FEB. - MARCH 2016 Ι VOLUME 76

Member and VENDOR EVENT We would be honored if

you would join us on

Friday, March 18 at the

Super Home Extravagan-

za at the Fond du Lac

County Fairgrounds.

Want to connect with a

variety of others in our

industry, in addition to

those within our

membership? If yes, this

is the place to be! We

would like to offer you

admission for two to

come and check out the

expo on Friday, and then

invite you to stay for our

networking event from

8:00pm to 9:30pm

afterwards. If you could

kindly let us know ASAP if

you can attend, we would

greatly appreciate it! We

hope you can find the

time to join us this week!

Message from the President My past 18 years as a real estate broker has taught me many things; one major precept is that you can generally predict the opportunity for the next year based on the 1st quarter’s activity. If this holds true, our homebuilders, vendors and affil-iates are in for one whale of a year. Open house attendance has been stronger than we’ve seen for years, construction inquiries, home im-provement activities combined with existing home and lot sales all bode very well for our community and industry. Oh, and I almost forgot the weather. This amazing spring weather has really incited a lot of early activity, thank goodness. It may be time for a home show, and fortunately enough we’ve got one! The annual home and garden expo, Super Home Extravaganza is this weekend, March 18-20. Mem-bers will be offered free admission on Friday of the event, as well as they are invited to attend our Ven-dor Celebration from 8:00pm to 9:30pm. Even if you can’t partici-pate with a booth, come out for a little networking! Parade of Home contracts are out. This past fall we had a tremendous turnout for our parade. It is a very affordable way to showcase your construction projects and trades to literally hundreds and in some cas-es, one thousand or more local resi-dents. The Parade is one of the mar-quis events for our association. Finally, our Association is cele-brating 50 years in business this year. Our focus has really changed to be a resource and referral organi-zation for our members, as well as for the consumer who seeks to build

or remodel their home. Amanda and her staff are working hard to get the message across, it is work-ing! This spring we are going to be discussing some new ways to pro-mote our members at an even high-er level with greater market visibil-ity. New and exciting things on the horizon! Please make the most of the net-working, showcasing and participa-tion opportunities this association offers; I promise you won’t be disap-pointed with the results.

Continued Success and Happy Spring,

David Washkoviak

David Washkoviak, Roberts Homes & Real Estate

2015-2016 BOARD OF

DIRECTORS

David Washkoviak, President

David Boelter, Vice President

Jackie Gulig, Treasurer

Barbara Knickel, Immediate Past President

Builder Directors:

Dave Boelter

Tom Leu, Past President

Associate Directors:

Chris Cardinal

Greg Feucht

Tyler Gross

Kim Schmitz

David Thiel

Broc Fleischer

Andy Wapneski

Association Staff:

Amanda Kemmel, Executive Officer

Gloria Marshall, Membership &

Marketing Assistant

We would like to express our

sympathy to the family of Brian

Koepsell, BK Painting, who

passed away recently after a

long battle with leukemia. Our

thoughts and prayers are with

all who knew Brian.

UPCOMING EVENTS - SAVE THE DATES! BUILDING CODE UPDATE WITH FOND DU LAC COUNTY INSPECTORS 11:45 to 1pm, Wednesday, March 30 at PizzaVille, Fond du Lac

Meet with the local Fond du Lac County Inspectors in a laid back setting and learn

all about the newest code updates, and ask any questions you ma have over lunch.

Invite your crews to attend! Pizza lunch is included.

Cost: Members—FREE

Nonmembers—$10

Register by calling Amanda at 920-922-9067 by 3/28

BOOK CLUB MEETING Thursday, March 31 at Noon

Read or listen to the book (or as much of it as you can) and meet for lunch at the Association office! Please RSVP!

SOCIAL MEDIA LUNCH & LEARN Tuesday, April 26 at 11:45am

Location TBA Amplified (the group that gave us the recent Digital Marketing seminar) will be back to teach you all about social media marketing.

HUMAN RESOURCES 101 LUNCH & LEARN

Thursday, April 7 at 11:45am Location TBA

You asked, we listened! Join us as the Fond du Lac County HR Association shares some of the most important small business infor-mation, as well as have the opportunity to get your HR questions answered.

