Daniel Blanchard, president of Blanchard Land Co. and executive vice president of Ewing Real Estate, will lead the Northeast Florida Builders Association in 2014, the year the association celebrates its 70th anniversary.
Blanchard has been a NEFBA member for 18 years, coming to Jacksonville in 1996 with Barnett Bank. With a business degree and later an MBA from the University of Florida, he served the real estate industry as a lender for many years. His career continued to progress as he led the sales and marketing and land development efforts for a local builder that was sold to a national corporation.
He started his own business and continued in land acquisition, development and sales and later expanded from residential properties into multi-family, industrial, commercial and office properties. He survived the challenges of the downturn and continues to assist builders with their land development and acquisition needs.
Blanchard and his wife Kim have two sons, Blake (3) and Mason (8).
Blanchard is eager to apply his experience and passion for the industry to reach some aggressive goals and to move the association forward.
Q: What are the goals you have set for the association for the coming year?
A: I see 2014 as a growth year. We are out of survival mode, and now it's time to grow and thrive. Membership is the lifeblood of this organization. Our membership numbers were affected by the downturn in the economy but are still very strong with more than 1,000 member companies.
With the builders in growth mode, we see many small businesses starting up to fill the construction needs of the builders as well. Associate members are also thriving as they connect with the members to assist with their business needs. With this combined growth we plan to increase membership to 1,250 by the end of the year.
In addition to attracting new members, we will focus on keeping our current members involved and engaged while providing value for their membership.
One way to increase membership and increase member participation is to offer bigger and better member opportunities and an increased public presence.
Our events are large and very well attended — the Laurel Awards, the annual Gala, the Parade of Homes and all the council events throughout the year will continue to grow. They will become even bigger and better in 2014.
Our charitable arm, Builders Care, is also growing under new leadership and doing great things in the community.
One of our great strengths has been our strong industry voice. We will continue to work diligently to protect our industry from policies and legislation that impact our businesses. We work directly with legislators and policymakers to ensure that our voice is heard locally, throughout the state and nationally.
This election year presents a great opportunity for our members to support candidates who are friendly to housing interests. We will actively identify, endorse and support the political campaigns for the candidates who support our industry.
Q: What are the obstacles you anticipate in reaching these goals?
A: Our goals are realistic and attainable, and we've got a lot in our favor to be able to achieve them.
It's somewhat ironic, I think, that the one thing with the most potential to impede our progress is success and recovery. As business improves, builders, developers, designers, architects and related businesses are busier than they have been in the past several years. That means time is at a premium.
We are busy with rapid expansions and the good news of growth, so the daily operations require more time. We are competing with the demands of time. People want to be more involved, but many are being spread thin. Our role is to make membership so attractive and such a benefit, that it's well worth the time and effort to be an active, engaged member.
No doubt there will be obstacles, but rather than focus on obstacles, I think we need to concentrate on the tools we have to overcome them.
In the past few months, NEFBA has hired talented, dedicated people to fill key positions on staff, and I'm encouraged by the experience, energy and creativity they bring to the organization. The staff is a large factor in positioning us to meet our goals. We are fortunate to have them, and I look forward to working with them this year.
Our strong executive committee is another great asset in meeting challenges. That group has banded together in good times and bad. Last year we collectively suffered the loss of our friend and second vice president, Ken Kuester. The executive committee, Ken's friends and the association held strong and made a determined effort to continue the work and reach the goals to which Ken had devoted much of his life. I think that's proof we can weather any storm.
Q: With all the added responsibility and stress, what do you do to relax?
A: In this industry, most people are paid based on production, sales, profitability, or commission. So the most stressful time is when we're not busy. Even though we're busier now than we have been for a few years, that's naturally much less stressful.
But if you're asking what I do to recharge and keep life in balance, I love spending time with my family. I also like to spend time in the woods or on the water away from the crowds and reconnecting with Mother Nature.