By Jerry Linder, Florida Home Builders Association president
Last month, I communicated on the importance of belonging to a federation with local, state and national advocacy programs and how thankful I was that NAHB worked with national politics, which allows FHBA to focus on state issues and our locals to focus on local issues.
But there is another aspect of the teamwork that is very important — relying on one another.
FHBA and local FHBA staff have been working together to accomplish our legislative goals.
Last month, NEFBA Executive Office Corey Deal was approached by Rep. Jay Fant requesting information from FHBA on HB 501, the bill reducing the statute of repose from 10 years to seven.
Rusty contacted Congresswoman Gwen Graham’s office to set up a meeting with the Tallahassee Builders Association (TBA) during NAHB’s Bringing Housing Home congressional visits.
Similarly, Truly Burton, Building Association of South Florida’s (BASF) executive office, is working with our Governmental Affairs team contacting legislators about issues of particular interest to the Miami-Dade area.
Several of our locals are working with NAHB to include NAHB lobbyist J.P. Delmore in their Bringing Housing Home congressional visits.
Meanwhile, our state lobbyists are reaching out to local EO’s, seeking and receiving advance approval for FHB PAC check delivered in Tallahassee. These are but a few examples of individuals working together to benefit the team.
As the president of FHBA, I have had the privilege to witness firsthand the behind-the-scenes teamwork that takes place between our local HBAs and FHBA.
Locals are helping our state team, our state team is helping both national and locals and our locals are helping national. In lieu of individuals pounding their chests and staking out their own turf, staff throughout the federation is relying on one another, seeking the best outcome for our members.
While our federation partners focus on their specialty (local, state or national), we must appreciate that our staff coordinates and works within each other’s strengths for the best possible outcome even when it means sharing the work load or the accolades.
In our local, state and national associations, we all recognize that we’ve had the privilege of standing on the shoulders of giants who have come before us and built this dynamic industry.
While it is easy to look backward and see the impact those before us have made, we cannot forget to look to our left and right at the people surrounding us right now who work hard every day to help us reach our goals — no matter the zip code.
It is my honor to serve alongside all of you.
Your dedication to put the good of the team as your priority makes me proud and more assured than ever that the future of our associations and industry is indeed bright.
Jerry Linder is a custom homebuilder and the owner the JL Linder Group in St. Augustine and Vintage Homes in Tallahassee. He is a past president of the Northeast Florida Builders Association and 2014 president of the Florida Home Builders Association.