AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Association of Builders presented seven “Of the Year” awards at the prestigious 2024 Excellence in Leadership Dinner on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at the Hyatt Lost Pines in Bastrop, Texas. The “Of the Year” awards are given annually to recognize exemplary service and leadership contributions to the homebuilding industry by its members. Presidential Distinguished Service Awards were also announced at the Board of Directors meeting the following day to recognize TAB members who have demonstrated exceptional service and gone above and beyond the typical responsibilities of membership.
2024 “OF THE YEAR” AWARD RECIPIENTS:
EXCELLENCE UNDER 45: Mindy Hamilton
Mindy Hamilton with the Hamilton Group is a community leader in design-build homes and has recently entered the commercial building arena in order to provide beautiful homes and offices for her clients. She is a graduate of East Texas Baptist University and earned an MBA from Texas A&M University in Texarkana. She holds memberships with American Society of Interior Designers and American Custom Builders Council. She sits on the Drafting Design Technology Advisory Committee for Kilgore College. As a multi-generational builder, she’s been active in the East Texas Builders Association since childhood. Mindy has served on the membership committee, nominating committee, home show committee, parade of homes committee, and the sporting clays tournament committee. At TAB, she serves on many committees and councils including: GRC, HOMEPAC, Sunbelt Builders Show, PWB, and Developers. This year at the Big Time in Cowtown event she served as the sheriff and helped raise thousands of dollars for the Texas Builders Foundation and HOMEPAC.
ASSOCIATION ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE YEAR: Texas Panhandle Builders Association
The Texas Panhandle Builders Association set out to comprehensively retool their approach to membership, which is the heart of any association. Their effort was 3-fold: 1. Establish an ambassador program – NAIL: Network and Involvement Leadership group - that actively engaged new and existing members. 2. Expand their new member onboarding package to include detailed information on the entire HBA federation and how one could maximize their membership. This package was distributed both in hard copy and digitally. 3. Utilize the association’s software to deliver a drip email funnel that delivers useful and relevant content to the new members during the first six months of their membership. This methodology proved to be successful. Not only did the association’s membership grow, but their retention rate soared over 13 percentage points to 73.5%, making it one of the highest in the state.
ASSOCIATE OF THE YEAR: D’Ann Brown
D’Ann Brown, VP of Sales South Texas, StrucSure Home Warranty and member of the Greater Houston Builders Association, understands the power and depth of the entire home builders association federation. She is a powerhouse within her local association providing leadership, organizational prowess and loyal commitment. She exemplifies the spirit of teamwork, always willing to lend her expertise, time and resources to further the goals of the association, whether they be in fundraising, committee service or event planning. D’Ann displays this same allegiance to TAB and NAHB. She is a life director, committee chair and has served on the Executive Committee for years. This year, she led the TAB Associates Committee to be more engaged with the Sunbelt Builders Show and be better brand ambassadors for the association. She even released an excellent video on social media explaining the benefits of the three-tiered federation membership.
DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR: Lisa Clark
Lisa Clark, President & CEO, W Land Development, is not only a super star within her local HBA and TAB, but to the industry as a whole. For almost 40 years, she has left an indelible mark on the development landscape of the Greater Houston area and served as a mentor for females working in construction. She is a trailblazer and a woman of firsts: first female president of two Local HBAs, first Developer of the Year at two Local HBAs, and first Chair of the TAB Developers Council. Professionally, she has created award winning projects that have been recognized in the industry and serves as a public servant to her community. Over the years, she’s held numerous leadership positions and chairs at the Greater Houston BA and TAB. In 2024, she was selected to serve as Chair of the City of Houston Planning Commission by Mayor John Whitmire. She has served on that commission for over 10 years. Her talent, vision, and leadership have shaped the future of home building, and she continues to be a beacon of inspiration.
PHILANTHROPIST OF THE YEAR: Don Klein
Don Klein, president of Chesmar Homes, enriches many communities in our state through generous outreach that goes beyond financial contributions. He believes in and delivers hands-on participation in all his philanthropic projects. For a record breaking eighth time, the company that he founded has participated in the Greater Houston Builders Association’s Benefit Home’s program. Both HomeAid Houston and Operation Finally Home each received a $140,000 donation. Both charities uplift their communities by providing and improving homes and shelters for our veterans and homeless population. Other proceeds from this program directly support work force development efforts. Recognizing the transformative power of stable, secure housing, Don has long participated in efforts to provide shelter for the underprivileged. This year, through Habitat for Humanity, he contributed to a groundbreaking in a first-of-its-kind, 127-acre master planned community, which sets a new standard for affordable housing. His impact extends to education as well. He has been instrumental in increasing support to record levels for the GHBA’s foundation and their scholarship program. This has allowed more students than ever to access the training and education necessary to pursue and succeed with their careers in the residential construction industry.
