Bulletin Board Magazine 2020, Volume 2

XXXXX President’s Message

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Navigating Together by Christopher Amato - SBACNJ

Christopher Amato President - SBACNJ

A s we started putting this issue of Bulletin Board together I took a moment to reflect on how all of our positive efforts to adjust our business model and manage the Association differently during the pandemic in the second quarter have created value for our members and how those efforts are being pushed forth through the end of the year. Our focus on providing value to our members has always been through networking and advocacy; however, this year has shown how emotional support during times of uncertainty can be a valuable component of Association membership. Sharing best practices, connecting with colleagues through video chat, and sharing advice and experiences with one another during this time has been an unexpected benefit that has become part of the overall Association experience for many of our members. One of the things that has helped me navigate all that the pandemic presented was knowing I could video chat or connect virtually with any of my friends or colleagues from the Association. We are all in the same boat, and there were times when it was me reaching out to someone for support, and other times it was them reaching out to me. Either way, knowing I was navigating these ominous waters with other members by my side and my network of like-minded colleagues made all the difference.

The advocacy in Trenton provided by the New Jersey Builders Association, as well as our many volunteer committee members in Legal and Legislative, after the shutdown in March led to our industry being included on the “essential” list. This advocacy gave us the ability to continue building in the state of New Jersey and was detrimental to bringing us to the moment we are in now: a viable, thriving building industry. As we face other challenges such as materials availability and costs, our advocacy as an Association will continue in both the local and state arenas. Keeping our local Association members engaged in our initiatives during lockdown and beyond has taken a huge effort, and I would like to thank our staff, committee members, and volunteers for all of their creativity, insight, and efforts to help us continue to provide events both virtually, and in person these past several months. Keeping committees and colleagues connected via video meetings like Zoom and Microsoft Teams has enabled us to provide Lunch & Learn programs, virtual Happy Hours, and virtual committee meetings to continue planning for future events. We have even had several in-person, socially distanced networking events, including our Annual Golf Outing in September and Oktoberfest. Without the support of our

sponsors, these programs would have been extremely difficult, so let’s all thank our sponsors for their amazing support, especially now. Through all of this, new members continue to join our Association, which is not surprising to me. Their input with fresh eyes has helped me come to realize that every day we are demonstrating the value of our Association through our network, advocacy, and support whether it is virtually or in-person. Our new members are finding that aside from the initial value of networking, it’s the value of the advocacy that has been most important to them. In addition, the educational and philanthropic initiatives that our Young Professionals and Professional Women in Building are providing through their work with community organizations has been of tremendous value to both new and existing members. With all the uncertainty about what the next several months will bring, the one thing I know for sure is that our members are stronger because we are navigating this together.

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