Greetings from Houston Texas! I am honored and energized to be your 2009 CGR Board of Governors Chair. By way of introduction, I am co-owner and Vice-President of Brothers Strong, a 19-year-old design/build remodeling firm in Houston. Prior to that I was owner and President of Heritage Construction for six years. In addition to the CGR designation, I also carry the GMB, CAPS, and CGP designations. I am the son of a homebuilder and love what I do every day!

The privilege of serving in this position also carries with it the tremendous responsibility of leading the flagship designation for our industry. It also involves carrying on the fine work done by last year’s Chairman, Bob Peterson, CGR, CAPS, CGP, as well as the work of those who have helped to make this designation the premier program of it’s kind! I will endeavor to continue the legacy and accomplishments of our past Chairs.

I also want to welcome this year’s Vice-Chairman, Greg Theiss, CGR, CAPS, of Greg E. Theis Remodeling in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Greg and I, along with your entire Board of Governors, each operate in entirely different markets and have many variations in business practices. Our diversity will be our strength as we work on making the CGR and GMR designations more valid and valuable for each of you in your respective markets. We will accomplish this because we share one common vision, and that is to ensure that the CGR and GMR designations represent the utmost in professionalism for our industry.

In these times of economic uncertainty, I can think of no better hedge against the slowdown than for each of us to promote our CGR and GMR designations! The business management skills afforded to us by virtue of our designations are the BEST defense against a slowdown in activity. While different markets across the land are seeing varying results, it is safe to say that we all are better equipped to navigate the troubled waters many of us are seeing. It may be as simple as having prospective clients ask those other “competitors” on a given project if they carry the industry’s leading designation. Remind them that hiring a CGR is akin to hiring a CPA to do their tax return – a much wiser choice than hiring someone who has no continuing education requirements, no code of ethics, and has not benefited from nationally recognized training and education!

I would be remiss if I neglected to congratulate our 2008 CGR of the Year, Bob Birner, CGR, CAPS, and a fellow Houstonian. Bob is an excellent “voice” for our industry in that he runs a series of Public Service Announcements that he created on his weekly radio show, the “Home Improvement Hotline”. In addition he continually and tirelessly promotes the CGR designation. Well deserved Bob!

Finally – I challenge each of you to help us grow our program. Apply to be an instructor or recruit your fellow remodelers (and in increasing numbers, homebuilders) to our fold. A wise remodeler (probably Mike Weiss, CGR, CGB, GMB, CAPS, GMR) once said, “I’d rather compete against smart competitors than the alternative any day of the week.” I urge you to take that message to heart and help to better your industry by continually promoting and advocating the CGR and GMR designations!

Please call me at 281-469-6057 or email me at jeff@brothersstrong.com anytime I can be of assistance.

All my best,

Jeff Hunt, CGR, GMB, CAPS, CGP [ return to top ]