ANNUAL MEETING & AWARDS & ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Wednesday, May 18 Holiday Inn Convention Center

Join us for an Italian Dinner Buffet, a cash bar and great company. We will be officially kicking off our Joan M. Vande Castle Scholarship as well. Cost is $20 per person for dinner. SAVE THE DATE!

INTERNATIONAL BUILDERS SHOW HIGHLIGHTS It’s ALL about the

DOORS!

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE Do you have a son or daughter heading to college this fall, or back to college? If yes, be sure to check out our

Joan M. Vande Castle Scholarship. All of the application information can be found on our website at

www.HomeBuildersFdlDodge.com under the “scholarship” tab. The deadline to apply is April 15. If you have

any additional questions, please contact the Association office.

PARADE OF HOMES CONTRACTS NOW DUE For those of you who are planning on participating in the 2016 Summer Parade of Homes the weekends of June

3 and 10, contracts are NOW DUE! If you are waiting for a draw on your project or have any questions about

participating, please give Amanda a call ASAP! Remember, large remodels and “other” projects are allowed to

enter. We would love to include your company in the 2016 Summer Parade!

Have you set up a Houzz profile page for your business yet? If you haven’t you

may be missing out on some free publicity for your business. If you missed our

Houzz seminar last year and would like help setting up your page, please call the

office and Amanda would be happy to set up an appointment with you to help set

up your page. You will need to bring email addresses from a minimum of three

customers who you would like to write a testimonial for you, as well as 5-7 pictures

of projects you have completed. Please call after the Super Home Extravaganza :).

ARE YOU ON HOUZZ?

ASSOCIATION AWESOMENESS

You Asked, We Listened Recently, we asked those within our membership to take a brief electronic survey asking what you would like us to offer for our members. Included in those results were an HR class, a so-cial media class, and a code updates course. You will see that over the next few months, we will be offering each of these! Additionally, we asked you, our members, what timeframe works best for you to get together to network. Overwhelmingly, the lunch and learn time slot worked best for most. We will continue to offer most of our events over lunch, however include some happy hours, break-fasts, and dinners along the way, too. We hope you will take some time to join us!

International Builders Show I had the privilege recently of attend-ing the International Builders Show in Las Vegas. As executive officer of our Association, the National Association of Home Builders allowed me to attend the conference free of charge. I found the event to be extraordinary! While we all are great at what we do, what we do is consistently changing and IBS was the perfect place to check out the very latest in every-thing new within our industry. I found great value in meeting the ex-hibitors from many national compa-nies, including our very own Natural Stone Veneers International and ABC Supply Co. Additionally, I found great value in meeting with other NAHB members from all over the country. If you haven’t taken the time to attend, I highly recommend it.. You will come home completely motivated to change the world in our industry up-on your return! Next year the show moves to Orlando and will be held

January 10-12, 2017. And, my abso-lute favorite part… Meeting Tarek and Christina from HGTV’s Flip or Flop!

Super Home Extravaganza

I would like to say thank you to each of the members who are participating in our 2016 Super Home Extravagan-za. While I do a great deal of busi-ness from my phone and my laptop computer on a daily basis, no matter what anyone says the art of building a personal relationship and shaking hands with a potential client is NEVER forgotten and this show is the perfect opportunity to do just that. It’s been almost four years that I have been at the Home Builders Association, meaning this is my 4th home and gar-den show. I get a lot of feedback from those who attend as I spend most of the weekend walking through the show talking with ven-dors and show-goers. One of the most common questions I get, “Is Business X still in business, I didn’t see them here this year?” While you may not always be able to pinpoint the immediate value of participating in your local home and garden expo, it most certainly reminds the public that YES, you are still in business! If

A Message from your Executive Officer

you aren’t participating as a vendor, I hope you will bring your family down and join us for an incredible weekend!

Family Vacation In February, I snuck away from the office for a week with my family and visited the Miami/Key West area, a Christmas gift we received from my aunt who is living out there. I found it very interesting how carpenters find work in the Miami area! They pack their lunches and wait every day (including week-ends) in the parking lot of the local Home Depot. When a general contractor or home-owner need a project done, they go and pick them up! We had a wonderful time, and even managed to swim with the dol-phins!

