Issue link: http://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/1050422
Here Through It All BY ERICH ARMBRUSTER 2018 MBAKS PRESIDENT ASHWORTH HOMES MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Reflections on the eve of our association's 110th anniversary. When our association came to be almost 110 years ago, Teddy Roosevelt was wrapping up his time in the White House, Henry Ford produced the very first automobile, the ball first dropped on Times Square, and the Puget Sound region looked a lot different The growth our region—and the world—has seen in that century-plus is almost incomprehensible MBAKS has been here throughout, surviving and thriving in good times and bad That says something about who we are and what we produce People will always need shelter and we, residential builders and tradespeople, will be there to provide it Of course, things are rarely that simple Regulations, codes, erratic home prices, and so much more converge on our industry and our businesses every day Even so, we manage to get through these challenges to do what we do—and do it well, with passion and pride The fact that our association stands at nearly 3,000 member companies today says everything about what we can do by working together to provide a better future for our region's residents, through the conduit of homebuilding and far beyond It takes time— sometimes a lot of time—to see the results of our hard work on endeavors like our advocacy efforts Other times the impact is immediate, as we witness with events like Rampathon But we are always moving forward, building a better tomorrow, and doing our best for ourselves, one another, and our neighbors I'm proud of this fact I'm proud of you all And I'm proud to have served as your president the past 12 months Thank you for representing the Puget Sound homebuilding industry by going out and doing what you do, and then doing even more for our association and industry at the end of the day I will continue to be at your side, doing my part And I know you will be, too Thank you for representing the Puget Sound residential homebuilding industry by going out and doing what you do every day, and then at the end of the day doing even more for our association and industry. 4 master builder WINTER 2018 in every issue