September, NAHB’s Associate Member Appreciation Month, is the ideal time to reflect on the many complementary elements that work together to form the home building industry and our federation.
Comprising about two-thirds of the total NAHB membership, associates represent a broad range of professions, such as skilled subcontractors, sales and marketing experts, architects, interior designers, title and settlement professionals, lawyers, people working in financial services and insurance, product suppliers and manufacturers, and many others.
Even if an associate’s job title doesn’t immediately bring a construction site to mind, associates are home builders. They are just as essential to the process of building our nation’s homes as the folks getting their boots muddy on the jobsite every day.
Equally important, associate members are vital to local and state HBAs and the NAHB federation.
Associate members offer up their time and expertise at the local, state, and national levels of the NAHB, often assuming leadership roles within the federation. They also work alongside builders to help foster a pro-housing political environment through grassroots activism, and they help broaden the scope and impact of our advocacy efforts through the networks within their specialty fields. Moreover, their unique insight and perspective also help shape federation policy.
Our associates are committed to doing business with other members, which helps forge strong professional bonds locally and throughout the association.
NAHB is grateful for the contributions of its associate members, and it has created many programs and services to meet their specific needs. Several educational programs target associates, and NAHB’s Certified Graduate Associate designation is designed for product manufacturers and service providers.
At the federation governance level, associates are represented by a national associate chairman who joins NAHB’s 15 area chairmen as part of the federation’s leadership. An Associate Members Committee also represents associates’ interests at the national level.
To recognize the importance of associate member involvement, NAHB also has an awards program to celebrate exemplary associate members and builders who work well with them. NAHB recognizes an Associate of the Year, as well as a builder or local entity that best exemplifies the motto, “It’s good business to do business with a member” through the BEAM (Builders Engaging Associate Members) Award. In addition, one associate member advocate is honored through our Bill Polley BUILD-PAC Award. (If you would like to nominate an individual or entity for any of these awards, the application deadline is Sept. 27.)
Associates play an invaluable role in our federation. They are partners in the essential work of creating the homes that improve people’s lives and enhance communities across the country. Our association, our industry, and our nation are stronger because of NAHB’s associate members. We are all home builders, and together, we are shaping the nation’s communities and its future.
