Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans (HBAGNO) Brings Home Two National Awards, Advances Three Significant Housing Resolutions

Published 3:25 am Saturday, February 18, 2023

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NEW ORLEANS  — The HBAGNO recently returned from the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) Winter Board Meeting in Las Vegas with two national awards, while advancing three significant housing resolutions to help address various national housing issues. The winter board meeting is part of the annual NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS), which brings together tens of thousands of residential construction professionals to support and shape the housing agenda and enrich communities across the United States.

 

The HBAGNO’s Professional Women in Building (PWB) Chapter of nearly 40 members won the “2022 Professional Women in Building of the Year” award. The 2022 PWB was chaired by Rebecca Livaudais of Live-a-Day Marketing & Graphic Design. The award was accepted by current Chair Melissa Simeon of Fontenelle & Goodreau Insurance. The PWB promotes women in the housing workforce from designers and architects to laborers and superintendents. They also raise funds to provide scholarship support to women pursuing these fields of study.

 

Board Member Helmut Mundt of Hartwig Moss Insurance won “2022 NAHB Associate of the Year.” Helmut is a member of 26 different local HBA chapters across the country and provides a unique, members only insurance program covering Builders Risk, lowering the cost of construction, and promoting affordable housing. Helmut also chairs the Sales and Marketing Council for the HBAGNO and serves as a board member for the New Orleans Home and Garden Show.

 

In addition to these awards, Randy Noel, a life director of the HBAGNO, a past president of the local and state HBA, and a past NAHB Chair, advanced three significant resolutions at the National Leadership Council. These resolutions address various issues including:

 

  • Explosive refrigerant recently mandated by the EPA in air conditioning systems.
  • The need for a national catastrophic insurance program.
  • The need for clarified definitions for contracted laborers from the Department of Labor.

 

“We are extremely proud of the work our board, councils, and members do on behalf of our area’s residential housing industry,” said Dan Mills, CEO of the HBAGNO. “Their commitment to providing better, safer, and more affordable housing is to be commended and we are glad their work is being recognized on a national level.”

 

ABOUT THE HBAGNO:
Founded in 1941, the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans (HBAGNO) provides members with continuing education, events for networking opportunities and advocacy to protect the home building industry. The HBA is a non-profit professional organization serving nearly 1,000 builders and associate members encompassing seven parishes throughout Louisiana, including Jefferson, St. Bernard, St. John the Baptist, St. James, St. Charles, Plaquemines, and Orleans. The Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans is currently celebrating 80 years as the voice of the residential housing industry across the metro area.