2016 CKHBA Fall Newsletter

Gilles & Diana Michaud Except
The 2015 Clare Curtis Award 

Chatham-Kent Home Builders Association said goodbye to the 2014-15 Board of Directors at the CKHBA Christmas Party in December of 2015. At this time 2014-15 CKHBA President Dan Vanmoorsel introduced the 2015 CKHBA Clare Curtis Award to a well deserving Gilles Michaud of Gilles Michaud Construction Ltd. for his years of service on the CKHBA Board of Directors as well as his dedication and involvement in supporting the local construction industry.  

OHBA President John M. Swears in
2016 CKHBA BOD

Chatham-Kent Home Builders Association kicked off with a bang in January 2016 when the Ontario Home Builders Association President John Meinen swore in an all new look to the CKHBA Board of Directors lead by President Scott Vandersluis of Bouma Builders. The 2016-17 BOD also includes Vice President Dave Depencier of Depencier Builders, 2nd Vice Jon Rumble of Rumble Homes, Secretary Gina Mancini of Union Gas, Treasurer Ed DeJonge of Ed DeJonge Construction and Directors Dave Ewald of Ewald Homes, Mike Dziedzic of Eco Insulation & Jame McKeller of Oldershaw Builder Supply.

Joe, Gina & Mark of Union Gas stand
proud to help with the renovation

The first order of business for the 2016-17 BOD was to introduce the "Renovation for Evelynn project". The project involved CKHBA undertaking a total renovation of a home to make it wheelchair accessible for a little girl named Evelynn who suffered a near fatal stroke in September of 2015. Evelynn was given a 5% chance to live after the stroke caused a massive hemorrhage in her brain. As Evelynn began to beat the odds CKHBA put together a plan to open up bedroom walls, enlarge hallways, create a wheelchair accessible bathroom and ramp etc. at no cost to the family. By the time Evelynn returned home in the spring her newly renovated home was complete and ready for her smiling face. Shortly after the completion of this project CKHBA participated with erecting the walls with the Habitat for Humanity New Build in Charring Cross On.

Sacwal & CKHBA Donate to Habitat

On June 4th 2016 CKHBA hosted the Annual Parade of Homes. This year was one of the best turn outs yet, sponsored in part by several CKHBA members, with this year's title sponsor being SacWal Flooring. SacWal and CKHBA was also able to turn over a $1000.00 cheque from the event to Habitat for Humanity.

2016 CKHBA Golf Best Dressed

July 15 2016 CKHBA hosted the 2016 CKHBA Golf Tournament at the links of Kent Golf Course. This year the title sponsor was Eco Insulation and carried a "Beach Theme". There was a live band playing on the golf course and a special prize given out for best dressed group that encouraged golfers to dress down and have fun!      

CKHBA was not done yet! At the September meeting Past President Dan Vanmoorsel introduced "Careers in Construction" to CKHBA as well as several local high school teachers and department heads. Careers in Construction is a presentation designed to engage and educate youth on the possibilities of a future career in construction. Local teachers and dept. heads are very excited to start scheduling presentations with CKHBA. Vice Principal of Chatham Christian High School would like to see every student in the school present for a Careers in Construction presentation.

CKHBA recieves 2016 OHBA
Special Recognition Award

On Sept. 20 2016 President Scott Vandersluis and Executive Officer Kevin Owen attended the 2016 Ontario Home Builders Association Conference in Collingwood Ontario. Every year at the Presidents Gala OHBA welcomes a new President and gives out Awards to Local Associations and individuals working with them. OHBA welcomed new President Neil Rodgers. President Neil Rodgers then took to the stage and began to speak about the Renovation for Evelynn Project and a great local association, The Chatham-Kent Home Builders Association. Rodgers then announced the Chatham-Kent Home Builders Association as the winner of the 2016 Ontario Home Builders Association Special Recognition Award.  

CKHBA has a few more things coming up in 2016 including the Fall Home and Leisure Show. The Home and Leisure Show can increase association members brand awareness and is a great fund raiser for the Foundation of Chatham-Kent Health Alliance. CKHBA will also have OHBA Past President John Meinen at our October Membership Drive to discuss the importance of being a member of your local Home Builders Association and to educate potential members on what kind of work is being done by Builder Association's on Provincial and National level. The October Membership Drive is designed to build CKHBA membership. Last but not least, CKHBA will host an Annual Christmas party in December and pay tribute to the 2016 Clare Curtis Award winner that is yet to be determined.      

