SDHBA’s Newest Life Director, Candice Menke!

The International Builder Show, in its 80th year, was nothing short of AMAZING. You may have already heard, but we had record-breaking attendance, exhibitors, and vendors. This was the largest attendance in 15 years. There were more than 1800 Exhibitors reported for the IBS – but combined with the KBIS, they reported having over 2400 Exhibitors and well over 117,000 attendees. The exhibitors occupied over one million net sq feet- my feet can attest to this, and I didn’t cover it all! There was so much to see – I swear I saw the largest toilet in the world (an actual toilet). IBS and KBIS will continue to collaborate with each other in Design and Construction Week for another 4 years, bringing us through 2030. Plan to attend next year Feb 25th-27th.

What always seems to amaze me at the show is the number of attendees who are not members. In years past, there has been a focus on attempting to identify those and working to improve our membership by getting more members from the show. We will see this addressed by membership going forward.

Membership Drive—This will again be a Net builder—associate drive. If the local exceeds 6.99% or higher, they will get 3x the credits and are eligible for the (2) $1000 travel stipend to the show. Below this are 2x points and 1 travel stipend. Be sure each local signs up, and there will be more to come as this starts in April. Robert August reached an unheard-of milestone in recruiting members. Robert has surpassed 5,000 Spike Credits – which are awarded after a member joins the Federation or renews their membership — making him the most successful recruiter in NAHB history. Onward and Upward, Robert! Our Young Professionals group has really taken off, recruiting 96 new YPs from over 12 locals. This has really shown itself to be a wonderful way to grow our membership, and we look forward to seeing these numbers excel at our next meeting. I was nominated for Associate of the Year. It is an honor and privilege to be acknowledged by my fellow associates. It was a great group that was nominated. Judy Dinelle received this year’s award, and she is so deserving of it. Dianne Beaton received the Associate Advocate for Build Pac, and Mike Fournier was the BEAM award winner. They are all so deserving!

Jordan Hefner received the Young Professional award for Region C. Jordan is so extremely deserving of this award and very honored that we could nominate him and have him represent SD. It was great to celebrate him and spend time with so many NAHB friends! At the Meeting of the Members, Dr. Robert Dietz, NAHB’s lead economist hit on some forecasts for the housing industry – Interest rate hikes are on pause right now. The Fed plans to cut rates 2-3 times this coming year, starting no earlier than June. While the Fed rate doesn’t impact the 30-year mortgage rate directly – we should continue to see it decline, and it’s forecasted to level off into the mid 5’s by 2025. Which is good news for home buyers. Skilled labor shortages will persist – there were over 449,000 open positions in the construction sector. The one that hits hard is that Regulatory Costs are $93,870 per new home!!Regulations have impacted the cost of constructing a new home by this absurd figure – which makes fighting regulation even more important and stresses the importance of donating to Build-PAC. Jim Tobin, NAHB CEO, hit on the 5 Pillars of the strategic plan: NAHB as a Federation, Membership Growth and Engagement, Advocacy for our Industry, Workforce Development, and Public Perception. The focus is to continue to fight for affordable housing and oppose regulations driving housing costs higher. During the Leadership Council meeting, Bob Peterson was elected as our Third Vice Chairman. Ralph Siemonsma received his Senior Life Director, and I had the honor of finally receiving my Life Director. Thank you for allowing me to serve as your SD National Associate Delegate.

-Candice Menke
April 2024 Nuts & Bolts Digital Magazine
https://bit.ly/April2024SDHBAnutsandbolts