20
Texas Association of Builders
July/August 2015
HOMEPAC
The Nuts and Bolts of HOMEPAC
Jumping right over the what, the when,
and the where, I would like to explain
WHY it is imperative for our association
to be actively involved in this process -
HOMEPAC Trustee, or not. Alterations
to our state laws or regulations could
have a direct impact on your business.
Your participation in HOMEPAC is an
investment in the future of our industry
and one of the most affordable options for
your input and involvement in political
action available to you. In the past
election cycle, HOMEPAC was involved
and supported over 160 candidates for
statewide, judicial, state Senate and state
House offices. Of those, only one was
defeated; this is a 99.5% success rate—a
rate that could not have been achieved if
it was not for the tremendous amount of
support we received from our members.
WHAT does this mean in terms of
fundraising at the local level? I’m so glad
you asked. Every local home builders
association has a yearly HOMEPAC
fundraising goal that is calculated by the
number of members in their association x
$25. This goal can be achieved in multiple
ways: by becoming a HOMEPAC Key
Donor at the $5,000 (Capitol Club), $3,000
(Diamond Key), $1,500 (Platinum Key),
$1,000 (Gold Key), $500 (Silver Star), $250
(Lone Star), local washers tournaments, the
statewide washer tournament, cookouts or
silent auctions. It's hard to believe, but we
are now half way through 2015, and so far
three local HBAs have already exceeded
their goal. Out of our 28 local HBAs,
there were only ten that did not meet their
2014 HOMEPAC goal. Our goal is for that
number to be zero this year!
WHEN and WHERE will you have the
next chance to not only contribute to
HOMEPAC, but also drink ice-cold
beverages, chow down on great food,
and hang out with your building buds
from across the state? At our HOMEPAC
FUNdango of course. This year, the
FUNdango will take place on Tuesday, July
28 at 6:30 p.m. during our Summer Board
Meetings and the Sunbelt Builders Show
TM
at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine. If
that fun-filled itinerary isn’t enough
entertainment for one night, well then
you are hard to entertain, but you are
also in luck, because we will also have the
Statewide Washers Championship during
the FUNdango! The contestants in the
Statewide Tournament will be comprised
of all the winners from each local HBA’s
washer tournament. If you did not win
at your local tournament or if you did
not participate in your local tournament,
you will still get the chance to play at
the FUNdango by entering the buy-in
tournament. For more information on
how to enter the buy-in tournament please
see the box below.
Now, I don’t claim to be an artist, but I do
sincerely hope that this article has painted
a clear picture of what HOMEPAC is and
why it is vital to our association. There
are hundreds of arrows pointed at the
building industry every session and if we
didn’t have such a dedicated government
relations team and involved grassroots
membership contributing to HOMEPAC,
to educating lawmakers about our issues,
and I guarantee you that conducting
our daily business would be much
more challenging.
Robert Wood is the volunteer chair of
HOMEPAC, the political action committee of
the Texas Association of Builders and owns
and operates his company Custom Homes
by Robert Wood in Lubbock, TX.
T
he Statewide HOMEPAC Washers
Tournament is just around the
corner. This event is so highly
anticipated that if it were to be nationally
televised with commercials, the money
generated would make super bowl ads
look like child’s play. Since our largest
HOMEPAC fundraiser is upon us, I
thought it would be appropriate to take
a moment to delve into the who, the
what, the when, the where and the why
behind HOMEPAC.
The WHO belongs to a candidate that our
committee has chosen to support due to
their demonstrated understanding of the
issues that affect the Texas residential
development,
construction,
and
remodeling industry. When considering
who we will support in statewide, judicial,
state Senate and state House races, the
committee considers the candidate’s
voting record on issues important to
the home building industry, and their
membership and leadership position on
key committees that consider legislation
that affects home builders.
By Robert Wood
FOR THE BUY-IN TOURNAMENT, YOU
MAY EITHER PRE-PURCHASE AN
ENTRY FOR $25 PER PERSON OR $50
FOR A TEAM (A TEAM CONSISTS OF 2
PLAYERS) AS WELL AS YOUR TICKET TO
THE FUNDANGO FOR $100 ONLINE AT
.
IF SPACE IS AVAILABLE, BUY-INS MAY
BE PURCHASED AT THE FUNDANGO.
