This year the Spokane Home Builders Association took home four nationwide Association of Excellence awards from the National Association of Home Builders. They are: Best Public Relations Program Conducted, Best Education Program, Best Local Government Affairs Effort, and Best Service to Members. This is the first time SHBA has won this many awards in a single year.

“The recognition from the national association is really special,” Executive Director Joel White said. “This goes to show how hard our team has worked all year on behalf of our members.”

SHBA beat out almost 100 other submissions from associations across the country. Best Public Relations Program Conducted was awarded for SHBA’s ‘Co-branded media campaign,’ an advertising campaign produced by QUINN Agency. This campaign featured members in order to highlight their work building homes and the Association’s impact in the community.

Best Education Program was for ‘Building for the Future: An Energy Code Response,’ a multi-pronged effort to help members push back on and adapt to Washington State Energy Codes. The prescribed implementation costs would have added $20,000+ to new construction overnight. Through working with government entities, helping members understand the codes, fighting for workable solutions, and spreading public awareness, SHBA advocacy and education efforts led the way on this important issue.

Best Local Government Affairs Effort was for the ‘Virtual Candidate Training,’ which was a first across the country to train candidates how to run for office. This three-part, virtual non-partisan candidate training school partnered with National Association of Home Builders staff, Spokane Area Realtors, and local political consultants.

Best Service to Members was for ‘House 2 Home,’ a regular video podcast series featuring Spokane Home Builders Association members to promote their business and the association while providing a helpful educational resource to our community. The show is hosted by Government Affairs Director Isaiah Paine and local legend Clyde Haase.

“We really tried to do new things and take advantage of being virtual,” Paine said. “With House 2 Home and the Candidate Training Series, we were able to offer more value to our members and accomplish things in a unique way.”

Membership Services Director Jennifer Thomas worked diligently to keep members active and engaged in a time where events were completely shut down. “We didn’t let the pandemic slow member growth or value,” Thomas said. “We came up with innovative ideas and accelerated it, and we have seen a substantial increase in new members as a result.”

SHBA continues to make being a member more valuable with the return of in-person events this summer and expects to see more growth as an organization.

“We have been able to expand our team to dedicate more time to come up with new ideas and execute them more effectively than before,” White said. “It’s exciting to see where we will be a year from now.”

 

To see all the award winners, you can go to:

https://www.nahb.org/nahb-community/awards/association-excellence-awards/AEA-2020-HBA-Award-Winners