new business just by becoming a member. Although it would be great if it worked that way, but typically you need to do something first before you see the benefits, correct?
That is why getting involved is so crucial to your success and making your membership work for you. We can provide the opportunities like networking, sponsorship and advertisements as well as other items, but unless you get involved and take advantage of these opportunities, then you are not getting the full benefit of your membership. Make sense?

Even in this edition of the Valley Voice, we are providing the opportunities for you to network and build relationships by attending the fishing tournament or golf outing this coming June and July. We are also providing you necessary information from our committees and from the Department of Commerce so that you know what your membership is doing for you on your behalf and what is expected of you moving forward with certain certification obligations. We also provide the opportunity for you to advertise/market your company like several of our existing members are already doing. We are providing information for upcoming events that you can be part of to increase exposure and business with the Home Show and Tour of Homes events. And this is just one example of how to use your membership to gain exposure to other members as well as the general public...just in the Valley Voice newsletter.

I encourage each of you to see how you are going to get more involved in the next couple of months and remember WE CAN ONLY PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY….YOU MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!

May 2009 President's Message

This I think is the time of year for the greatest opportunity in our association. We are in the middle of our annual membership drive. Our thanks to each of you who have helped in some way. Remember we can be active in recruiting new members even after the official membership drive is complete. Our membership is the life blood of our federation. The larger our group, the louder our voice on issues that effect small business.

Our annual BBW auction is also this time of year. This great and important event has always been a favorite of our association. We have a long streak of exceeding our fundraising goals. Our members continue to come through with great donations for those in attendance to bid on. Thank you to all who provided a donation again this year.

A new event this month will be a clay shoot. This should be a great networking event. Look for details in this month’s newsletter or emails from Jill. Any potential members should also be invited. If we haven’t been able to recruit someone as a member, this could be the perfect event to expose them and their business to others. Remember to invite members and non-members. Let’s make this a great success. Thanks to J & A Custom Homes as our major sponsor for this event.

Also time to begin thinking about your teams or group for the annual fishing contest and golf outing.

Your membership in SCVHBA is a valuable tool. The opportunities for networking and involvement are plentiful. From the events mentioned above, I think you will find something for everyone. I hope to see you at one of these fine events soon.

Wisdom builds her house but folly tears her down with her own hands.

Thank you.