The Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston (BRAGB) had plenty to celebrate at their annual award dinner held at the Newton Marriot on April 11. With the long-awaited rebound of the housing market finally underway, the mood was decidedly upbeat as over 200 revelers came together to honor the region's top builders and associates.
"The economic indicators from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) show a positive trend for three consecutive months and we're very optimistic," said Gerry-Lynn Darcy, executive officer of the Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston (BRAGB). "This is the most well-attended awards dinner we've had in years. The interest in membership is phenomenal and we're just delighted. It was also an honor to have mayor Joe Curtatone of Somerville here as well as the CEO and president of NAHB Jerry Howard."
The dinner also marked the first event since the re-branding of the former Builders Association of Greater Boston (BAGB) to its new "BRAGB" moniker to reflect the importance of the remodeling segment of the building industry. It was one of many changes the organization has undergone since December, when Darcy assumed the role of executive director. BRAGB has also re-located its office to 240 Bear Hill Rd. in Waltham.
Mayor Curtatone, who has overseen the public (federal, state and local) investment of over $130 million in conjunction with Federal Realty Trust's smart-growth development Assembly Row in Assembly Sq. in Somerville, spoke to the crowd about the importance of building housing to retain the best and brightest coming out of Massachusetts colleges and universities.
"We have a collective responsibility to make sure that we can retain our educated population," he told the crowd.
BRAGB president Felecia Elias followed and remarked, "The future looks bright and our state in particular is ripe with opportunity for homebuilding," before honoring the deep roster of sponsors for the event, including Metropolitan Cabinet & Countertops, Curry College, Douglas A. King Builders, Fairview Millwork, Inc. and S+H Construction.
Elias then passed the baton to Stuart Elfand of Metropolitan, who announced the first of the evening's winners, his own Bryan Dempsey of Metropolitan as Associate of the Year.
Following the inspiring words of motivational "speaker in sneakers" David Behr of Edge Seminars, NAHB honcho Jerry Howard delivered a stirring 10 minute speech on the implications of immigration and tax reform and on the homebuilding industry as well as some hopeful remarks about the loosening of the lending purse strings.
But the night belonged to the honorees, and Ted Mahoney, BRAGB's immediate past president introduced the winners:
Builder of the Year - Douglas King of Douglas A. King Builders, Inc.
Associate of the Year - Bryan Dempsey of Metropolitan Cabinet & Countertops
Remodeler of the Year - Doug Hanna of S+H Construction
Rookie Spike of the Year - Doug Storey, Two Storey Building
Recruitment Spike of the Year - Ted Mahoney, Windjammer Construction
Retention Spike of the Year - Betty Moore, Builder + Architect Magazine
Hall of Fame - Tony Galeota, Galeota Associates, Inc.
Hall of Fame - John Marini, John S. Marini Management
At the close of the evening, BRAGB president Elias summed up both the mood of the evening and the building industry in Massachusetts. "I'm excited. I think we're coming into a new era in Massachusetts homebuilding. People around the country are seeing how well our public-private partnerships are doing, and (the members) are really behind the governor's plan for 80,000 units of housing by 2020."