The Utah Valley Home Builders Associationhas been recognized for its outstanding annual Parade of Homes with an Award of Excellence from the Executive Officers Council (EOC) of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) naming it the best parade of homes in the nation.
For 44 years, the Utah Valley Parade of Homes has become a family tradition for many residents of Utah including visitors from out of state. “Last year, over 25,000 people attended this annual scattered-site event,” explained Amber Hutchings, the event director. “Dozens of homes dot the valley for attendees to take a self-guided tour of each home.”
The Utah Valley Parade continues to grow in attendance each year. This year, over 40 homes, fully decorated and landscaped, will be featured across Utah Valley each ranging from $350,000 to $10 million. The parade begins June 6thand continues until June 22nd.
“It is truly an honor for the hard work and professionalism of the HBA staff to be recognized with this award,” said Shane Harr, current UVHBA president. “I applaud their dedication to representing the home builder members and preserving the American Dream of homeownership for our community.”
“Our goal is to showcase the amazing builders and fine craftsmanship which our association comprises,” explained Steve Caldwell, executive officer of the UVHBA. “This event is the perfect avenue for them to present innovative ideas to the public. With the generous support of our outstanding community, the money generated from the parade goes back into the community in scholarships and donations. With such funds, we have established endowed scholarships to local universities, awarded scholarships to fellow members and their families and provided hours of service and donated time/labor to an annual SubContractor for Santa event which aids in restoring homes to those who don’t have the means to improve their living situations.”
Housing in Utah is in high demand as the state outpaces the nation in housing growth according to the latest study by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. The Beehive State is building homes faster than any other state at about a rate of 2.2 percent for 2017-2018, the study showed.
“With the housing boom in Utah, there is an extraordinary interest in building; that’s another reason for the success of this parade,” Hutchings explained.
The Association Excellence Awards is an annual program designed to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of state and local home builders’ associations and executive officers in the field of association management. EOC membership is comprised of the staff executives who direct more than 650 NAHB-affiliated state and local home builders’ associations representing more than 140,000 home builders in communities across the United States.
"These awards illustrate the innovative programs that HBAs across the NAHB Federation are developing for their members,” said Mike Means, EOC President and EVP of the Oklahoma HBA.
"The stewardship and dedication of the home building industry’s professional staff is reflected in every program, and we're excited to see them put to good use in communities around the country.”
The winning entries will be added to a searchable directory of AEA winning entries, so that other executives and associations across the country can access and learn from them in order to provide better service to their own members and community.
For more information on the UVHBA please visit www.uvhba.org or call 801-225-8893. To learn more about the Association Excellence Awards, go to www.nahb.org/aea.