Call for Nominations--Builder, Associate, and Remodeler of the Year

We feature our Bridge Award winners in
our weekly column in the Greenville News.
Recent Builder of the Year Gus Rubio is shown
here featured in the column from 10/02/15.

Your Home Builders Association asks that you recommend a member for our annual BB&T Builder of the Year Award, Richard A. Ashmore, Sr., Associate of the Year Award, and Remodeler of the Year Award. The awards are given to a member who freely gives of his or her time, efforts and participation in order to make the HBA of Greenville a stronger organization for all of its members. These members serve the industry through participation on HBA Committees and with special projects of the Home Builders Association. Each represents the highest level of integrity and honesty in the home building industry. You can find a full list of winners on our website, but below is a list of recent recipients:

Builder of the Year:

• Gus Rubio, CMB, CGP, APB, Gabriel Builders, 2014
• Robert Markel, CGR, 2013
• Wayne Moore, 2012
• Thomas Dillard, CGP, 2011
• Brad Thompson, 2010
• Todd Usher, Master CGP, GMB, 2009
• Rick Quinn, 2008
• Ted Smith, 2007
• Coleman Shouse, 2006
• Ted Smith/Ron Taylor, 2005
• Keith Smith, 2004
• Jim Gregorie, 2003
• Dan Rawls, 2002
• Clyde Rector, 2001
• Bill Fuller, 2000

Richard A. Ashmore, Sr., Associate of the Year:

• Ron Tate, Esq., Gallivan, White & Boyd, 2014
• Bob Barreto, 2013
• Jon Statom, 2012
• Jason Freeman, 2011
• Scott Presley, 2010
• Eric Hedrick, 2009
• Chuck Childress, 2008
• Tom Ward, 2007
• Scott Presley, 2006
• Lou Hutchings, 2005
• Richard Powers, 2004
• Sandy Wiygul-Bell, 2003
• Robert Murphy, 2002
• Gary Gilliam, 2001
• Richard Powers, 2000

Remodeler of the Year:

• Alan Boone, APR, Advanced Renovations, 2014
• Mike Freeman, GMB, APB, ACA/Freewood Contractors, 2013
• Robert Markel, CGR, Hadrian Construction, 2012
• Clyde Rector, APB, Merritt Homes, 1998
• Miller Crittendon, 1999

In addition, these awards also may be given to members of the association:

• Community Service Award
• Membership Award
• Spirit of the HBA Award
• Committee Chairman of the Year Award
• Rookie of the Year Award 

These awards may be given to a political or community leader:

• Distinguished Service Award
• HBASC Champion of Housing Award 

Award winners will be announced at the Third Annual Southern Home and Garden Bridge Awards, presented by GBS Building Supply. The date of this event is still to be determined, but will most likely be in March 2016.  If you know of a member or other person who should receive one of these awards, please send your nomination to Michael Dey at mdey@hbaofgreenville.com. Your nomination will be confidential.

We had a Wonderful Time with the Past Presidents

Immediate Past President
Mike Freeman welcomes
Susan to the club.

Every year we take time to celebrate our past presidents for all of their hard work and dedication to improving the building industry. This year, we gathered on Tuesday for a luncheon at Larkin's on the River where we celebrated with good food, old friends, and plenty of laughter. We thanked current HBA President Susan Peace-Vernon for the commitment and grace she showed during her year of presidency. In order to welcome incoming president Joe Hoover, all the past presidents stood and shared a piece of advice from their own experience to help Joe--many simply wished him luck for the long year ahead.

This is always a wonderful event where we hear about lesser-known pieces of HBA history and marvel at how much the association has grown. The holiday season is the perfect time to come together for food and friends, and that is certainly what happened. Thank you to all who attended and to all who have served your HBA as president.

Current President Susan Peace-Vernon stands with
 incoming president Joe Hoover.

Thank you to all of our past presidents (not all are pictured).

Find more pictures from this event on our Facebook page.

Lucy Sabatine

On behalf of the Board of Directors and Staff of the Home Builders Association of Greenville, we extend our sincere sympathy to the family of Lucy Sabatine of Roseto, PA, mother of HBA member Nick Sabatine of Greater Greenville Association of Realtors.

Lucy Sabatine, 92, passed away Wednesday December 2, 2015 at home. Born October 21, 1923 in Landisville, NJ, a daughter of the late Peter and Madeline (Leggio) Provenzano. Her beloved husband, Anthony Sabatine, passed away in 1965. She was a seamstress in various garment factories in the Slate Belt Area for many years retiring from the former Girl Fashions in 1991. She was a member of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Roseto and UNITE-the garment workers union. She is survived by a daughter Philomena Drogo of Roseto and a son Nicholas and his wife Francine Sabatine of Greenville, SC and granddaughters; Jennifer Francis and her husband Chris of East Earl, PA and Jessica Bremer and her husband Bill of Harrisburg, NC and great grandchildren Kyle and Kyra Francis and William and Derek Bremer and a granddog Lilly. She was predeceased by brothers; Ambrose, Thomas and John and a sister Bessie Provenzano and a son-in-law Michael Drogo.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday December 7, 2015 at 11:00 a.m., in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Third & Garibaldi Avenues, Roseto. Burial will be in the New Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Roseto. Memorial Donations may be offered in Lucy's name to either the church, 560 North Sixth Street, Bangor, PA 18013 or to Celtic Hospice & Home Health 1619 N. 9th Street, Suite 14, Stroudsburg, PA 18360. Please keep Nick and his family in your thoughts.

Good News for Home Owners

In an important victory for NAHB and home owners, the House today approved a five-year highway bill that will not use guarantee fees (g-fees) collected by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to pay for transportation programs.

The Senate is expected to approve the measure tomorrow and President Obama will sign the legislation into law shortly thereafter.

NAHB led the charge to strip a provision that would have used g-fees to help offset a funding shortfall from the final legislation.

G-fees are a critical risk management tool used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to protect against credit-related losses on mortgages they have purchased or mortgage-backed securities they have guaranteed. NAHB has always maintained that these fees should only be used for their intended purpose – to protect against mortgage defaults and ensure the safety and soundness of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Despite strong opposition from NAHB, Congress voted in 2011 to enact a 10-year, 10 basis point increase in g-fees to fund the extension of the payroll tax cut. To help fund the long-term transportation bill, lawmakers subsequently proposed what would amount to a $1.9 billion tax on home owners by providing a four-year extension of the previous 10 basis point increase through 2025.

In an official statement, NAHB Chairman Tom Woods called it “outrageous” that Congress would consider using a g-fee hike to pay for transportation programs unrelated to the housing government sponsored enterprises.

“With first-time home buyers still hesitant to enter the marketplace, it makes no sense to impose what amounts to a new tax on homeownership that will disproportionately affect low- to moderate-income borrowers. Homeownership cannot, and must not, be used as the nation’s piggybank.”

Working with our Democratic and Republican allies in the House and Senate, NAHB ultimately was able to get the g-fee provision removed from the final transportation bill.