West End HBA wins local Homebuilders’ Association of the Year Award

The West End Home Builders’ Association (WEHBA) recently received the Home Builders’ Association of the Year Award at the Canadian Home Builders’ Association’s (CHBA) Association Leadership Awards. The award recognizes overall excellence from across the entire country by a builders’ association for 2022, for delivering a strong voice for the industry and for supporting the business success of members and their ability to provide quality and choice in housing for consumers.

The WEHBA members, board of directors and staff are honoured to receive this significant national industry recognition, which is an acknowledgement of all the hard work, ground-breaking changes and strategic initiatives put in place in 2022.

Prestigious national recognition

As WEHBA President Terri Johns says, “We are honoured to receive this prestigious national recognition and are grateful for the support and dedication of the WEHBA staff, members and partners. We will continue our longstanding role as an advocate for the industry with various levels of government and we look forward to maintaining active engagement locally, provincially and federally.”

Over the past year, we finalized and approved a new Strategic Plan and took bold steps through advocacy efforts resulting in major public policy changes towards addressing the housing crisis. In 2022, WEHBA also raised the bar on the quality of member services, strengthened its communication efforts and pivoted its marketing strategies, to raise awareness about the residential construction industry at large.

The association also significantly increased its community presence and involvement, through numerous events and initiatives that support the local community, and through partnerships with organizations and institutions that share similar vision and values.

The West End HBA supported the YWCA in Hamilton with a significant donation that helped support the build fund of the Putman Family YWCA, Hamilton’s first affordable permanent housing residence for single and mother-led families.

Support aspiring professionals

In October 2022, the association also partnered with Mohawk College and the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) for an educational showcase that offered 100 young women and gender diverse individuals in Grades 7 and 8 the opportunity to learn about the rewarding career possibilities in the residential construction, skilled trades and STEM industries. In partnership with Mohawk College, we also actively support aspiring professionals through award sponsorships and with a bursary program with the Mohawk College Building Construction and Renovator programs.

In 2022, WEHBA engaged the community, to better understand the concerns and aspirations of the local residents. The summer before the provincial elections, we partnered with the Hamilton-Halton Construction Association and the Realtors’ Association in Hamilton and Burlington to create a non-partisan alliance called “HamiltoNEXT,” that engaged Hamilton residents at community events and neighbourhood activations, asking Hamiltonians what their vision of their city is, and what their expectations are from the new council and mayor.

The Home Builders’ Association of the Year Award is a great honour and testament of the work we do at WEHBA.