June 30, 2009

My membership in the Home Builders Association began many years ago in another city. I wondered then what possible value there could be in meeting with my competitors every month to talk. Then an unacceptable ordinance came before our City Council and I discovered that my competitors were in reality my allies as we worked together to stop its passage. Over time, we all realized that we had much more in common than not and many of my toughest competitors became my good friends.

When I uprooted and moved my business to St. George, one of the first things I did was to join SUHBA. I became involved immediately serving on SUHBA's Board of Directors and eventually became one of their representatives to the Home Builders Association of Utah where I eventually became its President. I have met more outstanding and helpful people, learned more about the home building industry I'm a part of, and had more influence on the legislation that affects us all through the Home Builders Association than in any other way BY FAR!!! I'm glad I made the decision to join. I appreciate the accomplishments I've witnessed and I have found great satisfaction in the small part I've played.

The 7^th Annual SUHBA Scholarship Golf Tournament sponsored by United Rentals was held Friday, June 19th at the Coral Canyon Golf Course. It was a beautiful day to have a tournament and all the teams had a great time. Tons of prizes were given away! SUHBA thanks all the players, sponsors and volunteers that made the event a success! Continental breakfast and lunch were sponsored by Interstate Rock Products and Riverwoods Mill, Inc. The golf course was sponsored by SunCor Utah, Inc. Approximately $12,000 was raised and will go toward the SUHBA Scholarship Fund.

Congratulations to the top teams:
1st Place Team – Rosenberg Associates
Kent Nobis, Mark Hendrickson, Jason Smith, & Brandon Anderson
2nd Place Team - AJ Construction
Austin Anderson, Jim Price, Ethan Anderson, & Kurt Alberts
3rd Place Team – Interstate Rock Products
Jason Madsen, Jeffery Madsen, Mike Madsen & David Rodgers
4th Place Team – SunRiver
Lamar Madsen, Darcy Stewart, Kevin Hernandez, & Neil Economy
5th Place Team – Cindy Taylor Trucking
Robert Pectal, Luke Stewart, Kyle Stewart, & Ford Stewart

In an effort to encourage builder participation and maintain 26 homes in the 2010 St. George Area Parade of Homes, the SUHBA Board of Directors decided to allow homes into the Parade with a Certificate of Occupancy dated 1/1/2006 through 2/11/2010. Qualifying homes must have never been lived in, used as a model home, or used as a prior Parade home. The homes will be subject to inspection by SUHBA prior to acceptance into the Parade. Any homes with a CO date of 1/01/2006 or earlier will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

As a result of this new decision, the SUHBA Board of Directors decided to extend the silent bid deadline for the 2010 St. George Area Parade of Homes until July 1, 2009. Parade positions are available and this is a great opportunity to participate and receive tremendous exposure. Any active SUHBA builder may submit a written sealed bid with a minimum bid amount of $6,000 to the SUHBA office on July 1st by 5:00 pm. A non-refundable check must be enclosed with the bid for the full amount. If builder is not awarded a Parade position, the check will be returned. In the event of a tie, the builder with the highest number of points will be awarded a position.

Please contact Mari Smith at the SUHBA office at 674-1400 with any questions.

Exhibition space reservations are now being accepted for the 6th Annual Ultimate Home Expo to be held September 11 & 12 at the Dixie Center. Our industry is showing signs of recovery and exhibiting is a great opportunity for SUHBA members to make the connections that will prepare them to capitalize when the economy turns around. Reach more customers in two days of exhibiting than 6-12 months at your place of business. Both business professionals and the general public will be in attendance.

SUHBA is committed to helping our members succeed and we have lowered exhibition fees for the 2009 event. SUHBA members save over non members. Send in your reservation form with a 50% deposit and reserve your booth today. Click here for more information or call 674-1400. Click here to view the exhibit hall layout.

Become an event sponsor and benefit even more! Sponsor the Ultimate Home Expo and receive unique benefits. Prime choice of best exhibition area, logo included in marketing materials, large signs at event, announcements, newsletter recognition, and many other benefits. Your company will definitely be front and center with this unique opportunity. Contact Mari Smith at 674-1400 or mari@suhba.com for more sponsor benefits and availability. Sponsors are limited.

The Ultimate Home Expo is presented by SUHBA and The Spectrum. Thank you to MetLife Home Loans, Weather Master Products, Rainbow Sign & Banner, KCSG Television, and Canyon Media for sponsoring this event.

The Bureau of Land Management is soliciting bids for a 10,000 square foot building in Fillmore. For more information, click here.

It was announced June 24, 2009, that the State of Utah Energy Program received funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Some of the funds will be available for builders working on new construction developments. ...More

County data confirms what state information suggests: undocumented immigrants are not major sources of crime. In fact, according to Sutherland Institute's most recent findings, undocumented immigrants account for less than five percent of state prisoners and less than four percent of county-jail inmates. ...More

Don’t miss your opportunity to attend the Southern Utah Building Industry Conference held on Friday, September 11th, at the Dixie Center.

What’s in it for you? "Sharpen Your Skills" Survival Training for Professionals
Continuing Education: Contractors complete all your continuing education requirements in one day! Real Estate, Mortgage and Title can obtain up to 8 continuing education credits. Timely topics include: Fraud; Construction Contracts; Short Sales; Building, Marketing & Financing Green, and so much more!
Networking Opportunity: Get acquainted with your peers in the industry at breakfast, lunch, during classes, and at the popular Ultimate Home Expo. All of this is included with the conference fee!

