Award Winners Announced & 2023 Senior Officers Installed
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Association of Builders (TAB) swore in its 2023 president, Donnie Evans, inducted Jerry Carter into the Texas Housing Hall of Honor and handed out five “Of the Year” awards at the prestigious 2022 Excellence in Leadership Dinner on Nov. 17 at The LINE Hotel in downtown Austin, Texas. The 2023 Board of Directors and TAB’s Senior Officers were installed at the Board of Directors meeting the following day.
The office of President of the Texas Association of Builders is one that carries the highest honor, as well as the greatest responsibility. The president’s duties require commitment, energy, enthusiasm, and a willingness to expand ones leadership abilities. The senior officers are the core leaders of TAB, and they are charged with upholding the bylaws and policies of the association.
The Board of Directors are responsible for the member programs, representations, and education of the association. The role of the directors is to develop relationships for the betterment of the homebuilding industry, be an active participant and to set the pace for the rest of the membership.
The “Of the Year” awards are given annually to recognize exemplary service and leadership contributions to the homebuilding industry by its members.
2023 TAB SENIOR OFFICERS
PRESIDENT: Donnie Evans, Altura Homes— Rockwall, Texas
Donnie Evans begins his journey as the Texas Association of Builders President, while chairing TAB's HOMEPAC Board of Trustees. He also chaired TAB's Bylaws Committee in 2019 and was co-chair of the 2018 and 2019 Sunbelt Builders Show™ Committee. The Vietnam Veteran has spent most of his adult career in the homebuilding industry. Evans is currently President of DFW area builder Altura Homes. TAB named Evans Builder of the Year in 2019, and he earned Presidential Distinguished Service Award accolades in 2017 and 2018. These awards are given to members who go above and beyond the call of service for the local and state associations. Evans is a Life Director for the Dallas Builders Association (DBA) and has served on the Dallas BA Executive Board for the past seven years. In 2016, he led his local association as president and served two terms as Membership Committee Chair and four terms as HOMEPAC Committee Chair. He spearheaded the creation of DBA's Volume Builders Council in 2014. As an active and influential member of the Dallas BA, Evans was recognized with the Hugh Prather Award in 2017, the highest honor bestowed by the association. In addition, he is a five-time winner of the Shorty Howard Award, which highlights the top membership recruiter (2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020) for the Dallas BA.
FIRST VICE PRESIDENT: Don Allen, Lackland Holdings— Fort Worth, Texas
Don Allen has been working in the single family development and homebuilding industry for over 40 years. He worked for 20 years as a consulting engineer, focusing on land development projects for large master planned as well as volume-oriented communities. He was also named the 1991 Young Engineer of the Year by the Fort Worth Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers. Don first became involved in the Greater Fort Worth Builders Association (GFWBA) when new City of Fort Worth policies became an issue for homebuilders. He helped create and served on a committee to work with the city staff and council, reaching an agreement to amend the city policies to both side’s satisfaction. Since that time, he has remained involved with the GFWBA, focusing much of his efforts on political and government affairs issues. In 2017-18 he served as president of the GFWBA and remains a member of the Board of Directors. In 2019 he was named the local Developer of the Year by GFWBA. In 2015 Don was appointed a state director of the Texas Association of Builders. He quickly became involved in the Government Relations Committee and HOMEPAC. In 2020 and 2021 he served as chair of the Government Relations Committee and has testified on TAB’s behalf before state legislative committees.
VICE PRESIDENT/SECRETARY: Brett Martin, Tilson Custom Home Builders — Houston, Texas
Brett Martin has been involved with the building industry for the last 23 years. The first 11 years were spent providing construction financing to builders and permanent financing to homeowners. The last nine years he has served as Vice President of Real Estate Operations for Tilson Homes. Brett has served on the Audit and Finance Committees for the Texas Association of Builders (TAB) the past seven years. He has served as TAB’s Audit Committee Chairman and on TAB’s Executive Committee the past four years. Born in Pecos and raised in Lubbock and Houston, Brett graduated from Abilene Christian University with a BBA in Accounting and became a CPA. Brett started his accounting career as an auditor with Arthur Young & Co., specializing in finance, real estate, and construction.
TREASURER: Justin MacDonald, MacDonald Companies Inc – Kerrville, Texas
Justin MacDonald is the President and CEO of MacDonald Companies, a multifamily development and construction firm with projects throughout Texas. Justin holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Texas at San Antonio and has been involved in the development, construction, and management of multifamily communities since the late 1990s. He started out sweeping construction sites and doing carpentry work in high school and discovered a passion for creating housing that he has pursued ever since. In addition to an MBA, Justin holds a BA in Journalism from Angelo State University and a certificate in Managerial Leadership from the University of Texas at Austin. Justin is a past president of the Texas Association of Builders and the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers. He also served as a Kerrville City Council member from 2012-2014, as well as on several other volunteer boards and committees in the Kerrville community.
