Students in Mississippi and Arizona Meet With Industry Leaders

NAHB President Bobby Rayburn visited the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) in Hattiesburg last week to support NAHB Student Chapters and participate in the presentation of scholarship awards from the Home Builders Association of Mississippi and the Greater Hattiesburg Home Builders Association to students in the schools’s College of Science and Technology.

The event was sponsored by the NAHB Student Chapter at the university, which was founded in 1979 with Rayburn’s help. The home and apartment builder from nearby Jackson was welcomed back as an honored guest and alumnus to share his insights on the nation’s eighth largest industry with the next generation of builders and contractors.

Also on hand for the evening’s festivities were Arthur Rosier, president of the Student Chapter; Burt Williamson, president of the Greater Hattiesburg HBA; and Jervis Mims, an honorary lifetime member of the association.

NAHB Student Chapters members from the Mississippi Job Corps Center and Hinds Community College also attended the event, along with students and faculty from HBI’s Job Corps classes at the Gulfport Job Corps Center and Project CRAFT training program in Jackson.

On Oct. 27, members of the NAHB Student Chapter at Arizona State University's Del E. Webb School of Construction heard a keynote address from Bill Pulte, founder and CEO of Pulte Homes, at the 17th Annual Construction Recognition Banquet. Students from local high schools and community colleges attended the event, which kicked off the schools’ recruitment efforts, and many were presented with grants toward their tuition if they attend the school. [ return to top ]