Amanda Kemmel Executive Officer

A GREAT OFFER FOR NAHB MEMBERS FCA US LLC is pleased to announce a special $500 cash allowance toward the purchase or lease of many of the most pop-ular vehicles in our lineup. Between the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep® and Ram lineup and the FIAT® 500L, there's something for everyone. NAHB members and their employees can combine this stackable $500 cash allowance with most current retail incentives and choose a program allowance. Plus, same household family members receive a $500 cash allowance, stackable with most local and national retail incentives, toward the purchase or lease of a vehicle. NAHB member business owners and their employees also receive On The Job program benefits. Redeem this offer today! HERE'S HOW: When you’re ready to make a purchase or lease, follow these simple steps to ensure you’ll receive all your member ben-efits:

1. Shop the eligible FCA US LLC vehicles online or at any Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep®, or Ram dealership or FIAT® Studio

2. Working with the dealership salesperson, make your best deal – combining applicable local and national retail incen-tives and special programs

3. Inform the dealer and provide proof that you are a NAHB member, or you are employed by or an immediate family member of a NAHB member to receive an additional NAHB $500 Member cash allowance. Simply use the “Print my Proof of Membership” button above and take that form to the dealership. Eligible 2016 Model Year vehicles:

RAM: 1500, 2500, 3500 reg, crew, quad, mega cab trucks, 4500 and 5500 chassis cab

RAM: ProMaster and ProMaster City Cargo and Passenger Vans

CHRYSLER: 200/200C, 300/300C and Town & Country

DODGE: Charger, Dart, Durango, Journey, Grand Caravan

JEEP: Grand Cherokee, Cherokee, Renegade

FIAT: 500L Ineligible Trim/Models: SRT, American Value, Base model Ram vehicles and Chrysler 200 This offer is available to eligible current National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) members, their owners and em-ployees, and eligible family members residing in the same household. This offer provides a $500 cash allowance towards the commercial purchase or lease of select new 2016 Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and FIAT vehicles that are delivered by 01/02/2017 and is not valid on prior purchases. On The Job (OTJ) incentives vary depending on model of commercial truck chosen and are not available to family members. See dealer for allowance and OTJ incentive details and eligibility requirements. ©2016 FCA US LLC. All Rights Reserved. Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram are registered trademarks of FCA US LLC. FIAT is a registered trademark of FCA Group Marketing S.p.A., used under license by FCA US LLC.

NEW MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT - welcome dodge family

This incentive is in addition to the current GM

rebate offered by the National Association of

Home Builders. For more information about this

new incentive exclusively for members, please

contact our FCA Member dealer, Summit

Automotive at (888) 297-9066 or give our

Association a call.

Are You Prepared for Financial Disasters?

“Be prepared” is the Scout motto, and it’s also pretty good advice for anyone seeking to guard against various disasters – including financial ones.

Here are some events that can have serious financial consequences, along with suggestions on preparing yourself:

• Loss of employment – If you were to lose your job, your family might have to struggle financially to make it until you’re employed again. To protect against this potential threat, try to build an emer-gency fund containing three to six months’ worth of living expenses. That’s a lot of money, of course, so it will be challenging to build such a fund – but try to contribute something each month to a liquid, low-risk account. Without such an emergency fund, you might be forced to cash out your 401(k) or other re-tirement plan to pay for your living expenses during your period of unemployment.

• Loss of health – If you were ill or injured, you might be out of work for weeks or months. Your employer may offer you some type of disability insurance as an employee benefit, but it might not be sufficient. So you may also want to purchase an individual plan to cover as much of your after-tax income as possible. You’ll have the flexibility to create a policy that is tailored to your needs, budget and overall financial goals. However, policies vary widely in cost and ben-efits, so you’ll want to shop around for the coverage that best meets your needs.

• Loss of life – Death may be an uncomfortable topic to discuss. However, if you were to pass away, it would be emotionally devastating to your loved ones – but it could also be financially catastrophic. Would your family still be able to pay the mortgage? Could your surviving spouse afford to send your kids to col-lege? Without life insurance, your death could leave your family without the ability to cover financial obli-gations. The exact amount you require depends on a variety of factors, such as your family’s expenses, size of family, savings needs over time, and so on. Generally speaking, you can choose between two broad categories of insurance: term and permanent. Term insurance, as the name suggests, is designed for a specific number of years and only provides a

death benefit. Permanent insurance is typically more expensive, because, in addition to the death benefit, it offers a savings component. A financial professional can help guide you through your options to determine which one is appropri-ate for your needs.