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT: Gene Lantrip, Lantrip’s Custom Homes, Inc. – Abilene, Texas
Gene Lantrip continues to be an active member of the Big Country Home Builders Association, Texas Association of Builders, and the National Association of Home Builders. He founded Lantrip's Custom Homes, Inc. in Abilene, Texas in 1995. As president and CEO, he has built over 900 single family detached homes and duplexes and developed seven different sites from 10-acre tracts to city lots. His commitment to the profession is demonstrated by his willingness to volunteer his time to the homebuilding industry. Since 2010, Lantrip upped his engagement at the state level and has been involved with the Board of Directors (2010-present), Government Relations Committee (2012-present), and Executive Committee (2014-present). He was elected Area Vice President for Area II (2014-2017) and served as Area Vice President chair (2016-2017). He has also chaired the Membership Committee (2020) and HOMEPAC Board of Trustees (2018-2019). He has won a TAB Presidential Distinguished Service award in 2015 and the Developer of the Year Award in 2018. He became a TAB Life Director in 2017 after seven years of service as a TAB director.
2022 “OF THE YEAR” AWARD RECIPIENTS
J.B. Sandlin Builder of the Year: Heather Laminack
Developer of the Year: Jason Carothers
Associate of the Year: Great American Insurance Company
Philanthropist of the Year: McCoy’s Building Supply
Ted Schlossman Lifetime Achievement Award: Tommie Harendt
Association Accomplishment of the Year: Dallas Builders Association
J.B. SANDLIN BUILDER OF THE YEAR
Heather Laminack’s dedication and service has been a driving force behind the establishment of the Texas Association of Builder’s Professional Women in Building Council, a council that continually draws some of the largest participation at TAB’s board meetings and regularly features female leaders and mentors in the residential construction industry as speakers. The council has established a relationship with the Texas Builders Foundation to offer scholarships to women entering the residential construction industry. Along with that mission, the PWB has raised over $13,000 in 2022 to fund this initative.
TED SCHLOSSMAN LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
For over 35 years, Tommie Harendt has served on the board of directors and TAB committees. Tommie also holds the distinction of being an NAHB Life Spike Member for recruitment. For years, Tommie has been an ardent supporter of HOMEPAC with both his monetary contributions, silent auction donations, and hosting fundraisers. Within the Big Country HBA, he is a pillar, having served as president four times and received Builder of the Year on four occasions. In his community, Tommie Harendt has given decades of volunteer service to represent the residential construction industry on the City of Abilene’s Code Review Committee, Flood Control Committee, Board of Building Standards, and Home Owners Warranty Council.
PHILANTHROPIST OF THE YEAR
McCoy’s Building Supply currently operates in three states including Texas, where they are investing in over 85 communities with their philosophy being, “Through donations of building materials and time, communities can be strengthened, and a strong community is a worthwhile investment for all of us.” They support military communities, veterans’ organizations, college students, youth organizations and families in need of affordable housing. As Texas’ population has increased, the cost of housing has grown substantially and affordable places to build homes have decreased. McCoy’s Building Supply has recognized this need and most recently donated $1 million dollars to Habitat for Humanity to purchase land in five Texas counties to build new homes for disadvantaged families.
DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR
2022 was a critical election year across Texas with record-breaking campaign spending and all statewide offices up for election. Jason Carothers embraced his role as chief fundraiser and worked tirelessly with staff to produce fund raising events and increase HOMEPAC’s key level donation base. Alone, the HOMEPAC FUNdango raised more than $20,000 in sponsorship than previous events. These funds allow the association to support pro-housing candidates and incumbents for statewide office and the Texas Legislature.
ASSOCIATE OF THE YEAR
For decades, Great American Insurance Company has offered the builders in Texas an essential service while providing our state and local association a constant revenue stream. While their program and business relationship with the Texas Association of Builders has evolved in recent years, their commitment and support has been unwavering. The non-dues revenue from their program has grown double digits this year. They are a long-time Sunbelt Builder Show™ participant and one of our Show’s largest sponsors.
ASSOCIATION ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE YEAR
The Dallas Builders Association (DBA) was faced with a test of perseverance and fortitude when slow insurance funding, supply chain delays, and enormous mitigation work delayed the rebuilding process of their office. The DBA took this opportunity to modernize and update their facilities to 21st century standards, creating a quarter of a million-dollar fundraising campaign to fund the updates. Video programing was a key component to the effort to engage and educate the members as well as raise funds. The members of the association donated over $180,000 and $60,000 in goods and services to the office modernization portion of the reconstruction. This fundraising endeavor has already received awards and accolades from NAHB. During this time, this association also grew their membership while being displaced in a remote working environment.