SUHBA Scholarships Available! The first 100 SUHBA member companies to register and pay for the conference will receive a $50 reimbursement check after attending the conference! This will be done on a first-come, first-serve basis. One scholarship per company. Don’t wait to register or you may miss out on this discount! Click here to download a registration form.

For more information, please contact Kathy Tolleson at (435) 674-1400.

The Park City Area Home Builders Association is offering a course on Building Radon Out, to instruct builders how to build radon-resistant homes. This class will be offered on Thursday, July 16, 2009, from 8:30 - 11:00 am, at the Board of Realtors at 1912 Sidewinder Dr, Park City, UT 84060. For more information, please contact Mykal Muegge at (435) 645-9363.

On June 22, 2009, the City of Santa Clara decided it would be in the best interest of the City to join the Washington County Water Conservancy District Water Pooling Agreement. Because of this decision, a new water impact fee study and capital facilities plan must be prepared to determine the amount to which the City's current water impact fee should be reduced. For more information, please contact the City of Santa Clara at (435) 673-6712.

This zero interest loan provides up to $10,000 toward down payment and closing cost assistance and is available for homes located in St. George City limits. For more information contact Darren Janes at (435) 673-3548 or simply refer to City of St. George DPA Program.

After 5 years of operation, they have lost their facility in the Catholic Church due to Church renovations. You can help if you shop on the internet at www.iGive.com/Communitykitchen. It's easy to do and the money will go directly to feeding the hungry in St George. For more ways to help, click here... ...More

The Habitat Restore continues to gain popularity in Southern Utah by selling used and new building materials, tools, garden supplies, appliances, furniture, etc. at a fraction of retail prices to the public. If you have any building materials that you would like to donate, please bring to 267 East 1400 South/Riverside Drive. Make sure and check out the store for great deals! Proceeds from the ReStore help fund the construction of Habitat for Humanity homes in our community. Call 674-7669 for any questions.

USA Today
With the tax credit scheduled to expire this fall, some business groups say the amount of the credit, now capped at $8,000, should be raised to $15,000 and applied to anyone who buys a home. Click here to see the current proposals.

USA Today
Seven of the eleven leading indicators in the Economic Outlook Index were positive contributors in June: building permits, non-defense capital goods orders, stock prices, ISM export orders, the interest rate yield curve, light vehicle sales, and the corporate bond spread. Four indicators had a negative effect on the index, including slightly fewer hours worked, a decline in the average growth rate of real money supply, a modestly tighter real federal funds rate and higher crude oil prices. Click here to read the full article.

NAHB
NAHBGreen at the end of this month will enable builders to receive dual certification to the National Green Building Standard and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE’s) Builders Challenge. Spearheaded by the DOE, the Builders Challenge provides certification of a home’s energy efficiency. Click here to read the full article.

This award recognizes the important contribution Ence Homes has made to energy-efficient construction and environmental protection by building 2,258 ENERGY STAR qualified homes in the last 10 years. Collectively, these homes have saved our customers approximately $1,009,326 on utility bills over that period of time. ...More

Where to Retire Magazine, a national publication reaching half a million readers each month, has once again named SunRiver St. George one of “America’s 100 Best Master-Planned Communities.” SunRiver has received the coveted designation nine times since 1999 and is the only development in Utah to make the list this year. ...More

Jacobsen Construction and Clyde Company – Sunroc are listed in the Top 400 Contractors list. Click here to see the top 400 contractors.

Super Lawyers, a publication of Key Professional Media located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has awarded St. George attorney Ronald W. Truman of Dixon, Truman & Fisher, P.C. with the 2009 Mountain States Super Lawyers award. Truman was nominated and awarded this coveted peer acknowledgment for his dealings in a variety of practice areas including Personal Injury Plaintiff: General, General Litigation, and Construction Litigation. ...More

Curtis Anderson has joined SouthWest Federal as the Vice President of Business Services. He will oversee the business lending, including loans for small businesses (SBA loans) and all other commercial lending, and deposit services. The VP Business Services position was created in order to meet the needs of member businesses and offer expanded services in addition to business checking and small business loans. For more information on Business Services and SBA lending, contact Curtis at 435-619-2142.

Smart energy use can be a big opportunity to save money and the best place to start is at home. Every window with a drafty sill and every furnace filter left unchanged eats up energy and wafts money out of your wallet. The good news is that a few simple changes around the home can make a big difference in your energy bill. ERA has launched the "Make a Change. Make a Difference" campaign and sweepstakes. ...More

NAHB
In the midst of the prime home buying season, builders report that a number of factors are limiting new-home sales. These include consumer concerns about job security, potential buyers’ inability to sell their existing homes, and problems with appraisals coming in too low,” said Joe Robson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Click here to read the full article.

NAHB
Using foreclosed and distressed sales as comparables with appraisals on single-family homes without adequately reflecting the differences in the condition of the respective properties is needlessly driving down home values, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Click here to read the full article.

Builder Helper is a web-based construction management program that facilitates bidding, estimating and scheduling, as well as the flow of information between contractors, trades, and other parties. As a SUHBA member, you can utilize Builder Helper at no cost (call 801-227-7811 for details). It is a more efficient and cost effective way for Builders and Trade Contractors to do business--saving everyone time and money, while also reducing material waste. Take the Builder Helper Tour at Builderhelper.com today.