Anyone contemplating whether they should attend the National Green Building Conference & Expo in Salt Lake City should consider the experience of Heather Ferrier, a fourth-generation builder from Fort Worth, Texas.

The conference will take place May 1-3 at the Salt Palace. Registration information is available on the NAHB website. The theme of this year’s conference is “making the value connection.”

This will be Ferrier’s fifth Green Building Conference.

“I am a firm believer that we can get so much farther collectively than we can individually, and this conference facilitates just that,” Ferrier said.

“Whether it’s the educational sessions, networking opportunities, the tour of homes or Green Building Awards, we all have more to learn and room to be inspired by what others are doing,” she said.

Ferrier is general manager of the Ferrier Companies, which does custom home building, remodeling and commercial construction.

“Personally, I love the tour of homes,” Ferrier said. “I make it a point to attend at every conference. There’s just something about seeing first-hand how builders and remodelers are applying green building principles in such a variety of different formats.”

The Green Building and Technology Tour will take place on May 1, the first day of the conference.

Ferrier notes that the Green Building Conference is even more important during tough economic times because of the opportunity to learn how to build green in a cost-effective way and how to use green building as a marketing advantage.

The conference provides a great opportunity to get back to the drawing board and learn what is — and is not — working for builders across the nation, she said.

“Green building isn’t static — it’s an evolving movement that’s constantly improving upon itself,” Ferrier said.

“At each bend in the road we’re learning new ways to do what we’ve been doing more efficiently and effectively. This definitely rings true at the Green Building Conference, where we see ways to improve our construction methods, marketing strategies, customer relations and profitability,” she said.

“When we’ve ventured into new markets, we’ve been able to attend the conference and pick the brains of veterans who have willingly shared their experiences and helped guide us along our path.”

The Green Building Conference features a wide range of education sessions on everything from the technical aspects of green building and energy efficiency to marketing green building and helping customers understand the value of green.

The networking opportunities at the Green Building Conference are part of what makes attendance so important.

“The networking opportunities provide a great forum to talk with fellow builders from across the nation with like vision and passion for green building,” Ferrier said.

“Builders, remodelers, developers and others from around the country get together to share the lessons we’ve learned, recount and compare experiences, and to find and express that common desire and willingness to improve ourselves and our companies.”