Tuesday Toolbox
"What's in YOUR Toolbox?"
September 23, 2008
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2009 MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY
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Advertising opportunities are now available for the 2009 Membership Directory.
Contact Kris Guyot for more information.
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QUICK BOOKS TRAINING
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Dennis Gartland & Niergarth (DGN) will host its annual Quick Books Training Series beginning October 8 in Traverse City.
The series features four half-day seminars each focusing on a specific aspect of Quick Books usage. All sessions run 8:30 am to noon and will be held in the Dennis Gartland & Niergarth training room.
Fees are $50 per session which covers course materials.
For more information, contact Laurie O'Brien at (231) 946-1722 or email DGN.
You can also find more information on the DGN website.
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MEMBER ADVANTAGE
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Take advantage of these unique September deals before the month is over!
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LINKED IN
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Are you "Linked In" ? Join Linked In - a Professional Networking Web Site. Get connected and network with other HBAGTA Members. Join the Home Builders Association of the Grand Traverse Area, Inc. Group to get up to date announcements and information.
Hope to see you soon!
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Hello Friends, The HBAGTA Green Build Grand Traverse Committee has been very active in Green Build education and home certification for many years. This committee has been a recognized leader of Green Building in our region and beyond. Under their leadership, our Association has developed a solid foundation of Green Building knowledge and expertise which has allowed us to offer programs and speakers that educate our community. With the support of the Green Build Grand Traverse committee, our Association will continue to build on that foundation. Green Building has continued to gain wide spread enthusiasm in the Home Building Industry. To recognize this intereset, the NAHB has developed a designation program that certifies an individual as a "Green Builder". Last week, our Association hosted 32 men and women in the NAHB Green Building for Buiding Professionals Course. This is one of the two courses that is required for the Certified Green Professional (CGP) Designation. The demand was so great for this course that we have scheduled an "encore" on November 7 & 8. Because we have a waiting list from the last course offering, we suggest you register early to guarantee your seat! Next month, we are partnering with the Traverse Area Association of Realtors ( TAAR) to sponsor our regions's first Green Solutions 4 EXPO. This
one-day event will feature green information, products, services, and
technologies. The GS4 event will be held at the Hagerty Center
on Saturday, Oct. 25th from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Booths, including tables, pipe and drape are
only $350. Preference will be given to TAAR and HBAGTA members who have demonstrated their commitment to some aspect of green. Preference will be given to TAAR and HBAGTA members
who have demonstrated their commitment to some aspect of green. The booth application deadline can be found on the TAAR website and the deadline for registration is October 1st,
so don't delay. We anticipate that this will be a very popular event with high interest seminars and exhibits to draw a
great crowd. We are working on putting the finishing touches on the EXPO 2009 contracts. We anticipate that the contracts will be sent out to our members who participated in last year's event by the end of this month. The event will be held on February 14 & 15, and as always, we look for ways to "freshen" the event. This year is no exception! Look for the small gym to be transformed into the "Green Hall"! This room will be reserved specifically for vendors who would like to market their Green goods and services to our community. Contact Kris Guyot for more information.
Don't forget that next month, our General Membership Meeting will take us to
Traverse City Golf and Country Club. We
hope you will save the night of October 13th for a fabulous prime
rib dinner and an evening to relax and socialize with your colleagues. Kim Pontius, Executive Officer of TAAR will be our keynote speaker for the evening. Guest meals will be charged at $31.50 per meal. Please RSVP to reserve your seat and dinner and if your plans change, let us know asap if you need to cancel your reservation. We are your resource for Codes, Licensing and Professional Development! Together we are building a stronger Association! Sincerely,  Kathleen G. Maisonville, Executive Officer Home Builders Association of the Grand Traverse Area, Inc. P: 231.946.2305 Toll Free: 800.422.5166 F: 231.946.1051 kmaisonville@hbagta.comwww.hbagta.com |
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REGISTER NOW
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FIRE SPRINKLERS APPROVED
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At 9:45 am, Sunday, September 21st, mandatory sprinklers for all one- and two-family homes and townhouses were approved. To my knowledge this is the largest number of voters her (thus far). (There) has not been this large a number of voters since the 1999 Final Action Hearings in St. Louis when the three code writing bodies and their respective codes merged. It speaks volumes! The highest total number of votes on any of the changes to the International Fire Code or the Fire Safety provisions of the International Building Code was 413. Fire service voters were not here (Minneapolis) in large numbers to vote on the Fire Code or the IBC Fire Safety provisions. On Saturday evening at 10:33 pm, in the last vote of the day a total of 154 votes were cast on RB 10 07/08. The battle now shifts to two fronts: - We must assure the sprinkler requirements are not included in the next edition of the code.
- We need to let the leadership of the NAHB (know) they must strongly confront the International Code Council about how their procedures are broken. Allowing vested financial interests to conduct the type of campaign they did on sprinklers, paying for travel expenses for voters over a single issue, makes a mockery out of their process and is what allowed fire sprinklers to be approved.
In the meantime, even though we didn't succeed as we had hoped, I want to personally thank all of you for your support and hard work on this issue. Lee Schwartz, MAHB Update: And now, here's something we hope you'll really like..... By a vote of 91 to 53 EC-14 the omnibus 30% energy code solution was defeated. However, many of the individual components are included in other code changes. We will begin hearing at 7:00 am on Monday, September 22. Lee |
CANDIDATE FORUM ANNOUNCED
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The Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce, along with four other area chambers of commerce and the Traverse City
Business News, will host an upcoming forum for six candidates running for the
Michigan House of Representatives from northwest Michigan.
