Fifty Years Young, the Women’s Council Gears Up for Celebration!
Thursday, Sept. 8, in Reno, NV...Pull out your calendar, grab your PDA, or open MS Outlook, and reserve this date — right now! Why? Because we know you won’t want to miss the NAHB Women’s Council 50th Anniversary Celebration, scheduled to take place in conjunction with the Fall Board meeting.

From its start in 1955 to our modern-day Women’s Council, we’ll be celebrating 50 years of service to women in the building industry. The event will feature scenes from the council’s beginnings as a ladies auxiliary to the home building industry. We’ve come a long way. More information on this spectacular event will be coming soon. [return to top]

Women’s Council Highlights From Spring Board
Spring Board was the site of another productive planning meeting for the Women’s Council. High on the agenda was a discussion of the upcoming 50th Anniversary celebration, to be held during the Fall Board meeting in Reno.

In addition, the council’s Education and Communications Committee is planning a Professional Women’s Forum at the meeting. As we get the details, you’ll hear more.

Judging for the Women’s Council’s “Strategies for Success” scholarship was held in conjunction with the Board meeting, with scholarships awarded to two women pursuing industry related education:

• Erin Royal is a Construction Management major at the University of Nebraska. A leader in the university’s NAHB student chapter, Erin will graduate in 2006. A single mother, Erin has managed to work full time, participate in student chapter activities, and keep up her grades while raising her daughter.
  
  
• Jacquelyn Bauer is a junior at the University of Denver, working toward a degree in real estate and construction management. The daughter of a home builder, Jacquelyn grew up in the business. She has spent her summers working for a large construction firm as an onsite engineer one year, and in the marketing department the next. An active member of her student chapter, Jacquelyn aspires to work on large urban planning projects that incorporate commercial and residential construction.

More information on the events, programs and scholarships offered by the Women’s Council is available at our Web site at www.nahb.org/womens. [return to top]

Housing to Stay Healthy As It Recedes From Its Peak
Despite some softening in U.S. economic growth, the Federal Reserve’s ongoing interest rate hikes and rapid price gains in the nation’s hottest housing markets, economists appearing at a forecasting conference held by NAHB in late April said housing should remain healthy through next year even as it recedes from peak levels.

Driven by ongoing population growth and household formations, an expanding market for second homes and the need to replace aging units, demand for housing should hold up well in the foreseeable future, said panelists. Also, further growth in the nation’s job force and rising incomes should help offset the negative impact of higher mortgage rates, which are still expected to be at affordable levels by historic standards.

While some experts voiced concerns regarding speculative investment activity in a few of the nation’s frothiest housing markets — including California, Las Vegas, South Florida, Washington, DC and the New York-Boston corridor — most expect to see a slowdown in the rate of price appreciation in many parts of the country rather than an actual decline in house prices.

The Women’s Council Wants to Make a Change — Can You Help?
The Council’s Image Task Force, chaired by Roberta Colmer, met at Spring Board to look at the Women’s Council name and determine if it reflects the council’s mission and vision. The unanimous decision was that it does — but that the logo needs to be updated. That’s where you may come in!

If you’re a graphic designer, we could use your help. We’re having a competition to decide the new Women’s Council brand. If you want to enter, just submit your logo concepts to Carmel Nayman at cnayman@nahb.com.  JPG or TIF files are best, but pen and ink will do as well!  The task force will make its decision at Fall Board, so we’ll need your entries by Aug. 1. 

Questions? Contact Carmel Nayman at 800-368-5242 x8410. [return to top]

Banner Ads: Are You Click-able?
Banner ads can be a great way to broaden your exposure to potential clients and are becoming a standard feature of an online marketing plan. An effective banner ad campaign can dynamically build your brand and generate leads. The success of your promotion will depend on whether it drives Internet visitors to action. To click or not to click…that is the question. Here are three terrific tips to make sure that question is answered correctly:

• Target your ads.  Develop your banners with your customers' needs in mind. Banner click-through counts alone are not an accurate indicator of the effectiveness of a campaign. The really important success measurement is the number of qualified prospects solicited. Who is your target market? What do they want? What are their graphic icons? These answers will help you qualify your clicker and find the right words and images — consider animated GIFs that allow short messages to rotate — to trigger action. Get your point across in a few words; short and catchy ads work because they deliver a message or name that the viewer can remember. Craft your message around the most persuasive reason why people would want to go to your site.
  
  
• Make an offer they can’t refuse. You have three seconds to get a visitor’s attention to your banner and warrant a click-through to your Web site. Your banners must be attractive or interesting enough to be victorious in earning a response. Let the viewer know that you have what they want, and they need it now. Make it worth the visitor’s while by offering a discount, guarantee, freebie, free trial, sample or other incentive. Internet users react favorably to banners that present them a chance to win something. Other techniques to increase click-throughs include testimonials, endorsements, or simply by telling the viewer to do so. Sometimes reverse psychology works: “Don’t click here if you are happy with your interest rate.”
  
  
• Monitor your banner ad’s performance constantly. Keep revising it to improve your conversion rate of qualified clickers. Banner ads are only one of the many ways to reach your audience and can be a good means to generate leads. They have a relatively low start-up cost and can get your message out to millions of potential clients.

Frog Pond Speakers Bureau offers you free reprintable articles at http://www.frogpond.com/. For speaker information, contact Frog Pond at 800-704-FROG or e-mail Susie@frogpond.com. [return to top]

Tsunami Shelter Fund to Support 'Home Builders Care Villages' and Construction Training
In the spirit of Home Builders Care, NAHB and the National Housing Endowment are hard at work providing long-term shelter reconstruction support to those affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami in South Asia on Dec. 26.

