By David Siegel, BATC-Housing First MN Executive Director
Labor Day is behind us, the first day of school has come and gone, the State Fair is over, and we’ll be driving hard to finish strong in Q4 of 2017. Even as we plan to close out the year with energy, I find myself reviewing our accomplishments thus far in 2017, and planning already for 2018.
But perhaps even more broadly, fall seems like the right time to reflect on how we are doing as an industry and as your industry trade association. Is BATC-Housing First Minnesota creating value for you as a member? Are we on top of industry trends and is our periscope up for future challenges you will face? Are we relevant? If BATC-Housing First Minnesota went away, would it matter? How can we create more value for you and make the business environment even more favorable for your success?
These are the difficult yet inspiring self-reflective questions those of us in leadership at BATC-Housing First Minnesota ask ourselves. As I ponder these questions, I’m pleased with the answers.
I’ve had several members tell me the value of membership in BATC-Housing First Minnesota has never been greater. That feels good. It’s our goal every day to deliver advocacy, marketing, connections and education that elevate our industry and your business. I think we’re doing that well.
We are indeed on top of industry trends, whether it’s home interconnectedness (the Internet of Things), virtual and augmented reality, the workforce shortage or regulatory codes. Most importantly, we’re not just tracking these trends, we’re trying to figure out how to respond to them in ways that benefits members.
I do believe we are relevant. As your industry association, we are achieving collectively what no single member could accomplish. Whether that’s our charitable work through the BATC Foundation, our advocacy work, our workforce development efforts, awards, or industry and marketing events, we are focusing on doing together what no one homebuilder or supplier could accomplish alone.
Your staff team and your elected Board of Directors take our responsibility to lead this industry very seriously. We put great time and energy into our efforts because we truly want to make a difference. We hope you close out 2017 in strength and that 2018 brings you continued success.
We’ll not only be rooting for you, we’ll be working for you, and serving you, in the year ahead. We are humbled, honored and proud to be your industry association. Let’s finish strong and rise to even greater heights in 2018.
