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Dunn Vows to Energize Grassroots Members in 2008
 Sandy Dunn, a second-generation West Virginia home builder who has provided affordable housing to Mountain State residents for more than three decades, was elected as the 2008 president of NAHB on Feb. 15 at the International Builders' Show in Orlando.
Dunn is president of Point Pleasant, W. Va.-based B.J. Builders, Inc., a company founded by her father in 1953 specializing in single-family, entry-level homes.
"Our primary objective in 2008 will be to work with the nation's lawmakers and administration to implement policies that will resolve the credit crunch in housing finance markets and revitalize home building as the engine of economic growth," said Dunn.
"Concurrently, we will strive to ramp up the political involvement of our 235,000 members so that home builders and their affiliates have the strongest possible voice in Washington during this election year and beyond," she said.
Dunn first became an NAHB member in 1975, at the suggestion of a friend and colleague from whom she had purchased a panelized home package. Realizing the networking and educational benefits of her membership, she quickly stepped up her involvement and became an active recruiter of new members and an important force in BUILD-PAC, the association's political arm.
Dunn has held a wide range of leadership positions in home builders associations at the state, local and national levels, and she has chaired numerous NAHB committees, including Consumer Affairs, Public Affairs and Resolutions. She was named "National Representative of the Year" in 1998 and served as an NAHB national vice president in 1988-89 and 2000-01.
Dunn was president of the Home Builders Association of West Virginia in 1991 and 1992 and served as president of the HBA of Greater Charleston in 1987. She was named "Builder of the Year" by her local HBA in 1976, and in 1997 the state association awarded her the Henry E. King Award, the highest honor given to a builder in the state of West Virginia.
Looking forward to a challenging year as the chief spokesperson and primary advocate for the home building industry, Dunn noted that a major focus of her presidency will be energizing the grassroots membership of NAHB. "I want to get more young people involved in our organization," she said. "NAHB needs the wealth of knowledge of its experienced members, but we also need new blood."
"I also want to make our advocacy program even bigger and better than it already is," she said. "Advocacy is the most important thing we do for our members. To give our political team the tools they need to succeed on our behalf, I hope to broaden the base of support for our political action committee and get more of our members involved in BUILD-PAC. My goal is to make our PAC number-one on Capitol Hill and our advocacy program second to none."
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