POLK COUNTY BUILDERS ASSOCIATION2232 Heritage DriveLakeland, FL 33801

PRESORTSTANDARD

US POSTAGEPAID

PERMIT#348LAKELANDFLORIDA

BluePrints

First Quarter2013

T h e V o i c e o f

P o l k C o u n t y ’ s

C o n s t r u c t i o n

I n d u s t r y

This Issue

• New President’s

Message

• Installation Dinner

• A PCBA Homecoming

• Parade of Homes

Dates

PCBA.com

Polk County Builders Association

As a very young child he would wake up before daybreak to go across the road from hishome and watch the local dairy farmer work with his cows. His mother never worried,because she always knew where to find him. His Grandfather was a huge influence in thislife.

He wore his hair in a very big Afro during his high school days. He is a work-a-holic atwork and at home. “Sit back and relax” is not a phrase you will find in his vocabulary veryoften! This master of multi tasking is a true believer of making hay while the sun shines!He can have 14 things going on at the same time, and know the exact status of each oneof them at any given time! Just ask him!

His clients love and appreciate him because of his winning, outgoing personality. They are impressed with his hon-esty, sincerity and his attention to cost without sacrificing quality!

When he does relax, don’t be surprised to find him on a tractor. Running a tractor is not work to him, besides it giveshim the opportunity to work on his “farmers tan”.

If you want to put a big smile on the face of this devoted family man, just ask about his wife, his 2 daughters or histwo grand-girls!

He and his lovely wife Jolynn, are the driving force behind the success of their business, Counter Effects by Roger!He has been a member of PCBA since 1999.

Roger was President of PCBA in 2011, has chaired the Associate’s Committee, Chaired the Golf TournamentCommittee, and served on numerous PCBA Councils and Committees. He can be counted on to help in any way thathe is needed at PCBA. Recently he helped with a water leak at the PCBA Office. No job is too small or too big.

Congratulations to the Builder of the Year,Roger Atherton of Counter Effects by Roger!

PCBA BUILDER OF THE YEAR

This guy loves to let the grass grow under his feet! He is very into theoutdoors and all the flora and fauna that grows there. In addition, heloves animals, especially Tigers and Cardinals! Now if you are thinkinghe’s a Detroit Tigers fan or he’s busy putting out bird feeders for cardi-

nals, well you can just forget that stuff. His Tigers are the MIZZOU Tigers at his alma mater,the University of Missouri. The Cardinals of course, are the St Louis variety!

Originally from Albany, Missouri, he migrated to Florida and married his lovely wife, Jeanice.They are the proud parents of Ashley, Emily, Carson and Harper.

Spare time finds him on the golf course, at the beach, watching sports, or just grilling andhanging out at home and relaxing with his wife and kids. He is a member of Rotary and RockCommunity Church.

Work days you will find him giving his all at FloraLawn. In addition to his job, he gives end-less hours to PCBA. He has co-chaired the golf tournament committee for 4 years, sits onthe board of directors and has been Rookie of the Year.

Congratulations to PCBA’s Associate of the Year,Lucas Martin of FloraLawn.

PCBA ASSOCIATE OF THE YEARLUCAS MARTIN OF FLORALAWN

P C B A . c o m 112 P C B A . c o m

JANUARY 2013January 16 Professional Women in Building 8:30 am/PCBA Office

January 17 Board of Directors Meeting 4:00 pm/PCBA Office

January 22-24 International Builders Show Las Vegas

FEBRUARY 2013February 7 Government Affairs Committee 12:00/PCBA Office

February 19 Feb GMM – PCBA Homecoming 5:30 pm/PCBA Office

February 21 Board of Directors Meeting 4:00/PCBA Office

MARCH 2013March 7 Government Affairs Committee 12:00/PCBA Office

March 21 Board of Directors Meeting 4:00/PCBA Office

March 29 Golf Tournament 11:00 am/Cleveland Heights

OTHER IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:Southeast Builders Conference (SEBC) July 11-13

Fall Golf Tournament Sept. 13FHBA Fall Conference October 17-19

Fall Parade of Homes Oct. 19&20 and Oct. 26&27First Friday November 1

Calendar of Events

MARK YOUR CALENDARFOR THE SPRING

GOLF TOURNAMENT

Friday March 29 atCleveland Heights Golf Course

Please mark your calendarfor this event!

