The SUHBA Board of Directors and Staff want to extend our appreciation to all members for their great support and to say best wishes for the New Year. Even though challenges will continue in 2010, we look forward to the New Year that will bring new opportunities. Together, we can achieve goals and overcome obstacles. This is a strong organization because of the selfless acts and the great contributions made throughout the year by supporting members. We appreciate you and please contact us if you require any assistance. The staff is here to offer support and help you be successful in 2010.

The January SUHBA General Membership Luncheon will be held Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 11:45 am at the Dixie State College Gardner Center. 

Luncheon Presentation: The local real estate market directly impacts the building industry. If you want a SNEAK PREVIEW of the 2010 Economic Summit Real Estate Breakout Session, come listen to the dynamic Washington County Board of Realtors Executive Officer Vardell Curtis as he discusses where the local real estate market has been and where he sees it going in the near future.

A special thanks to our luncheon sponsor:
With over 40 years experience  Advanced Window and Door Design has been serving the entire state of Utah and Nevada’s finest contractors with the best quality in custom windows, patio doors, pocket patio doors, butted glass, and skylights. They represent the best window and door manufactures such as, Hurd, Weathershield,  Panda, Albertini, Doors in Motion, and Aladdin. They guarantee second to none service, and the highest quality window and door products on today’s market, while being budget minded. With innovations in green building,  they can help make your project more energy efficient and environmentally friendly without sacrificing any your style or design. Visit their website at www.advancedwdd.com, or call them at 435-673-5556, or email kason@advancedwdd.com.

We have redesigned our website and made it more user friendly for our members, business professionals, and consumers. Be sure to check out the new look of SUHBA at www.suhba.com.

Promote your company to people interested in building and home improvement by advertising in the Parade of Homes Magazine. 25,000 copies will be printed and distributed to Parade visitors. Ad sales have officially closed, but call The Spectrum today at 674-6273 to see if there is still an opportunity. 
We want to thank the following advertisers for their great support:

AJ Construction	Alpine Gas Fireplaces	Appliance Wholesalers Plus
Art in Kayenta	BA Robinson & Sons Constr.	Beja's Thai & Sushi
Better Professional Painting	Boulevard Home Furnishings	Brian Geer Development
Burton Lumber	C. Blake Homes	Color Country Community Housing
Contractors Heating & Cooling	Desert Dove Tea Room	Designer Furniture Gallery
Dixie Component Systems	Dixie Escalante Electric	Egg and I
Ence Homes	Entrada Realty	Explore Communications
Fahrenkamp Inc.	Fairway Grill	Fergusen Enterprises
Heritage Home & Garden	Interstate Rock Products	Iron County Home Bldrs Assn
Jeff Andrews Custom Home Design	Keystone Constr. & Design	KSL Television
MetLife Home Loans	Mountain Alarm	Off Grid Constr. Company
Painted Pony	Pinion Hills at Dammeron	Pride Homes
Questar Gas	Richardson Homes	Rosenberg Associates
So. Utah Title Company	Southwest Marble & Granite	Star 98 FM
Sun River	SunCor Dev./Coral Canyon	SunHill Homes/Sunbrook
SunRoc	Sunwest Development	The Audio Installation Co.
The Spectrum	Tolbert Nielson Realty	Towne Storage
Troy's BBQ	Venuti Woodworking	Walker Home Design
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage	Wilding Wallbeds	Wilkinsons House of Lighting
Zions Bank

Have you ever wanted to have a display and talk about your business in front of 26,000 people? Well this is your chance. By exhibiting, you can talk with homeowners, home builders, business professionals, trade contractors, realtors, remodelers, and anyone else who is interested in home improvement, in construction, and design ideas. Exhibit in the 2010 Parade of Homes and get the results you expect! 

Click here for an exhibition space application or for more information on exhibiting during the Parade of Homes.

Sign up now to place a banner ad on the Parade of Homes website. We had 28,351 visitors on the website from November to February 2009. The average visitor spent over 6 minutes with 11 page views. We only allow six banner ads per year to allow optimum exposure. The cost is only $800. Hurry and call Shawna Applegate at the SUHBA office at 435-674-1400 for more information.

Visit Facebook and become a fan of the St. George Area Parade of Homes. You can read updates on the Parade, post your own thoughts, and see what everybody else is saying about the event. Don't miss out visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/St-George-Area-Parade-of-Homes-FanPage/215966559009 and sign up now!

NAHB
Like housing, the economy is showing signs of revival, the road to recovery will pass through some rough patches and there will still be plenty of pain. 