J.B. SANDLIN BUILDER OF THE YEAR: Tim Jackson
After obtaining a finance degree at Texas Tech, Tim Jackson began his career with a production home builder and by 1996, founded his own custom building company, Tim Jackson Custom Homes in Allen, TX. As a business owner, he immediately became involved with the Dallas Builders Association and the Texas Association of Builders. With the Dallas association, he chaired numerous committees and events including two Habitat for Humanity projects. He earned two Custom Builder of the Year awards, served as president in 2009, and received DBA’s highest honor, the Hugh Prather Award. At TAB, he chaired committees, raised money, and led our association as president in 2016. After his service and presidency at TAB, Tim continued to serve as a trustee for the Texas Builders Foundation and in 2021, he was elected chair of the foundation. He works tirelessly to fulfill the foundation's dual mission of providing scholarships to students in construction trades and assisting communities in disaster recovery. Tim played a pivotal role in establishing the 1st Annual TBF Open golf tournament, now known as the Chip Dence Memorial Golf Tournament. Because of his efforts, hundreds of students have received assistance, and new curriculums are being formed across the state expanding opportunities for students interested in the construction industry. In the current this year alone, the Texas Builders Foundation has distributed tens of thousands of dollars to the North Carolina and Florida hurricane disaster relief programs. Tim embodies the Texas Builders Foundation motto of “Open Doors to Fulfilling the American Dream.”
TED SCHLOSSMAN LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Victor Drozd
Victor Drozd, President & CEO 2D Homes, began building homes with his grandfather over fifty years ago and since 1973, he has been a dedicated member of NAHB, TAB, and his local home builders association. Over the years, Victor has served as a TAB Area Vice President and on numerous committees, including contracts, GRC, HOMEPAC, and Bylaws. However, his service on the codes and standards committee has been particularly invaluable. NAHB and TAB have consistently relied upon his expertise and experience in their regulatory and legislative efforts. He currently represents the residential construction industry on the International Code Council. Victor’s work to develop safe and affordable building codes, along with his participation and influence in the building code development and adoption process, will leave a lasting impact on home building for years to come. His community has also benefitted from his expertise in building. He has served on the city of Bryan’s Building Standards Commission and their Board of Adjustment and Appeals. And, for seven years, he sat on the Bryan High School Architectural Design Program Advisory Board. Victor is both a TAB Life Director and an NAHB Life Director and Senior Life Director. His dedication is unparalleled, as he has rarely missed any TAB or NAHB meetings since 1985 – almost 40 years.
2024 PRESIDENTIAL DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD RECIPIENTS:
During this interim the Texas Legislature has conducted many meetings in preparation for the 89th Session. Todd Eidson, Michael Schaefer and Trey Summers made trips to Austin to testify at legislative hearings and meet with legislators, regulators and state agencies to provide their expertise on workforce development, ETJ and windstorm issues.
Mindy Hamilton “The Sherriff” embraced the Big Time in Cowtown party and took a leadership position to make the new “Jail and Bail” game an unequivocal success and bucket of fun.
Matt Reibenstein worked with the Sunbelt Builders Show™ staff and association leadership to sell out the booths on the trade show floor. He worked over his own list of suppliers as well as those on the exhibitor “wish” list. He advocated among his local HBA to promote engagement and attendance. Even after hurricane Beryl, the Greater Houston BA had a large presence at the Show.
While retired from his paying job, Ron Rohrbacher works daily to develop the construction trades workforce. He sits on the board of the Texas Builders Foundation, Work Texas and Texas State Technical College. This past year he has voraciously raised money to develop and implement a much-needed masonry program at TSTC. His energy and passion to fill the construction trades pipeline is unparalleled.
Cara Tackett, Developers Council Chair, has worked with her council, TAB leadership and staff to understand and address the land development challenges across our state and develop strategies for the upcoming legislative session. These efforts have required numerous meetings, Zoom calls and incredible diligence with the membership.
The Greater Fort Worth Builders Association and the Greater San Antonio Builders Association are two local associations who served as impeccable hosts to both TAB and NAHB. We recognize them and their members for their incredible hospitality and support of the Sunbelt Builders Show and the NAHB Fall Board Meetings.
About the Texas Association of Builders: Founded in 1946, the Texas Association of Builders is an affiliate of the National Association of Home Builders and has 26 local home builders associations across Texas. With a membership of nearly 10,000 representing over 758,000 jobs and more than $71.5 billion annually in the Texas economy, TAB plays a crucial role in providing housing for Texans. For more information about the Texas Association of Builders, visit www.TexasBuilders.org.