Watch for registration formsin the mail!

1 0 P C B A . c o m

Upcoming Events

P C B A . c o m 3

POLK COUNTYBUILDERS ASSOCIATIONEXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

NAHB DIRECTORS

FHBA DIRECTORS

FHBA LIFE DIRECTORS

PCBA STAFF

President

President Elect

1st Vice President

2nd Vice President

Secretary/Treasurer

Immediate Past President

Brian WalshHighland Homes

William WebbWebb Homebuilders Group, Inc.

Mark HulbertHulbert Homes, Inc.

Keith CombeeCombee Insulation Co., Inc.

Greg SanobaThe Sanoba Law Firm

Sean HarperHarper Homes, L.L.C.

Duane McQuillenDuane McQuillen Construction

Rob NunezR. Nunez Homes

Richie JohnsonSouthern Homes

Blaine CarterCarter Engineering

Todd ShuffCarpenter Contractors of America

Lucas MartinFloraLawn, Inc.

Kylie GuessRepublic Services, Inc.

Roger AthertonCounter Effects by Roger

Tim DavisValuePro Remodeling andMaintenance

Mike Hickman

Donnie Tyler / Life Director

Dave Carter

Robert Harper

Builder Directors:

Sean Harper

William Webb

Associate Directors:

Michael Flood

Keith Combee

Dave Carter

Robert Harper

Donnie Tyler

Mike Hickman

Gary Clements

Don Paris

Marc Boney

Stephanie Hutton

Pat Edleman

Executive Director

Membership & Special Events

What a great Holiday/InductionBanquet we had in December. It is great to seesuch support and camaraderie during this won-derful time of the year. I want to thank SeanHarper for a great job leading this Organizationover the last year and I look forward to consultingwith him in the coming year.

The beginning of a new year brings with it a lot of changes.This year we are looking forward to some great newchanges. With predictions of an improving construction envi-ronment, we are planning to leverage these improvementsand begin to grow our Association. Growth with limited fundsand personnel will require a huge amount of team work fromall of our members. Lucky for us, Team Work is what thisAssociation was built from.

I encourage each member to recruit an additional member tojoin our Association. There are strength in numbers and themore members we have the stronger we will be. Additionally,I challenge all of our members to think “outside of the box”and make suggestions to the Association to increase partici-pation in our Special Events and General MembershipMeetings, and to make our Association better.

A few of the benefits of membership in the PCBA include net-working, lobbying on the local and state level, and discountsand rebates. Additional benefits extend past Polk County andprovide members support from the Florida Home BuildersAssociation and the National Association of Home Builders.

Let’s all make a commitment and make this year the startingpoint of many years of growth to come!

Brian WalshHighland Homes

Phone: 863.665.0844 • Fax: 863.667.99562232 Heritage Drive

Lakeland, Florida 33801

Feel free to contact Brian at:President@PCBA.com

with any questions or concernsregarding the PCBA.

President's MessageSPRING PARADE OF HOMES DATES

Donʼt let the Parade pass you by!!The Spring Parade of Homes dates are

April 20th and 21st and April 27th and 28th.Showcase Home bids are due February 15.

A blast email about the Showcase Home will go out on January 17th as a reminder.Look for your Parade package in the mail about March 2nd.

INTRODUCING FLORIDA’S BUILDER MEMBER REBATE PROGRAMFree Member Benefit That Puts Cash In Your Pocket

No one like to leave money on the table. So, what would you think if you could get a rebate for your loyalty to many of the nation’sleading housing industry product suppliers? Well, now you can!

