By Tina DiSalvo Fries

Membership Committee Vice Chair Brant Rosson (right) awards Duke Geraghty the President's Cup
during NCHBA’s 2nd Quarter Board of Directors Meeting. The President's Cup is a challenge from the membership committee to lead by example. The award goes to the member of the executive committee who recruits the most members in a year. Geraghty brought in 16 new members, followed by Region X Vice President Paul Taylor with 14 new members.

Regional vice president builds relationships, membership (and homes!)

If he’s learned anything during his more than 33 years in the remodeling and new home construction business, Joseph “Duke” Geraghty, North Carolina Home Builders Association Region II Vice President, has learned this: Being a successful builder has more to do with building relationships than anything else.

So no wonder he excels at recruiting new home builder members. In fact, in a competition with other Executive Board members, he recently earned the NCHBA’s President's Cup for recruiting the most new members in a year. During 2005, Geraghty recruited 16 new members to the 600-member Outer Banks Home Builders Association. This was his second year in a row to earn the award.

This comes as no surprise to Maxine Rossman, Executive Officer of the OBHBA. “It’s kind of a matter of living what you’re saying,” said Rossman. “He’s always talking about the HBA. It’s such a large part of his life, it’s not like he’s high pressure about it, he’s just living what he believes. And if he’s committed to something, he’s committed to it.”

Geraghty’s commitments include service on the OBHBA legislative affairs committee and education committee, and serving as program chairperson. He is also chairman of the advisory board of the College of the Albemarle.

“Duke is one of the most generous people I’ve ever met,” said Rossman. “He’s the guy you go to. He’s everywhere. Neither of us get much sleep,” she quipped.

Originally from Long Island, N.Y., Geraghty’s family owned a garden center. When he was 12, he went to work sweeping the parking lot, stocking shelves, unloading the annuals and watering the flowers. After high school, he attended college for a short time before opting out to apprentice with a seasoned woodworking craftsman.

“He taught me a lot and then he retired and I got a job as a carpenter,” recalled Geraghty. “A few years later, I became a subcontractor, doing remodeling. Soon, along with my brother, Jim, we started doing kitchen and bathroom remodeling.”

Geraghty admits he’d never heard of the Outer Banks before visiting his brother there in 1991.  “We arrived here on Saturday and bought a house on Sunday. We fell in love with the place…it was a whole new way of life to come here. Long Island was just too crowded.”

Geraghty, along with wife, Linda, makes his home in Manteo, also home to Starco Realty and Construction. He has three grown children, including a son who became an architect after working side by side with him, and three grandchildren. He has been an OBHBA member since 1993, was named Builder of the Year in 1999 and served as president of the OBHBA in 2000.

Geraghty is proud of the work he’s done as legislative chairman of the building codes committee, particularly his role on a task force appointed by the North Carolina General Assembly to investigate coastal building codes. 

“They didn’t have the data to back it up,” he said. “Having to tell a young couple who is building their fist home that they need to spend $10,000 more on windows…it’s hard to justify. That took a long time. We had a lot of support from home builder associations up and down the coast, but finally we got it. Our building codes are so strong, we regulated ourselves.

“I’m a link between the local home builders associations and the state home builders association,” he said of his role as NCHBA VP. In addition to the Outer Banks, Region II includes the HBAs of Greenville/Pitt County, Martin County, Northeastern, Roanoke Chowan, Roanoke Valley, Rocky Mount, Tarboro and Wilson County.

“He’s done such a fabulous job for all of us,” said Dave Stormont, NCHBA president. “I have served with Duke for a decade now at the local and state level and I can think of no finer example of a home builder member. He’s willing to serve, he’s a strong leader, he has a lot of great ideas. I wish we had an entire membership of Duke Geraghtys.”

“I’m still a student,” conceded Geraghty. “I learn something every day. It changes all the time and it’s exciting. Just to become computer literate was a challenge. I had a Web site before I knew how to turn a computer on!”

What advice would Geraghty give to new home builders getting started in the field?

“The first thing you do is join the association, and join a couple of committees,” he said. Start small, join the golf committee and plan a golf tournament, come to Raleigh and find out: How do you fund raise? How do you run a parade of homes? Any time you need something, someone will be there to help you. It’s a great network.”

“It’s pretty simple,” Geraghty continued. “Like I told our Outer Banks rep for Andersen Windows, ‘You need to join because if you come in to promote your product, well, a lot of members operate with the philosophy that we only do business with other members. The bottom line is it’s not about the product ― I can buy a window anywher. Put a face on the product.’”

(Tina DiSalvo Fries is a free-lance writer from Virginia Beach, Va.)