The first bumps in the road were evident with the revisions of third quarter gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the total output of the country. In the advance estimate, released in late October, real (inflation-adjusted) GDP growth was up 3.5% (at a seasonally adjusted, annual rate) over the quarter before. ...More

NAHB
In a rush to pass a massive health care overhaul before Christmas, Senate Democrats have included a last-minute provision targeting the construction industry that is certain to derail the fragile housing recovery and threaten the solvency of countless small home building firms. ...More

The International Builders’ Show is THE premier industry event. As the largest building industry tradeshow in the country, this is the place to recharge your business! Get inspired with the more than 175 education sessions and network with the best in the industry! Las Vegas is the place YOU need to be in January! Visit www.buildershow.com for more information.

Find out what's really happening economically in Washington County and how it affects you and your business. Don't miss the 2010 Economic Summit on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010, from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, at The Dixie Center. For more information or to register visit www.whatsupdownsouth.com.

SUHBA will be offering an OSHA 10-hour training class. This will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, January 26-27, 2010 from 11:30 am to 5:00 pm, at the Taylor Health Science Building at 1526 Medical Center Drive, in St. George. For more information please contact Kathy Tolleson at 435-674-1400.

Lots of people network but few reap the rewards of zeroing in on their potential when it comes to networking. Here are some tips to help fill the gap between where you are now and where you can be. ...More

Although home construction and amenities have evolved significantly since the advent of electric lighting and indoor plumbing, many builders’ business processes, unfortunately, have not. 

To cut costs and increase efficiency, especially in these difficult times, builders would do well to examine and consider integrating up-to-date technology into their business processes.

Integrating the technology available today will help builders do more with less. ...More

Salisbury Homes gave away 4 kids playhouses full of food, clothes, and toys to four different families in need right here in Southern Utah for Christmas.

Boulevard Home Furnishings has joined with the Washington County Solid Waste Department, Hurst Ben Franklin, and Harmons Grocery Stores to provide "Mini-Binnie" recycling bins. Mini-Binnies provide a convenient way to sort, stack and transport your recyclables to a Recycle Center. Boulevard Home Furnishings has Mini-Binnies on sale for only $27 for each set of four colored-coded bins. The Boulevard also is home to one of many Recycling Centers located in the St. George store's south parking lot.

Neil Economy, Head Golf Professional for the SunRiver Golf Course, recently earned a Class A PGA membership, a distinction awarded to golf professionals who complete a series of courses, written exams, and simulation tests, and who pass the demanding PGA Playing Ability Test. ...More

Get ready for recovery with a Jumbo Home Loan! While these loans have been absent from the market for most of the recession, they are now back at SouthWest Federal Credit Union.

A jumbo mortgage is a loan for more than $417,000.  Jumbos require a minimum of 10% down and a credit score of 700 for loans up to $650,000. For those who need to borrow more, the down payment and credit score requirements may also increase. However, SouthWest Federal Jumbos allow loans up to $2 million on a primary residence or second home. ...More

Making homes and other buildings more energy efficient is the name of the game for a new White House initiative lauded by President Obama on national television. 

Speaking from a Washington, D.C.-area Home Depot store on Dec. 15, the President called on Congress to extend energy-efficiency tax credits for home owners as part of his Administration's $8 billion "Recovery Through Retrofit" initiative, and spoke about the benefits of home owners nationwide embracing the opportunity to improve their homes while lowering their energy costs. ...More

Habitat for Humanity is searching for donations of time and/or materials (and possibly bids) from all trades for our next single-family home. If you are interested in helping a local low-income family, receive publicity for your company and possible tax deductions; please contact Michelle Hill at Habitat for Humanity of Southwest Utah at 435-674-7669 or habitat@ifox.com.

On an initiative by Agriculture Secretary Vilsack, Washington County has an opportunity to build a “People’s Garden”. This garden is to provide a sampling of USDA’s efforts to teach others how to nurture, maintain and protect a healthy landscape.  If practiced, the People’s Garden” is a concept that can contribute to providing healthy food for people and communities. When completed, visitors can learn more about healthy eating and healthy living. ...More

Conveniently located off I-15 in Washington, the Coral Canyon Town Center has office space available for lease by SUHBA.  Three spaces are available and range in size from 1,086 to 1,227 square feet.  For more information, please contact Mari Smith at 674-1400.

SUHBA members are encouraged to submit company event announcements, open house announcements, job announcements, education announcements and press releases for inclusion in the next News You Can Use by Monday, January 11, 2010. Please email the information to news@suhba.com.