Editor's note: This column is reprinted from the current edition of Oklahoma Builder magazine
By Steve Taylor
State Associates Chair
Welcome to 2016! I am excited to be starting my new role as the chairman of the Associates Council. I know we are going to have a great year!
I want to start out by saying thank you to Steve Sullivan for his leadership last year! We had our first two-day building summit under his leadership, and what a success it was. The trade show aspect added to the event and was well received by those who attended. This year we plan on doing the same with some minor adjustments. By now you should have heard about the event coming up later this year and are making plans to attend and even possibly be a vendor in the trade show if you are an associate member!
I wanted to use my first article to tell you about myself and the way I see our role in the Association.
I am a marketing consultant for CenterPoint Energy, the second-largest natural gas company in Oklahoma behind Oklahoma Natural Gas.
I serve as the first vice president of the Southwest Oklahoma Home Builders Association based out of Lawton and have been active in this great Association since 2012. I will be proudly serving as its president in 2017.
We have seen our ups and downs in southwest Oklahoma and, right now. residential building in our area is not good. Uncertainty with military cutbacks in the Lawton area has seen residential building permits drop to maybe one or two a month. That is not good for our industry or the economy in southwest Oklahoma.
I had an economist in college teach me that residential home building is the single most contributor to a local economy because of all the businesses and people it can touch as it contributes to the economy in employment and goods. I have come to believe that it’s important to be completely involved in it to the extent I am as a utility.
As an associate member, how can you help the local and state Association? First is be ACTIVE. The local Associations and the state Associations are here to take care of each other and they need our support as an active member. I look at all the trades that work closely with builders and wonder why more of them are not active?
Without the builder, many of us would not have jobs. We need to do everything we can to support them and support our local associations by helping gain new members. Will you join me? Here’s to a great 2016!
Let me know your thoughts.
(Steve Taylor, Marketing consultant, CenterPoint Energy. Steven.Taylor@centerpointenergy.com (580) 250-5417)
