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Column Service a News Source for Home Builders Associations

Two columns are produced each month for association staff and executive officers to use in local newspapers, magazines and internal publications. Column service articles cover consumer issues and housing trends and news, as well as a wide variety of additional information of interest to the general public.

Articles are delivered to HBA executive officers and are posted online at www.nahb.org in a Microsoft Word format that is easy to download and customize. State and local home builders associations are encouraged to add local information and then submit the articles to local media under the president’s or executive officer’s byline.

“I supply three newspapers with content on a weekly basis,” said Rachel Daeger, director of communications at the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis. “The column service is a great help. Typically I pay a freelance writer to interview two or three members to localize stories, and I can always use more.”

Previous column service articles covering “evergreen” housing subjects and seasonal topics — ranging from industry trends and home buying basics to the environment, landscaping and natural disasters — are archived on the Web site, where they are organized by category for easy access.

NAHB Public Affairs also produces annual promotional kits to encourage state and local HBAs to take advantage of media opportunities and outreach efforts related to events such as New Homes Month (April) and National Homeownership Month (June). These kits contain several targeted column service articles, along with press releases, op-eds, radio scripts, advertisements, proclamations and tips on leveraging the national celebrations.

“I've been writing our president's columns for seven years,” said Shelly Stengel, vice president of public affairs for the Home Builders Association of Greater St. Louis. “It's great when I can get useful information from NAHB to use because I usually submit about four columns a month.”

For more information on using the NAHB column service to promote the home building industry and specific housing issues in your area, e-mail Stacy Hope, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132.

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