The Benzie County, Leelanau Peninsula, Traverse City Area, Kalkaska County and Elk Rapids Area chambers of commerce will
host potential representatives from the 101st, 104th and 105th districts at an
October 15 forum at the Oleson
Center on the campus of Northwestern Michigan College. Those seats cover Benzie,
Leelanau, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Antrim counties. Questions will focus on
business concerns, the economy, taxes, government regulation, tourism,
agriculture and other topics of regional interest.
Candidates Ray Franz,
Dan Scripps, Wayne Schmidt, Roman Grucz, Rep. Kevin Elsenheimer and Connie
Saltonstall have all been invited to the event. A meet-and-greet with the
candidates is scheduled for 6:00 - 7:00 p.m., followed by the forum from 7:00 -
9:00 p.m.
The economic future of northwest Michigan is a top
concern for area chambers and their members. It is important to examine the
candidates' positions and discuss the business and regulatory issues that impact
our region.
The forum is open to the public. The Government
Relations Division will accept suggested questions from chamber members for the
event at Jamie@tcchamber.org. Questions should be
business-focused and applicable to all six candidates.
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GREEN SOLUTIONS 4
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In a move that has been applauded by the leadership of
both the Traverse Area Association of REALTORS® and the Home Builders Association
of Grand Traverse Area, Inc., the two associations have collaborated and will
co-sponsor a Green EXPO on Saturday, October 25th at the Hagerty
Center from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
A grass roots community group initially envisioned the
EXPO, but because their organization was in its infancy, a small steering
committee, representative of both professional associations, pooled their
resources and on a relatively short time table have garnered tremendous
enthusiasm and support .
The purpose of the one-day event is twofold: 1.) to
educate the public about eco-friendly products and services available from our
members and 2.) to inform local REALTORS® , appraisers, bankers and
construction industry specialists who are not already involved, about the
inherent value of building green.
"Today's economic situation requires creative solutions
to those challenges, "noted TAAR EVP, Kim Pontius. "Our collaboration is way
overdue and I applaud our leadership for their willingness to come together for
the sake of this enormous economic engine called
housing."
"Our region is ahead of the curve in regards to our
collective commitment to energy efficiency, sustainability and resource
conservation. Additionally, we have a cadre of knowledgeable and committed
professionals who support these efforts. They have long been committed to
developing our region sensibly and preserving the quality of life in the Grand
Traverse region for future generations." noted HBAGTA EO, Kathy
Maisonville
The event, GS4 (Green
Solutions 4) EXPO will bring more than fifty exhibitors to the
Hagerty from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on October 25th. Each must have
demonstrated his or her company's commitment to green science and technology in
order to be accepted as an exhibitor. Vendors will showcase new product lines,
such as environmentally friendly flooring, carpeting, window covering, as well
as Energy Star appliances, cleaning products, and paint and caulk. Energy
efficiency specialists will display new technology related to conserving energy
and reducing one's utilities bills. Alternative energy sources will be on
display and several educational sessions will help the public learn about how
they can "go a shade greener" regardless of their present
lifestyle.
Adult admission to the event is $3 at the door; however,
coupons good for free admission will be available in area print media as well as
from vendors and sponsors.
The GS4 EXPO has been underwritten in part by corporate
sponsorship from DTE Energy/MichCon, 9&10 News, Northern EverGreen Services,
Northwestern Michigan College, Cherryland Electric; SNAP Printing,
Crystal
Mountain, GeoFurnace, and
Cedar Valley Development.
The deadline for TAAR and HBAGTA members to apply and
receive priority booth space is Wednesday, Oct. 1st. For more
information or to obtain registration information, visit www.taar.com/greensolutions. You
may also call the HBAGTA office at (231) 946-2305
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| PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CALENDAR
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The Professional Development Calendar is in place with the following NAHB University of Housing courses. Additional courses will be added as they become available:
You must pre-register for these courses to ensure materials will be available for you.
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THE GRAND VISION DECISION...
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October 7 - October 28, residents in the counties of Antrim, Benzie,
Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau and Wexford will be asked to fill
out a "scorecard" and rate characteristics of several possible future
growth scenarios for the region. Called "The Grand Vision Decision,"
this is the next step in The Grand Vision process that began last year to shape the land use and transportation
direction for the six-county region over the next 50 years. While the
scorecards will be available to fill-out online, they will also be
printed and distributed throughout the six counties at convenient
locations. The completed printed scorecards can be dropped-off at
selected sites or mailed-in.
"The Grand Vision Decision is the opportunity for everyone to voice their opinion
about
proposed future growth scenarios," said Marsha Smith, Chairperson of
the Public Involvement Committee for The Grand Vision. "The fact that
so many private and public organizations are cooperating in the effort
to distribute and collect the scorecards indicates how important this
process is being viewed."
According
to Smith, scorecard results will be announced early next year, after
the professional consultant team working with The Grand Vision
reconciles citizen desires with practical, attainable outcomes.
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Thank you for your membership and your participation in the Home Builders Association of the Grand Traverse Area, Inc.
Sincerely,
The HBAGTA Staff
Kathy Maisonville, Executive Officer
Kris Guyot, Business Support Services
Jenny Hanrahan, Membership Support Services
Judy Gowan, Receptionist / Administrative Assistant
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