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CNN Shows the Value of NAHB Remodelers — a Benefit to Us All
 Last week, CNN aired a program about aging in place that featured two of our own ― NAHB Remodelors™ Council members Jeff Glass and Alan Hanbury. But the show did more than showcase these two members, it highlighted the council’s expertise in aging in place and clearly demonstrated what NAHB and its members do for our customers.
Sometimes it is difficult for us to communicate the value of being an NAHB Remodelors™ Council member — the skills, knowledge and professionalism that entails ― to our customers. The CNN program made it easy for thousands and thousands to see.
The council administers the Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) designation — one of many education programs offered through The NAHB University of Housing ― that was featured on the CNN show.
Through a tour of a home remodeled by one of our council members, the episode really showed how the education and training that are the pillars of our CAPS program can really change customers’ lives for the better.
Not only did Hanbury give viewers insight into the types of changes that can be done to make people more comfortable at home in their retirement years, the CNN reporter even told the viewers how to find CAPS remodelers in their areas through the NAHB Web site — www.nahb.org.
That’s not only good for particular remodelers contacted after the show by interested customers, that’s good for all of us. When visitors come to learn about aging-in-place, they are exposed to all the other expertise we have to offer on all issues of housing. And this type of thing happens because thousands of consumers regularly visit the NAHB Web site to learn about what we have to offer, and remodeling is high on their interest list
Each month, the NAHB Web site is visited by an estimated 200,000 consumers or general public visitors. In fact, the consumer section of the NAHB Web site — which contains remodeling information for the general public — is the most visited section of the Web site.
A recent NAHB online survey revealed that one of the top consumer requests about our industry was for information about the building and remodeling process. In response to such demand, the Remodelors™ Council has streamlined consumer information about remodeling. Plus, we have created a Directory of Professional Remodelers — a cost-effective national marketing exposure tool.
The directory is the latest advantage NAHB provides its Remodelors™ Council members — and one that’s already garnered national exposure.
There are other benefits, of course — connections to suppliers, legislative advocacy, peer support and networking — all of which make me a better businessman and, not incidentally, provide me with a more interesting life. Even if CNN doesn’t necessarily broadcast it.
To read about the CNN broadcast about aging in place elsewhere in this issue, click here.
Finley Perry is owner and president of F. H. Perry Builder, Inc., a Hopkinton, Mass. company he founded in 1975. The firm provides a broad range of design, construction, remodeling, management and maintenance services to residential clients throughout the Greater Boston area.
Perry is a member of the board of directors of NAHB, past president of the Builders Association of Greater Boston (BAGB), the current president of the Home Builders Association of Massachusetts and is the NAHB state representative for Massachusetts.
Finley is a former chair of the BAGB Remodelors™ Council, has been honored as Remodeler of the Year at the local and state level, received the Big 50 recognition from Remodeling Magazine in 1998, and his company was named one of the "Best 101 Companies to Work For" by Professional Builder magazine in 2002 and 2003. This year he was honored as Builder of the Year by the Builders Association of Greater Boston.
For more information, visit his Web site at www.fhperry.com, e-mail Perry, or call him at 508-435-3062.
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