Supported By
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From the 2017 HBAGNO President, Michael LeCorgne |
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Michael LeCorgne, CAPS, CGA, CGP, CSP
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I am delighted to serve as your President in the upcoming year. This association means a great deal to me and my business, and I plan to continue to invest an enormous amount of time and energy to see it thrive in the new year.
We plan to diversify our monthly membership meetings so that every other month (starting January 19th) we will meet for a nothing but networking happy hour - we're calling it Sip & Socialize. The other months will have our traditional luncheons, providing an opportunity to fit within all members' schedules.
In addition to networking events, I am especially excited that the 501(c)(3), NOEL, has been thriving this past year and will soon be expanding into more parishes. They have had so much success with the Jefferson Parish Office of Community Development that neighboring municipalities have taken notice and have recognized the opportunity for economic development.
Many of us board members will start out the year by visiting the
International Builders Show in Orlando. This is always a great time, and we undoubtedly will come back with ideas to implement for our local chapter. Our own
New Orleans Home & Garden Show in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome is gearing up to have another great year of putting local suppliers and builders in touch with the home-buying public.
Remember to GET INVOLVED! You only get out of your association what you put into it, and we need the support of every member to see this association thrive in 2017.
Mike LeCorgne, CAPS, CGA, CGP, CSP
M3P Homes, LLC
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Rolf Parelius, CAPS, CGR, CGP, CPD,
Viking Construction Services, Inc.
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As we look forward to 2017, it is my goal to ensure that the Remodelers Council serves as a valuable asset to your businesses. For this reason, I plan to restructure the council offerings in the coming year.
Instead of having monthly or bi-monthly lunches at the HBA office, the council leadership (myself along with Vice-Chair Roy Olsen) will be striving to bring in dynamic and knowledgeable speakers for
4 Quarterly Luncheons. These luncheons will focus on topics to help your business. and sponsors will still have the opportunity to have a presence with table top sponsorships. They will be free for council members, and guests are welcome for the price of lunch.
Additionally, we will be hosting quarterly
Remodelers Roundtables at the HBA office for council members only. These Roundtables will provide a safe, open forum for members to discuss issues faced in the field. It is my hope that these discussions will help provide practical solutions from our peers.
The theme for this month's secret word is Happy New Year. The secret word for January 2017 is Mariah Carey. Call Lauren at the HBA office (504) 837-2700 and tell her this word. The first person to call with the correct word will win a $20 gift card to Martin Wine Cellar. Thanks for reading!
It is also my goal to grow our council, as the numbers have steadily declined in the past several years. All members are encouraged to bring guests to the luncheons. If a council member successfully recruits 2 new RC members in 2017, that member will receive their next year's council membership for FREE. That's right, r
ecruit 2 new council members and your membership if FREE!
I look forwrad to serving as your chair in the coming year, and encourage each of you to reach out with additional suggestions on how to improve our council.
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NAHB Student Chapter at Delgado Community College |
HBAGNO is proud to support our local student chapter at Delgado Community College. Pictured above is the Student Chapter Faculty Advisor, Professor P. Victor Mirzai, HBAGNO Board of DIrectors member, Jo Ann Kostik, and HBAGNO President, Mike LeCorgne.
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Join us for a delicious breakfast, and hear from our incoming president, Michael LeCorgne, on the future of the HBA. We will also be recognizing some of the charitable foundations our members have helped to support throughout the year.
Friday December 2 @ 8:30am Email Philip@home-builders.org to RSVP.
New Orleans Museum of Art,
Collins Diboll Cir, New Orleans, LA 70124
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December Day of Education!
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Wednesday, December 21st
JEDCO Building
700 Churchill Parkway
Avondale, LA 70094
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Cost Per 2-hr Class:
Members - $50 ($100 for 3) Non-Members - $75 ($150 for 3)
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8:30-10:30: Cloud Computing for Small Business
Speaker: Michael Wedge
10:30-12:30: Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
Speaker: Rolf Parelius
12:30-1:30: Lunch - Provided by the HBA
1:30-3:30: (tentative topic) Quickbooks for Builders
Speaker: TBD
To RSVP, Contact: Philip Thomas @ (504) 837-2700 or
philip@home-builders.org
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HBA Members Give Back to the Community!
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NOEL would like to thank John Heald of One Man and a Tool Box, LLC, for donating their time to do site inspections for the Jefferson Joining Forces program.
The Jefferson Joining Forces program remediates code violations for elderly, low-income and/or disabled home owners. These repairs are done at no cost to the home owner, while being fully compensated to the contractor. For more information on how you can donate your services or products to the Jefferson Joining Forces program, contact Philip Thomas @ (504) 837-2700.
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The current US economic expansion is one of the longest on record, and, come March, will become the third longest in US history, dating back to the start of record keeping in 1854. As such, there is increasing concern that we are due for a recession. That concern has only heightened, given that the last downturn was particularly nasty. This fear is weighing not only on household spending, but, more importantly, on corporate spending on plant and equipment, holding back GDP growth and labor productivity. Fortunately, this concern is misplaced.
