New scholarship fund, officers mark the beginning of 2014 for local HBA

Cleveland Plain Dealer Article

on January 04, 2014

By Judy Stringer

The Home Builders Association (HBA) of Greater Cleveland recently held its Annual

Installation andAwards Banquet at the Terrace Club in downtown Cleveland and is pleased to announce that more than $7,500 was raised for the George J. Goudreau Scholarship Fund – primarily by the efforts of incoming 2014 HBA President Rick Colwell, owner of Little Mountain Homes.  The new scholarship was named after the HBA founder, who established the organization in 1943. Colwell personally set a goal of $5,000 for this very first fundraising, which was exceeded by more than 50 percent. Through an application process, scholarships will be made available to area high school, vocational and college-bound students interested in entering the home building and remodeling industry.Almost 200 people attended the event as Colwell took the oath of office and gave a heartfelt speech about the importance of the HBA. In addition to cultivating HBA’s very first student scholarship fund, Colwell’s focus in 2014 will be building the local organization and strengthening current membership numbers.  “Membership in the HBA of Greater Cleveland adds credibility to every builder and supplier, and only the best in the industry are permitted to be members,” he said.  “As our organization grows, HBA members will be better suited to serve our industry through our ongoing educational programs, exemplary customer service to our clients and our professionally well-built homes.”Colwell has been a member of the local HBA chapter since 1991 and is a Lifetime Local Board of Trustee, having served more than 10 years on the board. In addition to being the 2014 local HBA president, he has held office as secretary, treasurer and vice president. He also has received national recognition for recruiting many members to the organization and recently won the local coveted HBA’s Silver Cup Award for recruiting more than 10 new members this year, according to HBA Executive Director Brenda Callaghan.“Rick has an amazing ability to bring members together and can always be counted on whenever we need to reach a goal for an event or fundraiser,” Callaghan said. The housing industry contributes approximately 15 percent of the Gross Domestic Product of the U.S. economy.  Callaghan said the HBA would like to remind consumers that the assembly of a home can never be outsourced to another country and “our homes will always be made in America.”