Thank you 2024 Mission Partners
The Greater Iowa City Area HBA has been recognized for outstanding Public Relations Program and Workforce Development Plan with Awards of Excellence from the Executive Officers Council (EOC) of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
“It is truly an honor for the hard work and professionalism of the Iowa City Area HBA to be recognized with Association Excellence Awards,” said Karyl Bohnsack, executive officer of the HBA. “I applaud the dedication to representing the home builders association and preserving the American Dream of homeownership for our community.”
The Best Public Relations Program Conducted winner, titled Aging in Place Forums, stemmed from the Johnson County Livable Community Housing Action Team — of which the Greater Iowa City Area HBA is a member — and was a collaboration with the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors and the Johnson County Livable Community.
Its goal was to create a perception of Johnson County as a desirable and educated place to live during retirement and for residents to understand affordability, accessibility and availability of adequate housing options and resources for a livable community. The aim was also to make Greater Iowa City Area HBA members aware of what makes a home advancing-age friendly. Two videos (from a realtor perspective and a general contractor) were made and published on The Greater Iowa City Area HBA website, a Universal Design Checklist of things homebuyers in the age 50-plus market should look for to age in a home was created and six classroom-style forums about aging in place held across as many months for the public, HBA members and/or real estate professionals.
Best Workforce Development Plan Implemented was for the Student-Built House Program in which high school and college students gained technical expertise and learned on-the-job skills by collectively building a house under professional supervision for local nonprofit Reach For Your Potential. The endeavor, which took just 89 days to complete, helped bolster the talent pipeline of younger, skilled workers within Cedar, Iowa, Johnson and Washington counties and exposed students to occupational options that don’t require a four-year college degree. Greater Iowa City Area HBA members and its Vocational Training Council sponsored the effort – resurrected after an 11-year hiatus — in partnership with Kirkwood Community College.
The Association Excellence Awards (AEA), as the awards are known, is an annual program designed to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of state and local home builders’ associations and executive officers in the field of association management. EOC membership is comprised of the staff executives who direct more than 650 NAHB-affiliated state and local home builders’ associations representing more than 140,000 home builders in communities across the United States.
“These awards illustrate the innovative programs that HBAs across the NAHB Federation are developing for their members,” said Mike Means, EOC President and EVP of the Oklahoma HBA. “The stewardship and dedication of the home building industry’s professional staff is reflected in every program, and we’re excited to see them put to good use in communities around the country.”
Awards will be presented at NAHB’s Association Management Conference July 23-26 in Baltimore, Md. Winning entries will be added to a searchable directory of AEA winning entries, that home-builder executives and associations across the country can access to learn and provide better service to their own members and community.
For further details on The Greater Iowa City Area HBA, go to the about page of this website. To learn more about the Association Excellence Awards, visit www.nahb.org/aea.