The Home Builders Care/National Housing Endowment-Tsunami Shelter Fund will fund permanent home reconstruction along with education and training that will enable communities to sustain and participate in the ongoing rebuilding effort, which is estimated to take decades.

Nearly four months have passed since the Indian Ocean quake set off one of the deadliest tsunamis in history, killing an estimated 280,000 people in 11 countries. While many months have passed, there still are countless untold stories of tsunami tragedies, survival and rebuilding challenges for the 1.2 million people left homeless. It is more important than ever for our industry to step up to support the ongoing reconstruction of homes and villages and to help restore a sense of community to the victims by addressing long-term housing needs.

While many individuals, companies and home builder associations already have given to relief organizations that provided immediate medical and emergency needs, the Tsunami Shelter Fund picks up where that vital assistance leaves off.

NAHB seeded the Tsunami Shelter Fund with an initial $250,000 contribution and nearly $100,000 in additional funds has been raised thus far. NAHB is encouraging members to participate by making a tax-deductible donation to support this important rebuilding endeavor. Please direct your donation to: National Housing Endowment, 1201 15th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005.

Make checks payable to the National Housing Endowment, and in the memo section, please note "Tsunami Shelter Fund."

For more information, contact Troy Patterson at the National Housing Endowment at 800-368-5242 x8483 or tpatterson@nahb.com; or Kym Kilbourne in NAHB Public Affairs at x8447 or kkilbourne@nahb.com. [return to top]

Product Trends: Surfaces of the Future
What kinds of changes can we expect to see in the surfaces of tomorrow's homes? Look for materials used for counters, floors and walls to change slowly. Proven materials such as stone, laminates, solid surfacing and gypsum wallboard will persevere; we'll gradually see movement toward natural materials that come from sustainable resources and are affordable, recyclable and easy to maintain.

Builders should see more emphasis placed on surfaces that offer a measure of control over noise, light, glare, heat retention and other environmental factors. Indoor air quality and health will be important considerations in surface choices. Specific trends include:

• Alternative materials. Laminated wood products, recycled wood and locally produced, indigenous materials such as lightweight concrete and tile will become viable alternatives to solid wood and stone. Even materials like newspaper, glass and currency are being recycled into countertops.
  
  
• Integral sink bowls. Countertops will be custom formed with integral, seamless kitchen sinks. Materials will be anti-bacterial and — when they wear out — recyclable.
  
   
• Universal design. For aging baby boomers, surfaces will be all-user friendly. Countertops will be adjustable in height and have safer, rounded corners. Watch for skid-resistant, highly durable flooring and glare-free surfaces.

Source: Virginia Association of Realtors [return to top]

The Hispanic Community Grows in Size and Influence
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanic homeownership in the U.S. rose to 48.1% in 2004 — up from 46.7% in 2003 and 41.2% 10 years ago.

Rob Cappiello, industry vice president of the National Hardware Show (which just concluded in Las Vegas), says that "with some 40 million individuals of Hispanic origin now living — and buying homes — in the U.S., our industry must pursue strategies to effectively communicate with and market products and services to this growing segment of the population.” According to Cappiello, this segment has an estimated purchasing power of some $600 billion annually.

To pursue this powerful market, he points to several key strategies:

• Research the market, speak with potential Hispanic customers and be aware of local and national media that cater to Hispanics in Spanish and English.
• Understand that the majority of Hispanics in the U.S. are not assimilating — they are in constant contact with their home countries and language and will often purchase imported products that cater to their specific tastes and preferences.
• Provide Hispanic consumers with an array of choices that are integrated into general merchandising and category management strategies.
• Build solid relationships with the Hispanic community through loyalty programs, credit assistance, community partnerships, promotions, workshops and family events.
• Since more than 50% of Hispanics are online, utilize the Internet to effectively market in an efficient manner.

NAWBO Launches Online Business Tool for Women Entrepreneurs
The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) recently launched the NAWBO SmartBrief, a twice-weekly e-news summary for women entrepreneurs. NAWBO SmartBrief delivers the latest news for business owners directly to their desktop. Each e-newsletter contains news important to running a business, links to relevant stories, and insider information on NAWBO. The newsletter is sponsored by OPEN: The Small Business Network, from American Express.

NAWBO SmartBrief contains six sections — Business Trends, Technology, Best Practices, NAWBO News, Policy Update and Lifestyle —t o allow readers to stay updated on events in the business world.

To subscribe to this free newsletter, visit www.nawbo.org and scroll down to view current headlines and the sign-up link. For more information, contact Shawn Taylor Zelman at 703-506-3280 or szelman@nawbo.org. [return to top]

NAWIC Announces 2005 Crystal Vision Award Winners
The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) has announced the winners of its 11th annual Crystal Vision Awards Program. Edith Stanfield is the recipient of the Crystal Achievement Award, and Faye Turner is the recipient of the Crystal Vision Award.

Stanfield is president of S & J Electric where she oversees all aspects of corporate management. Stanfield has encouraged and empowered women in construction by influencing policy in agencies, creating company policy at S & J, enacting legislation through local, state and federal governments and initiating organizational structure at her company.

Turner is the founder and executive director of Women Helping Women (WHW), a program designed to help women in crisis become self-sufficient through training and job placement in nontraditional trades. Turner began working with WHW full-time in 1999. WHW helps women who are ready to break free from their current situations by stepping up and taking charge of their lives.

Stanfield and Turner will be honored for their achievements during the Crystal Vision Banquet at NAWIC’s 50th Annual Convention on Sept. 10 in Grapevine, TX.

For more information on NAWIC and its upcoming conference, visit www.nawic.org. [return to top]