BUILD-PAC Sets New Record in Effort to Reach $4 Million

BUILD-PAC concluded a record six-month fundraising period in June, raising nearly $800,000 in hard dollars in pursuit of its mission to elect pro-housing candidates to Congress and reach a $4 million goal for the current election cycle.

BUILD-PAC Chair Earl Sharp is pleased about these results given the fact that this year, the off-year of a mid-term election year, has traditionally been a slower time for fundraising.  “This level of success in the off-year of a non-presidential election cycle is unprecedented,” said Sharp.

In addition to raising $4 million, BUILD-PAC has made it a priority to increase overall participation in the PAC by reminding members that contributions, in every denomination, are important. “In the past, we have had a very small percentage of members give to BUILD-PAC. We have had a very high average contribution.  Essentially, a small group has carried the water for the entire membership. We knew, heading into this cycle, that we needed to increase our participation in order to grow the PAC.   It is clear we are succeeding in meeting this important objective.” said Sharp. 

NAHB President Dave Wilson concurs that as many NAHB members as possible need to get involved. “I am proud of the fact that we have gotten off to such a good start this cycle, but we need all of the support we can get from NAHB members in order to meet our $4 million goal and to ensure a pro-housing Congress,” said Wilson.

“If you want to have a say in who gets elected to national office – and who will establish federal legislation that will affect your bottom line — you need to support BUILD-PAC,” Wilson added.

Meet the BUILD-PAC Officers: 2005 2nd Vice-Chairman, Charlie Kasko

Charlie Kasko, 2^nd Vice Chairman, has been involved in the housing industry for the last 20 years. Upon completion of his United States Marine Corps service in 1985, Kasko served as a police officer and also began framing homes. In late 1987, Kasko started his own business in framing and remodeling called Kasko and Company. After five years of success, Kasko joined forces with Avis America , a nationally recognized modular home manufacturer, where he currently serves as an Account Executive.

Kasko became a member of the NAHB in 1989. He was introduced to the organization by his local banker, and immediately involved himself at the state level. Charlie is a Past President of the Building Industry Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania (BIA) and the Pennsylvania Builders Association (PBA).  Before taking the office as President of the PBA, he served as vice president, treasurer, regional vice president, board member and regional legislative officer, as well as serving on various committees and task forces.

Charlie also has a hand in the direction of the NAHB. He is a Life Director and a past Chairman of the Federal Governmental Affairs Committee. He has advised the president of NAHB, and worked on and chaired many special task forces. Kasko continues his commitment to the building industry by acting as the 2^nd Vice-Chairman of BUILD-PAC and as the Pennsylvania State Representative to NAHB, while serving on both on the NAHB Executive Board and the Construction, Health and Safety Committee. 

Kasko feels that he wields the most influence by being involved on the advocacy side of BUILD-PAC. He believes that advocacy is a three-legged stool, the legs being, BUILD-PAC, NAHB’s lobbying efforts and the Congressional Contact Program.  “Each of these important efforts has helped to earn NAHB its status among the top organizations in Washington , DC ,” says Kasko. 

As a BUILD-PAC officer, one of Kasko’s goals is to foster better communication with NAHB members. He says that BUILD-PAConnection is a good first step in letting our members know what issues their contributions support, keeping members up-to-date on BUILD-PAC’s accomplishments, and making sure they understand that their contributions are supporting qualified candidates. Kasko remarked, “By keeping members informed, we can increase the level of participation and become the #1 PAC that I believe we truly can be.” 

Charlie Kasko resides in Shavertown , Pennsylvania with his wife of eight years, Karen. They have a 4 year-old daughter named Hannah.[return to top]

BUILD-PAC Featured Event: Tennessee Makes BUILD-PAC a Priority...In Florida

The BUILD-PAC "Featured Event" this month was held by the Tennessee  Home Builders Association in San Destin , Florida on July 5^th at the Bistro Bojoux restaurant.  The fundraising dinner was held in conjunction with the Tenessee Home Builders Summer Board meeting.  Capitol Club Chairman Steve Cates and Tennessee State Executive Officer Susan Ritter spearheaded the event which turned out to be a great success.  The event allowed BUILD-PAC members to renew their club memberships and also recruited new members.   

