"Pin the Tail on the Donkey"
The President's Message
by Michael I. Roman, MBI's Past President, Resun Leasing Incorporated

Immediately after the Spring 1998 Annual Convention at Amelia Island, the Board of Directors of MBI met to establish direction and priorities for the up-coming year. The initial task was to review the association goals, establish priorities and assign the goals in whole or in part to various MBI action committees.

Twelve goals were presented by the Long Range Planning Committee comprised of MBI past presidents including Mike Morton, Neal DuCharme, Eric Day, Linc Moss, Maury Tiernan, and Skip Taylor. Each of the twelve MBI directors, the officers and Executive Director then ranked the twelve goals as presented by the Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC). Individual rankings were tallied and the goals prioritized. The association goals, developed by the LRPC and aligned in order of importance by the current board, are as follows:

• maintain a financially sound and operationally viable association;
   
• increase public awareness and acceptance of the industry's products and services;
   
• provide membership information programs;
   
• hire an Industry Spokesperson to promote the industry;
   
• provide educational and idea-sharing opportunities;
   
• provide membership services and benefits;
   
• monitor and influence regulatory processes affecting our industry;
   
• promote and implement the MBI Seals Program;
   
• recognize outstanding contributions by industry members;
   
• promote regional chapters;
   
• develop a Policies and Procedures Manual for day-to-day operations; and
   
• review MBI headquarters space requirements and investigate use of a modular building.

Once the goals had been prioritized, the Board sought to develop action steps and a timeline for each. This task produced a wide variety of results as several goals were project specific (such as hiring a spokesperson; reviewing MBI space requirements, and developing a Policies and Procedures Manual) while many were open-ended (such as increasing public awareness about our products).

Several years ago the Board passed a resolution mandating each annual budget include an addition to reserve such that after five years a war chest of $100,000 be available to guarantee association operations in the event of a significant downturn in business or some catastrophic event. I am extremely happy to report this goal has been achieved. The reserve provides a fund available to cover in excess of one year's operating expenses and goes a long way toward satisfying the number one goal of maintaining a financially sound and operationally viable association. Much of the credit for this association milestone goes to Carol Hansen and Maury Tiernan. Further adding to the financial health of the association, membership has been growing vigorously under the direction of Committee Chair Dan Drew, and the association has added another employee in Charlottesville to assist in the burgeoning requests for information received daily from architects, facilities directors, planners, and potential customers. Welcome to Steven Williams. Steven brings an enormous amount of energy, enthusiasm, and association experience.

After fiscal responsibility, the paramount goal of the national association is to increase public awareness of our products and services. This is the bailiwick of the Public Relations and Marketing Committee and Chair Kathy Blair. The MBI works daily to educate your potential customers about commercial factory built buildings. A comprehensive marketing plan includes electronic and print media. The centerpiece of the marketing plan is the increasingly active MBI web site. You can find us at www.mbinet.org. In addition to basic introductory information, the association web site offers direct access to member's web sites. Potential customers often look to the national association first for information about a product. A direct link of your company site to the association site is a natural marketing device. I can tell you from personal experience that it works.

Our industry continues to suffer from an association with trailers and the negative images which follow the trailer perception. Our best weapon is pictures. This is the reason the past few bi-monthly newsletters have focused on member projects. It is up to us to broadcast our capabilities, and I can think of no better way than through an unending string of quality pictures. For the past few years members of the Board of Directors and in particular, Maury Tiernan, Mike Morton, and Joe Donegan have attended the AIA Convention on behalf of the MBI. We have a Modular Building Institute booth with pictures from the past Awards of Distinction and handouts with even more pictures. The reaction, with little variance, is amazement at industry capability followed by the lament, "I thought you were the trailer guys!" Although there is a lot of work to do, we are a persistent bunch.

In addition to constant updates to the web site, an ever expanding newsletter and annual attendance at the AIA Convention, the MBI advertises monthly in Automated Builder, advertises in ARCAT, The Architect's Catalog, Inc., and, for the first time, plans to exhibit at the International Commercial Construction Exposition (I CCON) in Dallas January 15-18, 1999. The I CCON is being held side-by-side with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) annual International Builder's Show. This annual show attracts more than 65,000. NAHB estimates that at least 15,000 of its members are involved in commercial construction and remodeling. We plan to educate these 15,000 NAHB members about the capabilities and benefits of commercial factory built construction. Should you like to volunteer to assist the MBI at the Dallas I CCON in January, please give Judy Smith a call. Ours is an industry on the move. Come experience the excitement in Dallas.