2023 President Randy Carpenter: Year in Review
The HBA Annual Meeting was held Wednesday, November 29th at the Cable Center. 2023 HBA Board President Randy Carpenter shared some thoughts about the state of the HBA and summarized key HBA accomplishments in 2023.
"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do." ~Steve Jobs. The Home Builders Association of Metro Denver is for all of us who love what we do.
2023 marks the HBA of Metro Denver’s 80th year. For 8 decades, our HBA has served our industry and our community. Our “Here for Good” tagline makes two clear points. Our HBA has served Denver for longer than most of us have been alive. The Denver HBA is enduring and is here for good.
Second, our HBA is here to “do good”. Our association works to expand and increase the American Dream of homeownership through robust advocacy and training. As we know too well, housing is frequently in the crosshairs and the HBA is a stalwart champion for housing interests.
The Denver HBA provides many educational opportunities for professional growth. The CSP and MIRM courses I completed at the HBA 30 years ago prepared me for a future in homebuilding and is doing the same for many today. Our Professional Women in Building Council, Young Leaders Council, Sales and Marketing Council, Emerging Leaders Program, Custom Builder & Remodeler Council educate and integrate our homebuilding community together.
Our association’s members do good by completing hundreds of charitable projects annually partnering with organizations like the Homebuilder’s Foundation, our charity of choice. Since the devastating Marshall fire destroyed or damaged more than 1000 homes in the north metro area, our builder members and Marshall Fire Task Force are rebuilding and restoring a devastated community.
I am always encouraged and impressed by the generosity, compassion, and strength of our members. The HBA of Metro Denver truly is “Here for Good!”
Our HBA staff does an outstanding job. As a Board member since 2017, I have seen their commitment, and quality of work up close. Ted Leighty, Morgan Cullen, Connie Dahl, Toby Paioff, Steve Seno, Katie Evereth, Paige Roemmich, Corinne Burch, Rich Staky. Thank you all. Ted will introduce them later, but I encourage you to get to know them. Thank our HBA staff for their good work when you see them this evening.
2023 year in review
Regarding our finances. We began 2023 on the heels of a difficult 4th quarter in 2022, and creating the 2023 budget was a challenge. Enormous interest rate increases caused a dramatic drop in sales, so projecting permits assessments- our biggest source of revenue was tough. Through careful budgeting with Rich Staky, our finance committee, and Ted, I am pleased to say that at the end of October, we were slightly ahead of our projected permit revenue. Membership has increased and our events and program revenue is ahead of plan because of increased participation. With almost 11 months behind us now, we expect to be very close to our annual budget targets and the HBA’s financial position is strong.
Regarding a few of our signature events. Our Parade of Homes saw a 67% increase in participating builders, and a 41% increase homes entered.
MAME had 500 attendees, an 8% increase YOY, and 328 entries a 33% increase vs. last year.
Regarding Workforce Development. We have all experienced the labor shortage in our companies, for our trade partners, and the construction industry in general. Denver Post projects a construction labor shortage of 90K workers by 2025. But the Colorado Department of Labor reports total construction employment in the state is down by 7,000 jobs last 12 months.
Our HBA worked with the Construction Education Foundation (CEF) and their affiliated Careers in Construction program, supporting their efforts to create a superintendent training program, which is now approved by the US Dept. of Labor. Special thanks to Greg Krause with K2 Residential for his great work on that front. The CEF training center is 27,000 sq. ft. and also hosts the regional OSHA training center. There are now 9 participating school districts, 14 high schools and 1900 students in Workforce Development Training on the front range. The Association of General Contractors and members fund those CEF programs. We met with officials from Denver Public Schools regarding their nascent construction training program, and the Construction Career Contribution Funds from City of Denver permit fees.
When Cherry Creek Innovation Campus requested help with their building materials needs for this school year 7 builders and 2 suppliers stepped up and donated those materials. Special thanks to Lokal Homes, Cardel Homes, Lennar, Berkley Homes, Ascent Builders, Longhill Contracting, KB Home, Alpine Lumber, and Louisiana Pacific. There are 140 students enrolled in the construction program and their material needs for the year are met! And it was inspiring to witness the Tiny House sendoff earlier this year at the Innovation Campus - seeing the results of the student's work go to a great cause. The students demonstrated their learned skillsets and proudly donated the tiny houses to benefit Colorado Village Collaborative.
Our Association leads the charge in growing and strengthening a pro-housing coalition in Denver. In May we 233 elected officials and staff at our Annual Housing Summit. In August we hosted Our Housing Affordability Tour and to inform elected officials about housing affordability and residential development. Our Metro Housing Coalition Political Forum at the Highlands Ranch Mansion in September brought 38 elected officials including State Representatives, Mayors, Council Members and 120 HBA members together. We sponsored two Land Developer Forums to better educate and involve the development community in our work. All these events are designed to unlock housing for more Denverites, grow our pro-housing coalition, and improve business conditions for our members- you.
I am very proud of the HBA’s body of work, and I hope you are too.