Building Tomorrow Together – Zonda’s Builder 100.
What a week it was at Zonda’s Builder 100! It was a time not just to gather with like-minded people from the building industry and share conversations, to hear critically acclaimed leaders who are infusing technology and innovation into their
organizations, and hear updates on the industry and the economy but also to celebrate some of housing’s proudest achievements of the year.
I had the privilege to attend (thank you Jeff Meyers) and to hear an amazing line-up of extraordinary speakers, visionary storytellers, and innovative thinkers who inspired, taught, and guided us in the challenges and opportunities of today and
tomorrow.
Builder 100 brings together building industry professionals from across the country to share insights, strategies, and best practices for succeeding in today’s market and covers a range of topics related to real estate, including sales, and marketing
strategies, technology and innovation, industry trends, and more
The highlights of the week included a first-hand economic outlook by Ali Wolf and Professor Richard Green of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate and a challenging talk by R.P. Eddy focusing on forecasting the flashpoints in an unpredictable world. It was also great to hear directly from many of HomeAid’s board members such as Sheryl Palmer, Ken Balogh, Adrian Foley, and Dave Kosco discussing key topics such as Build to Rent, their views of the industry, and exciting new aspects of the 2024 Concept Home and to top it off, Ashton Woods receiving Builder of the Year
With all of that content, the true highlights for me were bookended during the week. On Monday, it was an honor to see Meritage Homes receive the Hearthstone BUILDER Humanitarian Award. Meritage Homes have been active with HomeAid's affiliates over the years, and it was fantastic to see the organization recognized for how they establish partnerships and aid countless efforts through the direct involvement of every single employee at the company through their Meritage Cares Foundation. Their dedication to giving back to organizations both at the local, national, and international scale was shown through their support of the National Association of Women in Construction and No Child Goes Hungry.
At the end of our time together at Builder 100, Nora Spencer of Hope Renovations spoke of her journey into the building industry and how Hope Renovations was founded and their focus on raising the next generation of home builders in their
work in Chapel Hill, NC. Nora and I share a common vision of making a difference in the world as we share a favorite quote.
“You begin to understand the meaning in human life when you plant shade trees under which you know full well you will never sit.”
Nora is doing just that as they empower underemployed women to pursue living-wage jobs in the construction trades through their pre-apprenticeship training program and directly provide repairs and renovations that enable older adults to stay in their homes as they age.
So, as we peered into the future, we all left confident not only in the work that we do every day but that the future is stronger because of who we are and what we do.