We’re happy to introduce the FHBA Member Rebate Program, aimed at increasing your bottom line. For the minimal effort ofinforming us about the home construction products you use and when you close on a home or project, you’ll be putting moneyback in your pocket. Both Builder & Remodeler companies, no matter how large or small, qualify for the program. When you par-ticipate in the program, you can count on receiving checks every quarter! Participation is easy and free –

You can register & complete the Rebate Claim form atwww.HBArebates.com

To start receiving your rebate, please register (tells us where to mail the check) and submit the Rebate Claim Form. Have aquestion? Contact Program Administrator: Rich Robinson 866-849-8400 or info@HBArebates.com

PWBMeeting

at the PCBAoffice on

January 16that 8:30 am

P C B A . c o m 94 P C B A . c o m

New Rebate Program

P C B A . c o m 58 P C B A . c o m

Government Affairs

Builders & Buyers Bypass Budget BulletThe mortgage interest deduction (MID) cost the US Treasury $88.8 billion in 2011, making it the sec-ond largest tax break for individuals. That is precisely why the Congress has its sights set on it.However, there is much debate about how to reduce its costs to the Treasury and by how much.

No matter what happens, reducing the MID will lower some house prices. That being said, how theCongress reduces the MID will determine how much how many houses lose value. And since so manyof us own a home, sell homes or build homes, the MID will not be singled out for special treatment.Rather, the Congress will cap or phaseout the value of all deductions, and in that way avoid favoringone deduction over another.

While there are several possible approaches, the fiscal cliff compromise bill passed into law onJanuary 2nd of this year phases out itemized deductions for households with incomes over $300,000.While at first blush this may appear to be quite damaging, I think homeowners, realtors, builders, andthe entire housing industry have all dodged a bullet and should sleep well for quite a while, or at leastuntil the Congress reopens debate on the tax code sometime in the future.

Phasing out Schedule A deductions for couples with incomes over $300,000 limits the impact to buy-ers of only the most expensive houses. For example, with a 10% down-payment on a $1,500,000house, mortgage interest would be $54,000/year, property taxes would average $16,500, and insur-ance would be about $8,000, totaling $78,500 in annual housing-related expenses. To finance thatmortgage, the $78,500 should ideally not be more than 30% of gross income, which means qualifyingrequires having an annual income of roughly $260,000; comfortably below the income level at whichdeductions start phasing out.

That being said, how much will a house valued at $2,000,000 decline? By very little! In theory it will fallby the one-time lump-sum amount necessary to compensate buyers for the new income taxes they willpay due to their being at or above the phaseout threshold. With interest rates currently at 4%, thismeans, and trust me on this, every $1,000 in added income taxes reduces the house price by($1,000/4% or) $25,000. However, in reality, these impacts will be dramatically mitigated by tax avoid-ance strategies available to the very wealthy including systematically larger down-payments, cash pur-chases, corporate purchases and so on.

In short, few homeowners will be impacted by the new tax treatment of deductions including the MID.For households with incomes below $300,000, there are no impacts stemming from this change andfor those with higher incomes, the impacts will largely be mitigated by tax avoidance behavior. At worst,only homes worth well over a million dollars will be adversely affected.

With huge deficits as far as the eye can see, the tax treatment of deductions is sure to continue tochange and evolve. Enjoy the debate, but be aware that next time you may be on the menu.

