Texas Builder, May/June 2016

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2016, making housing development and
affordability key areas of focus throughout
the state.
I’m confident that Texas will remain a
great place to live, work, and do business.
MEMBERSHIP DRIVES UP-AND-RUNNING
As you know, membership continues to be
a primary emphasis for our association.
TAB is focusing on gaining new members
and retaining our current ones. There
are two programs established to achieve
this mission – the RPM Membership
Challenge and the Two for TAB Campaign.
With your help and that of the local HBA
staff, I am confident we can make our state
association stronger and more unified. We
are committed to growing our membership
– and we also want it to be fun. Contact
your local HBA to find out what they
are doing to grow your association –
from doing business with members to
recruiting other industry professionals
in the area. Join the fun and volunteer
to be a part of this movement at the
local level. Besides giving you immediate
gratification for being an active supporter
of your HBA, membership drives are a
unique networking opportunity. You will
be glad you got involved.
WORKFORCE TRAINING AND EDUCATION
Another big focus for our industry is
education and workforce development.
Back in December the Texas Workforce
Commission announced the availability
of $48.5 million in job-training funding
from the Texas Legislature for Skills
Development Fund grants during the 2016-
17 biennium. The Skills Development
Fund has become Texas’ premier job-
training program, by providing vital
training for high demand occupations for
Texas. I encourage everyone to look into
these grants.
In addition, the Texas Builders Foundation
awards scholarships to individuals who
are working toward earning building trade
certifications or construction industry
degrees. Scholarships are awarded every
year for the upcoming fall semester. I
strongly recommend that you share this
information with your local colleges, trade
programs and high school counselors.
You can download the 2016 Scholarship
Guidebook by going to the Texas Builders
Foundation website under "What We Do"
at .
2016 SUNBELT BUILDERS SHOW™
AND SUMMER MEETINGS
Last year’s return to the Gaylord Texan
in Grapevine was a big hit with our
members. The senior officers and TAB
staff are once again excited to be hosting
the 2016 Sunbelt Builders Show™ in the
DFW Metroplex.
For those of you who have not attended,
the Sunbelt Builders Show™ is an annual
statewide industry event open to
residential construction professionals.
I encourage all members to support
the Show and also participate in TAB’s
summer meetings held in conjunction
with the event. See Scott Norman’s column
on page 8 of this Texas Builder issue for
more details on the 2016 Show.
Here, I’ll just encourage you to register
early and book your hotel room before
our discounted room block is sold out.
You can do both by going online to
.
I’ll wrap up by saying I’m looking forward
to continued growth in our association
though membership engagement
and industry workforce development
opportunities.
By Tim Jackson
I t’s hard to believe that I’m writing my third
column and my presidency with the Texas
Association of Builders is reaching the
halfway point. It feels like I just took the oath but
by the time you read this column we’ll be two
months away from the 2016 Sunbelt Builders
Show™ in Grapevine. Boy, time is flying!
Over the past few months I’ve been granted the
opportunity to visit with various associations
and members about our industry. Topics of
discussion that come to mind include the
drop in oil prices, membership, workforce
development and the Sunbelt Builders Show™.
These are topics I want to cover in this column.
OIL PRICES EFFECTING HOUSING
For the past year, I’ve been trying to stay abreast
on how the drop in oil prices would affect
our industry. Today the “experts” are fairly
confident that Texas will weather the energy
bust better than other parts of the country due
to our diverse labor market, absence of a state
income tax and relatively affordable housing.
However, the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M
University said in March that the “Texas economy
continues to grow but at a tepid pace in the face
of a weakening global economy, lower energy
prices, and a strong dollar.” What does this mean
– it means that housing demands are slowing
down and a shortage of a skilled construction
workforce has stalled new construction. Chief
Economist JimGaines with the Real Estate Center
at Texas A&M University fully expects the Texas
housing market to remain highly competitive in
President’s Commentary
Building the Future
2016 TAB Senior Officers
President
Tim Jackson, Tim Jackson Custom Homes, Inc.
Fairview, Texas
First Vice President
Rick McGuire, McGuire Builders, Inc.
Lubbock, Texas
Vice President/Secretary
Justin MacDonald, MacDonald Companies
Kerrville, Texas
Treasurer
Sue Ann Pinger, Pinger & Company, LLC
Austin, Texas
Immediate Past President
Steve Sorrells, Sorrells and Company, LLC
Waco, Texas