We have some new announcements and plans to improve our services to better meet the needs of our membership and the community. After more than 6 years of running the association without a home base, this summer the HBA acquired a new office location with a private conference room on Leitersburg pike.
In July I began my full time role as Executive Director after working for the HBA in a part time capacity since 2013. With more time and resources available, the HBA is redeveloping our membership recruitment and retention program, creating additional networking opportunities, and increasing our legislative and advocacy efforts to be a voice for you on policy and regulatory issues. We regularly attend Community Coalition meetings and last year hosted a networking event during Legislative Day in Annapolis to establish more visibility among policy makers and support initiatives that are important to our local builders. We plan to have a presence during Legislative Day each year.
In addition to all this, increasing our community involvement is a major priority. Staying connected to the community not only gives the association an opportunity to make a difference, but also builds partnerships with other local organizations to help Washington county thrive.
This summer, I attended the Mayors Housing Summit and made valuable connections with individuals who work to end homelessness in Washington County. The HBA will now be participating with the Washington County Homeless Coalition as part of that effort. At our September Membership Luncheon the Mayor’s office presented us with a Certificate of Appreciation in support of the grand opening of our office.
We will be a returning sponsor for the Habitat for Humanity Annual Dinner Auction in November 2016, and we have increased our HBA Scholarship Budget to offer more substantial awards to exceptional students seeking professions in the building industry. This month,for the first time, the HBA had an awesome team participating in the United Way Day of Caring to build a shed for Girls Inc of Washington County. The project was a huge success! Visit our Facebook page to check out the pictures!
Another exciting first for us is being a part of the Williamsport Charlie Brown Christmas event. We will have an HBA tree featured to share our holiday spirit with the community and the life skills students at Tech High will be creating custom made builder themed ornaments to decorate our tree.
The LUC Hosted a Tour of Kiwanis park earlier this month, and our Home Show committee is hard at work planning the greatest home show ever for 2017.
As always, thank you for your dedication to the HBA and please contact me with any question or suggestions for how we can serve you better!
Erin Grant
Executive Director
