Ellery Esposito, President Home Builders Association of Kentucky
Greetings and Happy New Year! I am sure everyone has made their New Years Resolutions by now. I am ready to face this new year with hope and enthusiasm. This year will bring a few fresh faces to our leadership and I am excited to have them on board. I want to extend a heart felt thank you to all of you who accepted positions on the executive committee or as a committee chair.
We have many reasons to be proud of our Kentucky Home Builders Association. Although membership has fallen we still are the seventh largest association in the nation. One of the reasons we are able to hold on to our membership is our member benefits plan. With our workers compensation insurance and our health insurance plans we are able to save our members a significant amount of money. We have not been immune to budget restraints and our income has fallen off just as other associations have experienced. We have had our budget cut substantially and had to replace dollars with hard work, I know we are not alone. Every one of our local associations has experienced it. With talented executive officers, strong staff and dedicated volunteer leadership we will get through this.
This year will certainly be a challenge. There are a lot of unresolved issues for our industry. Every builder and developer knows of the problems and issues weighing on us. Our industries issues are taking too long to resolve, but we can not give up. In fact there seems to be signs that some buyers are coming back to the market. Sherry and I have been visiting local associations and have heard reports that are encouraging. There is work out there, getting it is not easy but it is there.
I have also heard the complaints about how regulations are making the jobs so much more difficult to complete. In some cases they conflict with other regulations. These seem to be focused on the new energy code and rules for lead renovation and OSHA. Our association has been working on these problems at the state level, as well as the federal level. We do have some of our legislators proposing laws to ease some of the burdens , but it seems to be an uphill battle. Take a minute and look up House Bills 3010, 527 and 10.There are no quick answers, but there are proposals out there to slow down the flow of regulatory gifting. We need to talk to our representatives and share our concerns with them and ask for their help.
In closing I have to ask that we all put that little extra effort in helping out . Should you have a contact that is not a member talk to them about our home builders association. You might explain how they can save on insurance and at the same time support the industry they are working in. Our strength is in our numbers and the support those members give to our association.