President's Message: We Are Technology Brokers

If you had told me when I became SBC president in October 2019 that we would have to cancel BCMC 2020 and our other in-person meetings, cut the budget of the organization by a significant percentage, and renegotiate our contract with our long-time management company — all while managing my own company through some of the biggest challenges we’ve ever faced — I would have laughed you out of the room. 

We never know what the future will bring but I have to say I can’t think of a better group of businessmen with whom to navigate the challenges of the past year than our Executive Committee. These committed men are smart, savvy, and unwavering in their support of SBCA and our industry as a whole. I’m grateful the membership has approved extending the terms of the SBCA officers, executive committee members, and board of directors for another year. That continuity will prove vital in the months ahead as we navigate the turbulent waters we still have ahead of us.

I sincerely believe we will emerge on the other side of this a stronger organization. Just as the last housing recession forced us all to become better versions of ourselves in order to survive, 2020 is prompting us to reinvent our organization. I wrote in my first president’s message in November 2019 that I thought technology is the key to our industry’s future success. I am even more convinced of that today. We need to pivot away from thinking about ourselves as truss manufacturers and toward being technology and information brokers who produce the most efficient building frameworks in the world.

Everyone on the SBCA Board understands that robots, lasers, automation, and cutting-edge software is daunting to embrace and implement. Collectively, we can and should brainstorm and figure out the best way to make it work. We can’t wait for our supply chain to do it for us; we need to do it ourselves. That’s the power of SBCA, it brings us together and allows us to share our ideas and experiences so we don’t have to do it alone.

This is what our SBCA Strike Forces and collective energy will be focused on in 2021, and we welcome and strongly encourage your participation. I also want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a safe New Year’s celebration!