• Loss of property – If you own a home, you al-ready have homeowners insurance, but it doesn’t hurt to periodically check your policy to make sure it’s kept up with any improvements or additions you’ve made to your house or other property. If you’re under-covered, and had to pay out-of-pocket for some major damage, you might be forced to dip into your long-term in-vestments. And while you’re making sure your property is covered, you might also want to con-sider adding “umbrella” coverage, which can provide extra protection to you in case someone is injured at your home, or even at an event at which you may be in charge, such as a Scout meeting.

With luck, you can avoid all the threats to your financial security and that of your family. But you can’t count on always being lucky – so you need to take “financial disaster preparedness” measures soon.

Daniel G. Sprader, AAMS Financial Advisor

MEMBERS UP FOR RENEWAL

January Action Reporter Media

Jimmy's LLC Pinnow Sheet Metal

February

Benter Builders, Inc. B K Painting

Fondy Heating & AC JnJ Construction Services Menards - Fond du Lac Michele R. Haensgen Mountain Dog Media

March

A and B Custom Homes Ahern Gross Plumbing Better Business Bureau

April

Cutter Vac & Home Center Edward Jones Investments

FDL Service Awning & Siding Great Building Concepts Lee Oestreich (Affiliate)

Stuarts Landscaping W.J. Leasa Electric

May

ARC Contracting Bashaw Builders, Inc.

Binner Pools Holiday Automotive

Kitz & Pfeil True Value Nett Construction

Paul Schaefer Construction R & D Concrete Const

R.A.Pinno Construction Van Buren Home Builders

Wendels Construction

THANK YOU FOR RENEWING!

Stelmacher Architecture

Badger Masonry & Fireplace Supply

Cook’s Construction of Brownsville

Integrity Glass & Paint Combination Door Co.

Smith Builders, Inc. D.B. Reetz, Inc. ABC Supply Co.

Pit Stop Portables Silica Plumbing &

Heating Marine Credit Union

Galaxy Lighting Edward Jones Investments

Action Door LLC Luedtke Lumber

US BANK WJ Leasa Electric Feavel Concrete

Kranig Excavating & Landscaping

Zillges Materials

CANCELLED MEMBERS

The following members have

elected to cancel their member-

ship with the Home Builders As-

sociation. Should you do busi-

ness with them, please encour-

age them to rejoin.

Jimmy’s LLC Five Star Energy

Solid Rock Drywall & Plastering

NEW MEMBERS

The following members have

applied for membership. Should

you have any reason why they

should not be approved, please

notify the Association in writing

within 10 days of delivery of this

publication.

Nautical Construction & Remodeling

Hallman Lindsay Quality Paints

The Leb Agency

490 W. Rolling Meadows Dr.

Suite B

Fond du Lac, WI 54937

920.922.9067 ph

920.922.6668 fax

HomeBuildersFdLDodge.com

Info@HomeBuildersFdLDodge.com

UPCOMING EVENTS March 17-18 - Office Closed, At Fairgrounds for SHE!

March 18-20 - Super Home Extravaganza (SHE)

Wednesday, March 30 - Building Code Updates Luncheon, PizzaVille, 11:45am to 1:00pm

Thursday, March 31 - Book Club Meeting, Association Office, Noon

Tuesday, April 5 - Executive Committee Meeting, Association Office, Noon

Wednesday, April 6 - Membership Committee Meeting, Association Office, Noon

Thursday, April 7 - Human Resources Lunch & Learn, 11:45am to 1:00pm

Tuesday, April 19 - Golf Committee Meeting, Association Office, Noon

Tuesday, April 26 - Social Media Lunch & Learn, Location TBA, 11:45am to 1:00pm

Tuesday, May 3 - Board of Directors Meeting, Roberts Homes, 4:00pm

Friday, July 22 - Annual Golf Outing, Whispering Springs Golf Club

SAVE THE DATES! 2016 SUMMER PARADE OF HOMES

WEEKENDS OF JUNE 3 and 10, 2016 2016 FALL PARADE OF HOMES

Weekends of October 14 & 21 may move up a week depending on Packer schedule