At the annual kickoff meeting for The Contractor Yard, headquartered in Charlotte, Region II was awarded Region of the Year for 2005. The Region II territory includes North Carolina and South Carolina along with Hattiesburg, Mississippi. President and Chief Operating Offi cer Buddy Ables (right) presents the award to Region II Vice President Rick Miller (left). Joining them is Steve Caudill, the company’s Wilmington generalmanager, who accepts the Yard of the Year Award for Region II.
The North Carolina Home Builders Association is pleased to announce that it set a new membership record with well over16,000 memberships. Membership figures for March showed NCHBA with 16,199 memberships, which is an increase in 799 memberships since December 31, 2005.
The increase in membership is primarily due to an effort led by Tim Minton, Executive Officer of the Raleigh/Wake County HBA, who has recruited 396 members since January 1, 2006, a record increase of 24.3%. Raleigh/Wake County HBA is likewise celebrating an achievement of passing the 2,000 member mark. As of March 31, 2006 Raleigh/Wake County HBA had a membership of 2,024.
“Recruiting and retaining membership is my top priority, because membership is the life blood of this association” states Dave Stormont, NCHBA President from Kitty Hawk, NC. “I am grateful to the Raleigh/Wake County HBA for taking the initiative to make membership its top priority also. Other local HBAs can learn from the model that Tim has created and I hope they will contact him quickly to learn how they can enjoy this benefit. We are excited to see these new membership numbers.”
When HGTV started scouting locations for its 10th annual Dream Home, one particular site stood out: Grey Rock at Lake Lure, a 4,000-acre community nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
“HGTV once again searched the U.S. for another dream-worthy location and we believe we’ve found it in the mountains of western North Carolina,” said HGTV President Burton Jablin. Previous Dream Homes have been in such locales as Lake Tyler, Texas; Mexico Beach, Fla.; Beaufort, S.C.; and Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Once the home’s location was determined, the Grey Rock developer, Land Resource Cos., approached MWB Construction and Development Corp. of Black Mountain about building it. With a well-established reputation for constructing a diverse range of high-end custom homes, MWB seemed the perfect candidate for the job. And company president Mark Barker was willing to accept a stipulation that might have been a deal-breaker for other builders: He would pay a $1,000 per day penalty if the home wasn’t fi nished on time.
MWB started on the home in late February 2005 and fi nished it, on schedule, Sept. 1. That’s a little over six months to build a house that would typically take 15 months or more, said Barker.
“There was so much synergy working on a project with HGTV,” he said, explaining that film crews came out frequently to film the home’s progress. Because of the strict deadline – and the fact that almost every stage of construction was being recorded on film! – “there was no problem getting people to work when you needed them,” Barker laughed. “When you said you had to have (something) that day, you had it.”
For Barker, the biggest challenge of building the Dream Home, which was the first house under construction in Grey Rock, was getting materials to the site and working off a generator. Once his company fi nished construction, interior designers moved in to apply the finishing touches.
The 5,450-square-foot dream home, which was designed by Platt Architecture, PA in Brevard, sits atop a mountain ridge and is designed to capture the view from all directions. Incorporating natural local materials, such as bark shakes and hand-hewn logs, the home reflects the colors, materials and shapes of the Southern Appalachians, according to the architect.
The house is split by a large covered porch and terrace for outdoor living and dining. The main level contains living, dining, kitchen and master suite areas, while the lower fl oor is centered around entertaining and recreation, with a family room, wine room, exercise studio and outdoor spa. A guest suite is located on the upper fl oor.
Since Jan. 2, the home has been open for touring. The last tour day is April 7, and all tours originate in downtown Lake Lure. (There is no tour access to Grey Rock unless visitors are on a shuttle van.) The tour admission is $20, with proceeds to benefit Hospice of Rutherford County, Boys & Girls Clubs of Transylvania Counties and Lion’s Club of Lake Lure.
Thousands of people entered the HGTV Dream Home Giveaway between Jan. 1 and Feb. 17. The grand prize home winner, as well as winners of the other prize giveaways, will be announced Saturday, April 29, during a live televised HGTV presentation from Lake Lure.
Craig Morrison, President of Cimarron Homes, an award-winning home building company based in Durham, has recently been named Builder of the Year by the Home Builders Association (HBA) of Durham, Orange, & Chatham Counties. This coveted award is presented annually to a builder member of the association who has demonstrated dedication to the home building industry through leadership and participation in industry-related events.
According to HBA Executive Officer Nick Tennyson, Builder of the Year is not awarded to the builder who builds the most, the biggest, or the most expensive houses. “The award is bestowed each year on the person or persons who provided the most significant service to the association,” says Nick. “While the service in that particular year is necessary to be recognized, it is not sufficient in itself. The award is also reserved for builder members who have provided SUSTAINED service over a number of years.”
Craig Morrison has done just that. Over the past 20-plus years, Craig has participated on and chaired numerous HBA committees. He has served as HBA Board Member, Executive Committee Member, and President. His company has supported countless community service projects, and has hosted seminars on many occasions to students in Durham Public Schools. And in 2005, Craig took the leadership position to build seven homes in seven days for the Durham Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. As a Board Member of both the HBA and Habitat for Humanity, Craig recruited builders to participate in the project, while also spearheading requests for donations of cash, materials, and in-kind services. Eight building companies stepped up to the plate: Anderson Homes, Joe F. Berini Construction Company, Cimarron Homes, Claris Incorporated, J.D. Mahoney Construction, J.D. Morris Construction & Real Estate, Sun River Builders, and Westfield Homes. This phenomenal project raised a record-breaking total of $380,000 for Habitat, based on the contributions of each builder, vendor, and sub-contractor involved. As a result of such a large contribution, Habitat of Durham spent on average only $20,000 of their own funds to build each of the seven homes.
“The Home Builders Blitz, as we called it,” says Craig, “allowed homeownership to citizens of Durham who might not otherwise have had the opportunity to own a home. I was proud to be a part of the project, and I’m proud to be a part of an industry that has business owners so willing to give of their resources for such a worthy cause.”
A Durham native, Craig founded Cimarron Homes in 1982. Over the past 24 years, the company has built a solid reputation based on integrity, honesty and dependability. Cimarron Homes is currently building in the neighborhoods of Glennstone, Laurel Village, Panther Creek, Stagville at Treyburn, and The Village at Horton Hills in Durham, and at Ashbury and The Villages of Copper Stone in Mebane. Homes range in price from the $120s to the $300s.
Cimarron Homes has been the recipient of numerous industry awards in recognition of homebuilding excellence since the company’s inception. Cimarron employees have also been recognized for their contributions to the industry. Danny Winters, Estimator/Purchasing Agent for Cimarron was recognized by the HBA at the January meeting with a Presidential Service Award. In January of 2005, Carol Cheek, Cimarron Vice-President, was recognized with this same award. Apryl Watkins, Marketing Director for Cimarron, has been recognized with the Presidential Service Award a record three times. Craig has obviously surrounded himself with good people, who take serious their commitment to excellent service.
To learn more about Cimarron Homes, call (919) 382-2888 or visit www.cimarronhomes.com.
Name: Bill Johnson