Texas Builder, Mar/Apr 2016

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8 Texas Association of Builders March/April 2016
now do 100 percent of their business with
other members!
The “Two for TAB” Membership Cam-
paign is a simple way to compete with
other members of your local HBA for
prizes. For every two members (Builder
or Associate; five Affiliates count as one
entry) that you recruit, your name goes
into your HBA’s hard hat for a drawing that
will be held during the TAB Membership
Committee meetings this year (March,
July and November). For example, if you
recruit six new Builder and Associate
members, you will have three chances
to win. If you recruit five new Affiliate
members and one Associate member, you
will have one chance to win. Contact your
local HBA executive officer to join one or
both of these membership campaigns.
As all of you are hopefully aware with the
attention being given to the Presidential
election, 2016 is once again an election
year. Although no statewide offices
except for the three very important Texas
Supreme Court seats on the ballot, over
half of the Texas Senate and all 150 seats
in the Texas House of Representatives are
up for election in November. HOMEPAC
Trustees Chair Carol Longacre’s column is
devoted to the March primary races and
elaborates on the goals for HOMEPAC,
the political action committee of the Texas
Association of Builders. Your support of
HOMEPAC is crucial in helping to ensure
that we elect pro-housing candidates to the
Texas Legislature.
Remember when “green building” was all
our industry talked and learned about?
Over the last decade, Texas builders have
successfully provided homeowners with
more energy efficiency and have a new
understanding and appreciation of its
positive effects and sustainable homes. TAB
was proud to provide dozens of education
classes on green and sustainable building to
the professional building community, and
we strive to continue to educate our builders
on not just the latest trends but on real-
world, practical best building practices.
This issue’s main feature is about homes of
the future. From smart homes, whose every
mechanism can be controlled through
a smart phone or tablet, to the public’s
fascination with “tiny homes,” we are
pleased to bring you information on what
today’s consumers are interested in – and
sometimes demanding – as they consider
building, purchasing or remodeling
homes. This article will introduce you to
some of what home buyers are looking for
in 2016 and beyond.
We will bring you much more detailed
information on these and more trends at
the 2016 Sunbelt Builders Show™ that will
be held at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine
August 3–4. You’ll learn about a unique
business model that has proved wildly
successful for a couple who remodel
homes in Waco; a builder and designer,
both of whom live in Austin, who have
collaborated on projects for ABC TV’s
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,”
National Geographic’s “Cabin Fever,” and
’s “Tiny House Nation”; and other
experts on smart home technology and
cybersecurity. We hope you will plan on
joining us at Sunbelt to learn about all of
this and so much more.
I also want to remind you that TAB’s
Energy Code Training classes are being
offered through the local associations
through July. This class is the result of the
successful passage of HB 1736 (2015 Texas
Legislative Session), that implements
intelligent and rational energy code policy
that will result in significantly better
compliance rates and allow for more
cost effective implementation of the state
energy code. Check with your local HBA
executive officer or visit
for training dates and locations.
2016 will be a busy year for TAB and its
members. I hope to see you March 30–31
at the Sheraton Gunter Hotel in San
Antonio for TAB’s winter meetings. Please
join us to help shape the future of our
association and industry.
Executive Director’s Message
By M. Scott Norman, Jr.
T his issue of Texas Builder magazine
is about the future. The future of our
association, homes of the future, and
how the Texas Association of Builders can
play a role in shaping the makeup of the
2017 Texas Legislature.
Association and Long Range Planning
Committee Chairman David Miller’s
column on page 10 provides you with
an overview of TAB’s goals for the year.
Through the leadership of TAB President
Tim Jackson and Membership Committee
Chairman Mike Biggerstaff, we have
set a goal to grow our membership by
at least 1,500 new members this year.
Two membership drives are being
held simultaneously in 2016. The RPM
(Relationships Powered by Members)
Membership Challenge will continue
through the year, and the new “Two for
TAB” Membership Campaign is underway.
All members – Builders and Associates –
may participate in both drives.
As you know, the RPM Challenge is a
back-to-the-basics “Do Business With
a Member” recruitment and retention
effort. It’s simple – identify non-members
with whom you do business and recruit
them to join the association. Your goal is
to increase the percentage of business you
do with other members. Several members
who embraced the RPM Challenge in 2015
The Future Is Now