Hello Friends,

I asked for sunshine in last month’s newsletter and boy do we have sunshine (and heat!).  I bet Safety Lady Katie Frederick, ASC, LLC, would recommend you make sure your crews are well hydrated and take frequent breaks during this heat wave.  That goes for office staff too!

Many thanks to Ali O’Grady, Kitchens by Design, for being our most recent sponsor for this year’s Better Homes Award program.  The BHA committee has started receiving submissions for the contest and we are excited!  Don’t be humble - get your projects entered NOW so that we have a vibrant selection of projects to vote on.  Entry deadline is July 31^st, 2025.   And mark your calendars for October 18^th, 2025 – you’ll want to be there to see who our top builders and remodelers are this year.

The Golf Tournament excitement is building too.  Registrants are signing up quickly and we have several sponsors to thank – ASC, LLC is our Title Sponsor and Union Bank is a golf ball sponsor – thank you both!  There are still opportunities to sponsor – check them out here - https://homebuildersvt.com/page-18542  Please get your team signed up too as we have a limit to the number of golfers Cedar Knoll can accommodate.  

Our Beer with Builders (BWB) events continue to be super popular with our members.  We had a huge turnout (almost 50 people) at the May 29^th BWB at Zero Gravity.  What a great way to relax, talk a little business, get word out about your company and get to know other members.  We’ll have another BWB on July 17^th at Zero Gravity.  Please join us!

We had another successful Remodelers Council meeting in June.  The meeting was hosted by Kerri Salls of Inspired Closets with plenty of coffee, breakfast foods and a great demonstration of their new virtual reality “Envision” program.  It was fun putting on the VR goggles and taking a virtual tour of their closets.  Also nice to see the showroom and learn more about the business so we can share that knowledge with our own clients.  Watch for email invitations for future meetings and see how you can improve your own business. RC members are really committed to success and doing business with members so it will be worth your time.

The Legislative Committee heaved a sigh of relief as the session ended but naturally that work is never really done.  We are currently seeking a builder who would like to work on a committee with the Dept. of Housing and Community Development. This working group will put together the tactical plan and draft legislation to establish a statewide land bank, as prescribed by the State of Vermont Legislature in the 2025 Housing Omnibus bill (S.127- page 20) that was signed into law on June 12, 2025.  The plan and draft legislation will be submitted to the legislature by November 1, 2026, with an update due by January 15, 2026.  Please let me know if you’re willing to serve on this committee by dropping me an email at info@homebuildersvt.com.

Ongoing thanks to Andrew Brewer and Patti Komline, DRM, for acting as our voice in Montpelier and keeping us up to date about issues facing our industry and opportunities to work on committees like the one noted above. 

As always, I welcome your comments and ideas, your help and support to grow this Association so that we truly are The Association for every building professional in Vermont.  Spread the word and invite the businesses you work with to join us!

Warmly, 

Dixie 

Dixie F. O’Connor, President