Bulletin Board Magazine [Volume 4-2025]

I would like to congratulate our next President, Kevin Kernahan, as well as the new Officers and Board members. Kevin has the good fortune of having an incredible slate of officers and great members that will support his efforts over the next two years. I’d like to wish Kevin and our newly installed officers and Board, a productive and prosperous period in leading our Association. I’m sure they will have the same support and help in moving forward Kevin’s initiatives. All the Best!

Incoming President's Message

As a kid, I grew up in a new neighborhood in Shark River Hills where the building competitors were Oliver Brothers and Pittenger Builders. I used to sneak into the houses being built. I loved the smell of the freshly cut Douglas Fir in the newly framed homes and knew then I wanted to be a builder. I went to school for architecture and then went into carpentry and learned how to hang doors, cut rafters and install crown molding. I started a remodeling company at the Jersey Shore when I was 28. Things went south in the late 80s and I went to work as a construction manager for a big public homebuilding

Kevin Kernahan, American Properties SBACNJ Incoming President

company where I built several hundred homes, then decided I wanted to develop building lots because I felt I could do a better job than the guys that were doing it at the time. I ended up building thousands of lots for companies like K Hovnanian and Toll Brothers. Now I get to do it all at American Properties with some of the best in the business. We compete with the big boys to build award winning communities and believe me when I tell you: nobody does it better. I joined the Shore Builders association years back in part because this is where I grew up, but also because it’s a valuable trade organization where we can network, be exposed to new products, trends and resources, and support the common cause of home building through advocacy and promotion of our industry. This I consider my primary charge in this role. The truth is, that Builders are an underappreciated and constantly changing group. The political class makes it incredibly hard to get land approvals, and with financialization of homebuilding we’ve seen a consolidation that has virtually eliminated small builders. When I was a young super working for a big national builder, I struggled to get used to the fact that we didn’t seem to be very well liked by the general population. Neighbors, Inspectors, public officials always seemed to be uncooperative or even hostile to us, simply because we were building homes in their neighborhood. One dreary winter day, a senior project manager came in to give us a pep talk. He told us that one of the most important jobs in the world is providing housing. It’s one of society’s greatest needs, yet it’s one of the most difficult things to do, and that we should be proud of our craft. His message rekindled that fire to be a builder, and I’ve carried it with me ever since.

Continued

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