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our honorable industry. You will profit from
it as a person, as you hone your skills as a
leader. And, the friendships you develop
are lifelong and meaningful. So seriously, I
want to encourage you to get involved.
TEAM STRENGTH
When you get involved, you realize the
reason our association continues to be so
strong is largely because of the TAB staff.
This is a great team of professionals we are
so fortunate to work with each day. Scott
Norman, Ned Muñoz and Felicia Wright
have earned a genuine respect from
every Senator and State Representative
and staffer at the Capitol. We benefit
from their competence. Mary Castetter
– there are not enough superlatives
in the English language to adequately
describe my admiration of the job she
does. Lorraine Urey brings passion and
determination to each crazy idea I come
up with, and lets me think they’re not
crazy. Most amazingly, she makes them all
work! Angelica Stehling is such a graceful
professional that makes Sunbelt and all
of our other events go flawlessly. For
providing scripts, for cat-herding all of
the officers and speakers, and for always
so graciously remembering to include my
wife when I sometimes absentmindedly
forget to tell her important stuff, a sincere
thank you. Tamara Zengerle is highly
competent well beyond her years, and
brings enthusiasm and fresh perspective to
our team. Canda Warner provides wisdom
and a genuine goodness that infuses TAB’s
corporate culture. Kim Foster amazingly
knows everyone in the state and always
makes them feel important. And do you
think these columns write themselves?
No, we are blessed to have Debbie Davis’
talents in helping us communicate in a
timely manner with our 10,000 members
statewide. (And no, she didn’t write this
column, but did sweat having me make
the deadline.) I also want to welcome the
newest member of the staff, Sloan Landre,
who now greets us when we call the
TAB office. Scott gets credit for putting
together, and even more impressively,
keeping together this uniquely talented
team. Thanks to all of you for your service.
In summary, all I can say is wow, what
a ride! Thanks to all of you for this
opportunity. I am proud of the unity our
association enjoys, and 100 percent of the
credit goes to you, the members. TAB’s
successes this year in the courtroom,
at the courthouses, and at the Capitol
are a testament to your support and
participation. We are in good hands with
the incoming group of Senior Officers
led by my friend Tim Jackson. And I
look forward to witnessing the growth of
Generation Next and the successes of the
Texas Association of Builders in the years
to come.
What a Journey
By Steve Sorrells
“Life is not a journey with the intention
of arriving safely in a pretty and well
preserved body, but rather to skid
in broadside, totally worn out and
proclaiming, ‘Wow! What a Ride!'"
– Hunter S. Thompson
N
ot that anyone will accuse me of having
a pretty, well-preserved body, but that
quote pretty much sums up not just this
past year, but the past ten years since I first
became involved with the Texas Association of
Builders. Looking back, it has been a wild ride,
hasn’t it? And I have all of you to thank for it.
At a NAHB Fall Board meeting ten years ago,
Jerry Carter and George Lewis first suggested to
this inexperienced builder to consider getting
involved in TAB leadership. Why, I still am
unsure. But through the years, those two plus
Ron Connally, Granger MacDonald, David
Miller, Eddie Martin, and Joe Carlyle have
been mentors each step of the way. Their small,
seemingly innocuous comments have provided
the greatest encouragement as I attempted to
carry on their legacies.
So I would like to pay it forward to Generation
Next of the Texas Association of Builders. I
want to encourage you, to challenge you, to
double-dog-dare you to get involved. Take this
opportunity to volunteer and serve on TAB
committees. Show up, speak up, and stand up for
President’s Commentary
2015 TAB Senior Officers
President
Steve Sorrells,
Sorrells and Company, LLC
Waco, Texas
First Vice President
Tim Jackson,
Tim Jackson Custom Homes, Inc.
Fairview, Texas
Vice President/Secretary
Rick McGuire,
McGuire Builders, Inc.
Lubbock, Texas
Treasurer
Sue Ann Pinger,
Tilson Home Corporation
Austin, Texas
Immediate Past President
Joe Carlyle,
Carlyle Homes, Inc.
Troup, Texas
