New Jersey Builders Association
Stephen A. Patron
President 2008-2009

As a member of the New Jersey Builders Association (NJBA), I am both pleased and honored to serve as President for the 2008-2009 term. Below, I will try to set forth who we are as an association, where we need to go, and how we will get there.

NJBA represents the entire building spectrum. As the look of housing changes, so must we. It is imperative that we embrace these changes and be fluid enough to adapt to the evolving needs of our citizens; willing enough to stay at the leading-edge of building trends, practices and materials; and proactive enough to set that course in motion.

Within NJBA, there has been a tremendous amount of activity in a brief period of time. In November of 2007, NJBA welcomed Tim Touhey as our new Executive Vice President. I am thrilled to be serving my Presidency with Tim – a man who is no stranger to New Jersey, and one who genuinely understands the housing crisis that is upon us.

As NJBA and I welcomed Tim on-board, we also rolled out a new strategic plan; this is a plan to reinvent who we are as an association and how we do business in this State. The changes that we have made within our four walls and the new direction we have taken outside our four walls have created a perfect storm of activity with measurable advances in redefining ourselves as an organization and how we are perceived by the public, including those in the State Legislature and Administration.

This approved and published strategic plan for 2007-2010 outlines a number of priorities, challenges and opportunities to make this organization an even stronger and more unified body – one that is better-positioned to serve its membership and provide housing to all residents regardless of their income level – especially the underserved “workforce” of New Jersey. It is this plan that will serve as the road map for my term as President.

This plan – its strategic initiatives and supported goals – is as follows:

1. Influence Public Policy – becoming “relevant” in Trenton
2. Strengthen Membership Awareness and Support – becoming a more unified body, unified voice; and building stronger connections with our local affiliates
3. Increase Membership and Retention Rates – there is strength in numbers; demonstrating the worth of being a member of NJBA; articulating our value proposition  
4. Raise Public Awareness and Support – humanizing our industry; demonstrating our worth and value; personalizing the relevance of our plight
5. Become the Standard for Education, Training and Certification in the Building Industry – making available the tools that exist; seeking to identify or create others.

None of these initiatives is exclusive from the others. It is necessary for us to actively pursue each of these goals in order to reach our overall objectives. This is not a one-year job. It will take our collective strength and energies to advance this aggressive and ambitious agenda. Thankfully, we’ve gotten off to a running start.

But for us to be successful in both the short- and long-term, I firmly believe that institution knowledge is critical. We have a collective pool of talent that is uniquely qualified to help guide us and sustain us through this charge – our Past Presidents. By “reaching back” and re-engaging these amazing individuals, I am confident that their involvement and insight will help to propel NJBA forward as an even stronger and more unified body.

Unification will be critical to our overall success. A strong commitment from all our members – especially our Board members – will be essential, moving forward. Now more than ever (or at least in recent memory), we need to stand as a unified body and speak in a unified voice, so as to advance our cause and reach our common goals – to find balanced and reasonable solutions to our State’s housing needs.

To do this, we will need to be proactive, but adaptive – willing, ready and able to evolve as an industry. Specifically, the following markets have not been adequately serviced by our industry and by us as an organization: urban, multi-family, mixed use, and certain geographic areas within our State. A top priority for us will be to develop a platform within NJBA to serve those developers.

Recognizing the crisis facing our industry and the State of New Jersey, we joined a coalition of professionals and organizations charged with understanding the current problems and advancing balanced solutions. We are active members of this coalition and we look forward to continuing our involvement as the coalition roles out an economic stimulus package of legislation that is designed to get this State back to work. The first of those items, the permit extension act of 2008, passed both the Senate and Assembly with incredible support from both the majority and minority parties.

The strategic alliances we have formed, and are continuing to form, will positively-influence our momentum. With our various coalition partners, we will advance as an industry – continually building upward.

From 2008 into 2009, in my term as NJBA’s President, I look forward to working with you, with our leadership – both past and present, with our membership, with our elected and appointed officials, with our staff, with our partners and allies, to be of service to this great organization. I endeavor to represent us all in the best possible manner, to advance our cause, and to continue to improve upon all that has been accomplished and established to date.

Thank you in advance for your support.