Elliot Eisenberg, Ph.D. is President of GraphsandLaughs, LLC and can be reached at

Elliot@graphsandlaughs.net. His daily 70 word economics and policy blog can be seen at

www.econ70.com

The Rookie of the Year is an accomplished award winning wood carver andengraver. Her specialty is beautifully carved wildlife scenes on the stocks offine guns and metal engraving on custom made knives. Gun shows through-out the area have featured carvings by her. In addition to wood and metal, she

carves on egg shells, and has done an egg shell carving for Mrs. Norman Schwartzkoff. She got their start in the cabinet business at Scotties in Winter Haven selling cabinets andflooring. When Scotties closed, she went into business for herself and openedCatharine’s Classic Kitchens. Today her business has received numerous awards fordesigning custom kitchens in the local Parade of Homes. New construction, remodelingand happy satisfied customers are what she does best!

This Georgia Peach was born in Macon, Georgia and moved to Gainesville, Florida at theage of 4. She graduated from St Johns River Junior College in Palatka, Florida. Palatka isalso where she meet Jim, her devoted husband of 27 years. She has one daughter.

She serves on several committees at PCBA, and volunteers regularly for our manyevents. Congratulations to PCBA’s Rookie of the Year, Catharine Lawhon of Catharine’sClassic Kitchens.

DID YOU KNOW?As a member of PCBA you can receive a copy of the county’s monthly building permit report by simply requesting it. Pleasecontact Pat at PCBA at 665-0844 or email pate@pcba.com. Give her the email address that you want the report to go to and she willforward a copy to you. You will receive the report each month via email.

The permit report is a list of all building permits issued for the county for the month. The permits are listed by subdivision name,address, builder, square footage, and declared value. The report includes residential and commercial permits.

PCBA Rookie Of The Year

Builder of the Year: Roger Atherton, Counter Effects by RogerAssociate of the Year: Lucas Martin, Floralawn

Volunteer of the Year: Lori Fraser, WebPro RealtyBig Spike Retention: Greg Masters, Southern HomesBig Spike Recruitment: Sean Harper, Harper Homes

Rookie of the Year: Catharine Lawhon, Catharine’s Classic KitchensLife Directors: Nan Webster, Integrity First Title

Roger Atherton: Counter Effects by RogerPresident Plaque with Gavel: Sean Harper, Harper Homes

PCBA Foundation President: JC Martin, Kelley Buick GMC of Bartow

Sean Harper of Harper Homes.

JC Martin of Kelley Buick GMC

Kylie Guess of Republic Services

Catharine Lawhon of Catharine’s ClassicKitchens  Rookie of the YearSean Harper  Harper Homes

Lucas Martin of Floralawn Associate of the Year

and Brian Walsh of Highland Homes,

incoming PCBA President

Stephanie Catlett  Mid Florida Credit Union andRoger Atherton, Builder of the Year

Left to right Sean Harper Harper Homes,Phillip Olivera Olivera Construction, and

Roger Atherton Counter Effects by Roger

6 P C B A . c o m P C B A . c o m 7

PCBA Installation Dinner

DECEMBER 4TH, 2012LAKELAND YACHT AND COUNTRY CLUB

LAKE HOLLINGSWORTH DRIVE

PCBA Volunteer of the Year

Lori Fraser of WebPro Realtywas named volunteer of the Year atthe Polk County Builders Associationinstallation Dinner at The Lakeland

Yacht Club on December 4th.

Lori has been a volunteer for the GiftBasket Bonanza, The Golf

Tournament, the Parade of Homes,and several other PCBA events.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING!

There were 16 past PCBA Presidents in attendance at the December 4thPCBA Installation dinner at the Lakeland Yacht Club. History was madewhen Brian Walsh of Highland Homes was installed as PCBA President

for 2013. Brian is the 4th person from Highland Homes to serve asPresident of this association.

Clayton Skinner – 1973Bob Adams – 1981

George Lindsey – 1984Robert Harper – 1989

Donnie Tyler – 1991 & 1997Chuck Hunt – 1995 & 2000

Mike Hickman – 1996David Carter – 1999Greg Masters – 2003Brian Waller – 2004Joel Adams – 2005AJ Maqueira – 2007

Tim Davis – 2008Roger Atherton – 2011Sean Harper – 2012