Business View Magazine | April/May 2022

29 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 4 TEXAS ASSOC I AT ION OF BUI LDERS Norman. “We have worked extremely hard to get those back into the public and community school spaces, including career and technical colleges. For instance, we won an increase in funding for Texas State Technical College and other community colleges of around $50 million in additional funding for construction trades programs. Although that was a momentous success and one that we’re proud of, skilled labor in the trades is a never-ending issue. Education is just one part of a longer-term solution to the labor problem.” Another area the association is making significant strides in is addressing overregulation. This challenge occurs when county, state, and national homebuilding policies and regulations overlap and, in some instances, duplicate. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant have voted to keep the print one because they like getting a physical magazine.” Besides the print magazine, the association has evolved to embrace modern digital communication channels like email newsletters, websites, social media, and virtual meetings. He adds, “TAB also runs a big annual tradeshow, the Sunbelt Builders Show, held every July. This year’s show will run from 12th to 15th July at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas and offer members educational seminars while getting a chance to network with close to 2,500 event attendees.” While these channels address broader communications, the association also has around 30 committees covering different topics. “We recently formed a Professional Women in Building Council that is booming,” shares Norman, “and some of our local homebuilder associations are forming their own. About 10 years ago, we started a Young Professionals Council (YPC) to give younger people in the association a way to engage before getting on committees at the state level. Many of our local associations have since started their own as well.” Other committees TAB runs include a government relations committee, administrative committees like finance and bylaws that work on procedural matters, a codes and standards committee that works on building codes issues, and an attorney council made up of attorneys that practice construction law, among others. “There’s something for everybody,” says Norman. The TAB’s 75 years of advocacy have come with notable wins at the state and national levels. A recent example is when the association, in collaboration with other labor-intensive industry associations like manufacturing and oil, pushed for state acknowledgment of the importance of career and technical training. “Our public-school systems had abandoned career and technical training, or what used to be called vocational training, 30 years ago,” explains