PBA members gathered at the Mohegan Pennsylvania in Wilkes-Barre for the Winter Committee and Board of Directors meetings along with the annual Installation Gala. Meeting chairs provided a brief summary of each meeting below:
PBA-PHRC COMMITTEE
The Pennsylvania Housing Research Center briefed members on the current and upcoming webinar series. These sessions are available on the PHRC’s YouTube channel. CTC instructors are encouraged to use these for educational purposes.
Details were shared about the upcoming PHRC Housing Conference, PA UCC 2021 Code Update and training sessions. Local home builders associations can reach out to the PHRC to set up training in their areas.
MEMBERSHIP/COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
The Membership/Communications Committee focused on the launch of the Emerging Professionals Membership – a program designed to offer low-cost memberships to those graduating from training and education programs. The goal is to capture and engage younger members to help build membership and the home building industry. Attendees were also provided with new promotion materials, national membership comparisons, information on the progress of a new NAHB membership database, and an update on the PBA marketing campaign.
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
The Government Affairs Committee met on Friday, March 21. It was a very informative meeting, discussing many of the
new bills that have been introduced this session, as well as discussion on the Statewide Housing Study. Action items included two Industry Action Fund requests and after 18 months of discussion, the Government Affairs Committee voted to keep the existing contractor licensing policy. Rep. Tim O’Neal (R-Washington), the current House Republican Whip, was the special guest speaker, answering questions and giving commentary. If anyone would like the information from the meeting, please reach out to staff.
WORKFORCE TRAINING & EDUCATION COMMITTEE
The Workforce Training & Education meeting covered a variety of new and exciting topics that aim to have a positive impact on both PBA and the future of the home building industry. Chris Warren, the chair of the Endorsed Trade Program, proposed a new initiative that seeks to retain former NAHB Student Chapter members from across the state through a special membership designation. Once in the workforce, former students could join their local chapter and receive full membership benefits at a reduced rate for a limited period of time. Chris Warren also presented the idea of creating a “builders association advisory team” to assist with recruiting and reviewing ETP schools across the state.
Chris Hine and PHRC reported that they continue to hear positive feedback from schools who are utilizing their webinars as an additional learning resource for their students. Chris also provided the meeting attendees with information about a new learning resource from construction influencer Matt Reisinger and his “Build Show” team, which seeks to educate students about the principles of building science through a free online education platform. Lastly, the group of attendees established a formal committee of members who will work to create a new set of goals and objectives to be presented at the PBA meetings in July. The group also discussed sending a survey to all local EO’s this year to learn more about each association’s workforce development efforts.
PAST PRESIDENTS COMMITTEE
The Past Presidents Committee held a moment of silence for Gene Kreitzer (PP – year) prior to discussing the PBA regional realignment, workforce development, and participation in NAHB’s new leadership development program. NAHB Second Vice-Chair Bob Peterson gave an update on the successful 2025 International Builders Show held in Las Vegas.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
The first Pennsylvania Builders Association Board of Directors meeting for 2025 was held on Saturday, March 22 at the Mohegan Pennsylvania, presided over by PBA President Dean Hilliard.
President Hilliard welcomed those in attendance and asked for a moment of silence in honor of those members we have lost since the Fall meeting. Included was Past PBA President and longtime supporter of the home building industry Gene Kreitzer of the Lebanon County BA.
Past President and Nominating Committee Chair Tom McCosby put forward the nomination of Holly DiLeo of the HBA of Northeastern BA and the Pocono BA as the Pennsylvania Associate Delegate for NAHB. The nomination was passed.
NAHB Second Vice Chair Bob Peterson addressed the Directors about the importance of focusing on the local level with members encouraging them to take advantage of provided resources. He continued to stress the advantage of membership to boost home building companies by showing their affiliation with the local, state, and national federation. In addition, Mr. Peterson stressed the continued need to grow workforce development programs to mentor and include the future leaders of the industry.
President Hilliard presented the winners of the 2024 Membership Contest designed to promote membership growth by bringing new members into the local HBAs. Winners were:
First Place – Liam Brennan of the BA of Metropolitan Pittsburgh; $3,000 Travel Voucher and $250 Gift Card
Second Place – Jordan Parisse-Ferrarini of the BIA of Philadelphia; $250 Gift Card
Third Place – Jody Harlan of the West Branch Susquehanna BA; $100 Gift Card
Directors were provided with reports from Mark McNaughton, Vice Chair of the Government Affairs Committee; Darrell Adams, Chair of the Membership Committee; Richard Clawson, PBA Treasurer; and NAHB and BUILD PAC representative Andrew Kaye. Mr. Kaye’s report can be found here – NAHB Winter 2025 Report .
Updates on the Strategic Plan were provided by President Hilliard. Members received a survey ranking the topics that were important to them currently and in the future. A discussion was held, and it was decided to resend the survey to the membership so that the topics could be scored in terms of importance instead of ranking them. Mr. Hilliard stressed that he was determined to have the plan in place as soon as possible.
After months of discussions and presentations, Directors voted to approve a regional realignment that will help to ensure the future of smaller locals and reduce the number of locals from eight to six.
President Hilliard summed up the meeting stressing the role of all members to be engaged at all levels. He spoke of the value of the Emerging Professionals Membership opportunity (see Membership/Communication Committee summary), the need to strive toward a balanced budget and development of new non-dues revenue opportunities, and the responsibility of members to participate in both PaCAH and BUILD PAC.
“If every member donated $20 – the cost of one dinner – we would exceed our goals,” he said.
In conclusion, Hilliard thanked members and sponsors for attending the previous night’s Installation Gala and the meetings before inviting all to participate in the Summer meetings to be held at the Omni Bedford Springs Resort, July 24-25.