According to Cates, the event proved to be another great recruiting tool to accomplish the goal of raising new money.  A total of 11 new Gold Key's came on board to BUILD-PAC as a result . "I am very excited about the level of excitement for BUILD-PAC in Tennessee.  I hope to spread this excitement throughout the country in my quest to recruit new members to the Capitol Club," remarked Cates. 

Earl Sharp, BUILD-PAC Chairman commented,  "I appreciate all of the hard work, imagination and planning that was put into this event and want to extend a special thanks to Susan Ritter and Steve Cates.  I knew that with their help the event was sure to be a great success."

If you would like your event to be featured, contact Bhavna Pandit, BUILD-PAC Director of Finance at bpandit@nahb.com or 800-368-5242 x 8259.

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NAHB Associates' Drive Doubles Receipts in 2005

The 2005 BUILD-PAC Associates Drive, which concluded on June 30, was, by all accounts, a tremendous success.  The drive raised an unprecedented $55,000, more than doubling last year's figure of $25,875.  As a result of their success, the Associates will now have a seat on the BUILD-PAC Board of Trustees.

In addition to the nearly 200 Drive contributors, BUILD-PAC would like to recognize those NAHB Associate Members who led the way;  Ann Garvey, CGA, Vice Chair of the Associates Subcommittee, Co-Chair of the ’05 Associates Drive; Pete Wallstrom, Co-Chair of the ’05 Associates Drive and Marie Hanson, Chair of the Associates Subcommittee. This mark could not have been reached without the hard work, dedication, and commitment of the Drive's State Chairs and Area Coordinators. 

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BUILD-PAC Recognizes New Club Members

New BUILD-PAC Club Members*

Capitol Club
Steve Hamilton (NV)	Richard Jenkins (IN)	Ali Razi (CA)
Platinum Club
Joe Zehr (IN)
Gold Key Club
Robert Arquilla (IL)	Kelly Bekane (AL)	James Brennan (MO)
Lynn Corder (AL)	Rhonnie Cummins (MS)	Clay Easterling (MS)
Charles Eison Sr. (GA)	Wayne Foster (WI)	Michael Fritsch (WI)
Michael Marix (CA)	Stan Martenson (WI)	Bob McKay (MS)
Tom Parry (MS)	Ken Pavlik (WI)	Tom Pavlik (WI)
Andrew Place (IN)	J. Frank Pucylowski (MS)	Craig Rakowski (WI)
Mark Saliba (AL)	Larry Schauder (WI)	Doug Scott (WI)
Ken Servi (WI)	Kenneth Smith (MS)	Larry Smith (AL)
Dennis Spidel (IN)	Cal Watters (WI)	Jack Wilson (AR)
As of July 13, 2005

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BUILD-PAC Political Trivia

1.    Who was the only President ever to serve as Speaker of the House?
2.    Who was the youngest person to become President?  
3.     Who were the only grandfather and grandson to both serve as President? 

The person who responds first with correct answers to all three questions will have his or her choice of the following prizes: a PING NAHB golf wind shirt; a box of NAHB golf balls; or a BUILD-PAC martini shaker and martini glasses.

The winner will be recognized in the next edition of BUILD-PAConnection.

Email your answers to: BUILD-PAC@nahb.com or simply hit "reply."

And last month's winner is...

Joe Robson, of Tulsa, OK.

He answered the following three questions in the last issue of BUILD-PAConnection correctly

Question:  Who is the only US President to have served in the Congress of the Confederate States of America?

Answer:  John Tyler

Question:  What US President refused to use the telephone while in office?

Answer: Calvin Coolidge 

Question:  Which presidential candidate had whiskey bottles in the shape of log cabins made for his campaign?

Answer: William Henry Harrison 

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