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.