We are so excited to be moving forward with the 2021 calendar year to bring you some really amazing events. We can’t wait to see you all again!

One very important change to the SSHBA has been a new Executive Officer, Kate Payne!

Kate has worked for the SSHBA since August of 2015 and is eager to get going on her new role with the Association. We would like to wish Shannon Rocha, former E.O., the best in her future endeavors and she will be greatly missed!

Our office in Orland Park is OPEN!! Please stop by and say hello Monday-Thursday from 9am-1pm. As we move further into our normalcy the hours will eventually increase. For now, we are happy to be open and happy to be here for all of our members!

Thank you all, as always, for being part of this amazing association we appreciate YOU!

Thank you all for your continued support of the SSHBA throughout the last year. Your dedication means everything to this association and we are so grateful you’re here!

We have already begun moving back to in-person events and back to regaining a bit more of normalcy for our Association. Our Cinco de Mayo event was a HUGE success. Special thank you to Dick Searls and his staff at Searls Windows & Doors, Inc. for hosting our event. We had a food truck with margaritas, a pinata, churros, and most important, over 60 people in attendance. Be sure to check out the photos on page 6.

On page 7 you will see our Tour of Homes recap which was another HUGE success…we’re sensing a trend here! We had 10 homes between 9 builders in the area and many reported traffic volumes higher than previous years.

Coming up we have our Annual Golf Outing on June 16th. We’re back at Silver Lakes in Orland Park this year. It is a guaranteed fun day for you whether you golf, staff a hole or just come out for dinner. Contact Kate at the office to get registered.

After the Golf Outing, there are a few events in the works but no firm dates yet. That means you should keep an eye on your emails from the office to stay in the know about SSHBA!

Our committees are all active and meeting again. If there is something you have an interest in and would like an opportunity to get involved, a committee is the best place to start. Ask Kate in the office for details.

This has been a great start to our year despite the difficulties we’ve all encountered. Let’s keep up the good work!

Brian Rigsby, with Rigsby Builders Inc., has been working in the home building industry for over thirty years. Working with customers to design and build their home or office, collaborating with contractors to raise the bar in creativity and craftsmanship and exploring the latest products and technology with suppliers continues to inspire and intrigue Brian.

Having the opportunity to serve as the SSHBA President for 2021 will be a wonderful opportunity to create new industry relationships as we continue to adapt to an anticipated post COVID society.

With the end of 2020, we also come to the end of my term as your SSHBA President. Your trust and faith in me to lead this organization is most appreciated. Little did we know, last year at this time, that my 2020 year of Presidency would have looked like this. I’m extremely proud to have led such an outstanding Association. Throughout this unprecedented time, we have stuck together and remained strong when it would have been so easy to crumble.

I want to thank you all for staying the course and remaining part of our Association’s membership. Our Association is only as great as the members who belong to it. When the dust settles, and we begin to resume our regularly scheduled programming, I want to encourage each and every one of you to be active and involved with this organization. If you have never attended an SSHBA event, make it a point to attend one or two…or three …or four! We are stronger together and that is what makes this group so special. I would also like to encourage you to maintain your connections wtih fellow SSHBA members while we wait. Thankfully for those of us in the home building industry business is still booming. What better time than now than to “Build With a Member”! Please be sure to consider a fellow SSHBA member when in need of assistance for a job or project you’re working on.

Normally, at this time, we would be gathering together at our Inaugural Ball for the installation of officers. While this momentous occasion cannot be held this year, I would like to welcome and congratulate our 2021 Board of Directors but most especially I would like to welcome and hand off the proverbial torch to the incoming SSHBA President, Brian Rigsby of Rigsby Builders.

In closing, again I would like to thank you all for this past year. Despite the challenges we have faced, I know that we will be bigger and better when the dust settles. I’m looking forward to seeing your faces in the near future.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! Stay safe and healthy.

Your 2020 President,

Patrick Connelly