Simply put, age is not what kills expansions. Rather, it is an overheating economy that generally results in a recession. When wages start rising swiftly, investment activity starts taking off, debt levels grow rapidly, asset prices become untethered to reality, commodity prices remain high, and inflation rises rapidly, the Federal Reserve invariably intervenes. In the attempt to cool things down, all too often the Fed raises rates too quickly or too much and accidently drives us into a recession.
However, there is currently little evidence of any pre-recessionary economic exuberance. As a matter of fact, most of the economy is still behaving as if we were recovering from the recession rather than enjoying the boom times that come at or near the peak of an economic expansion. Growth, be it domestic or international, is subdued. Commodity prices are, with few exceptions, at or near cyclical lows, and bank lending is probably best described as solid. Moreover, inflation, while slowly rising, remains below the official Fed target rate of 2%. Lastly, while the unemployment rate is just 5%, wage gains are much weaker than they have been before previous economic downturns. This suggests that there is still slack in the labor market and that the Fed will not have to start raising rates quickly anytime soon.
Spending by households and businesses is also not signaling a recession. Purchases of durable goods such as cars and dishwashers averaged 7.5% of GDP in Q2 2016, well below the 8.5% average that has persisted in years preceding recessions. Private investment spending on new home construction, business related software and equipment and so on - is equally low. Moreover, the household debt-service ratio, or how much after tax income Americans are devoting to debt payments, is near its lowest level ever and personal savings rates are near their highest level in twenty years. Lastly, corporate profits are once again on the rise, reducing slightly elevated stock market valuations.
The above notwithstanding, a recession is always a possibility due to economic shocks emanating from abroad that can dramatically raise energy prices, or a war or an election that can hurt household spending and business confidence. However, other than that, it would probably take much stronger economic growth for a prolonged period before the Fed felt compelled to raise interest rates quickly enough to meaningfully slow down the economy and, in the process, possibly bring on a recession.
In short, the current economic expansion that started in July 2009 looks increasingly likely to become the longest economic expansion ever. Increasing this potential is that even though wages and inflation are finally rising, the Fed has communicated its interest in seeing wages and inflation rise further as they have been too low for too long. So, enjoy the current expansion; it may well last a lot longer!
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Louisiana Economic Development provides an employer/employee service called
Louisiana Job Connection. They have reached out to the HBAGNO to be a resource for our members who are in search of employees to meet the current construction demands as much of the area is rebuilding. Below is a customize link for our association. Use this free resource if you are in need of new employees, or are a job seeker.
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Also Supported By:
Terrebonne Insurance Agency, Inc.
Compass Capital Management
ADP
Buckwalter Insurance
Group, LLC
The Law Office of
Kyle Sclafani
Office Depot
HomeBuilders Self
Insurers Fund
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January Calendar of Events
All Events held at HBA office unless otherwise noted
See details below for
"Featured Events"
2) New Year's Day (observed) - Office Closed
10-12) International Builders Show in Orlando, FL
16) Home & Garden Show Board Meeting @ 4pm
17) HBA Board of Directors Meeting @ 4pm
19) Sip & Socialize Happy Hour, 4-6pm
Capri Blu, 3100 19th Street, Metairie
25-27) LHBA Meetings in Lafayette, LA
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10-12) International Builders Show in Orlando, FL
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19) Sip & Socialize Happy Hour
No registration.
No guest speakers.
Just networking.
Thursday, January 19th
4:00 - 6:00 pm
Capri Blu, 3100 19th Street, Metairie
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List your open jobs here!
No charge for HBA members
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Community Jobs for Bid:
* Under Compliance, click on Employers' Workers' Compensation Coverage Verification
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Did you know you can renew your membership online?
Just login from the HBAGNO homepage to renew your membership.
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2017 Senior Officers of the Board
President, Mike LeCorgne
Vice President, Frank Morse
Treasurer, Michael Kraft
Secretary, Rolf Parelius
Immediate Past President, Floyd Simeon
2017 Board of Directors
Steve Albert
John Arms
Charlie Fontenelle
David Gaspard
John Heald
Phil Hoffman
Kevin Katner
Larry Kornman Jo Ann Kostik
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Peter Lanaux
Ben Laws
Bruce Layburn
Harold LeBlanc
Brian Mills
Scott Morse
Helmut Mundt
Randy Noel
Lynda Nugent Smith
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Roy
Olse
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Wagner Rocha
Kimberly Rooney
Dorothy Stanich
Devon Sweeney
Zach Tyson
Kirk Williamson
Steve Wobbema
Wes Wyman
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HBA Staff Contacts
Jon Luther
, Executive Vice President
Philip Thomas, Education Director & NOEL Program Director philip@home-builders.org
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Please contact Lauren at the HBA office with any pertinent industry-related issues and/or professional achievements you'd like to share with your association members.
Feature Articles in upcoming issues of sticks & bricks or HBA's printed publication, the homebuilder quarterly(HQ), are FREE opportunities for HBA members to market themselves to 1,000+ industry professionals.
Click Here to Request Details and Submitter Deadlines
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