   

CKHBA Welcomes New BOD & Introduces the "Renovation for Evelynn"

Chatham­-Kent Home Builders Association welcomed a new 2016/17 Board of Directors Tuesday Jan. 12 2016. Led by President ​and long time member Scott Vandersluis of Bouma Builders the 2016/17 Board of Directors also welcomes Vice President​ Dave Depencier of Depencier Builders, 2nd Vice President ​Jon Rumble of Rumble Homes, Treasurer​ Ed DeJonge of Ed DeJonge Construction, Secretary ​Gina Mancini of Union Gas, Directors ​Dave Ewald of Ewald Homes, Jeff Medeiros of Winmar, James McKeller of Oldershaw Builder Supply, Mike Dziedzic of Eco Insulation & Executive Officer Kevin Owen of Owen Flooring.

The 2016/17 Chatham­-Kent Home Builders Association's Board of Directors a​lso ​introduced an
event they call the “Renovation for Evelynn” a​nd ​passed a motion yesterday to “to investigate a cost

and capacity of the association to do the Renovation for Evelynn” More information is expected to be released about the Chatham­-Kent Builders Association and the“Renovation for Evelynn” as they move forward with the plans and procedure. Board Member Dave Ewald of Ewald Homes States “One of the biggest concerns I have with my kids is how I am going to get them to baseball and I can’t even begin to imagine what Evelynn’s parents must be going through” as he discusses the project with CKHBA. Executive Officer Kevin Owen of Owen Flooring says “I am thrilled to see such support from this amazing group of guys, I have always been a proud member of CKHBA, however today I am beyond words”

Evelynn Nichols was happy and healthy nine year old girl, her new life journey started the morning of September 5, 2015 when she was found unconscious in her room. She was rushed to hospitaland flown to Toronto Sick Kids Hospital where she was diagnosed with a rare congenital defect. Evelynn suffered from a Arteriovenous Fistula which caused a brain bleed resulting in extensive damage to her brain, she had a stroke at 9 years old.

Evelynn was in a coma and on life supports for several weeks. The team of doctors reviewing her case gave
her a 5% chance of survival and felt that her quality of life would be so poor that they were not sure they
should continue treatment. The very best scenario had her with total paralysis on her left side, they were
unsure if she would even breath unsupported. She could not regulate her blood pressure and body
temperature so she spent several weeks packed in ice. They were unsure if she would be able to learn how
to talk again.

Thanks to one neurosurgeon who said he would do everything he could to save this child, Evelynn was
given a chance.

Evelynn has progressed further than they ever expected her too. She is getting better at controlled
movement on her right side and increasingly there is movement on the left side. Evelynn successfully ate a
small amount of food for the first time after 3 months and will be trying soft solid food such as scrambled
eggs next week. On Christmas morning Evelynn spoke for the first time since Sept. 5 2015 when she said
Momma, her speech is improving and if you listen patiently, she is able to communicate verbally. Her
wonderful personality, wit, and love of play is starting to shine through. Evelynn has retained all her past
memories, experiences, and ability to learn. She truly is a miracle.

Evelynn will be working on her abilities for several more months at Holland Bloorview Children's
Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto. We don't know how far Evelynn will progress with her abilities, but we do
know that she will be coming home eventually.

Evelynn is expected to be relieved from Holland Bloorview in March, however this depends on her progression. Evelynn's family was told that the best possible scenario was for her to be paralysed and haveno use of her left side. She is now moving her leg purposeful and she can squeeze your hand. Until only a couple weeks ago she only learned to nod her head to say yes. Now she can say the words, they come
slowly, but they are there. She has several years or a lifetime of challenges ahead.

Evelynn lives at 16 Meadowlea in Chatham, this is a smaller three bedroom home that was built in the 70's..
When Evelynn returns home her wheelchair will not fit down the hallway, in the bathroom and there is no
wheelchair ramp for her to gain access to the house, CKHBA hopes to change this.

About The Chatham­Kent Home Builders Association­ ​The CKHBA is a not for profit organization that
was chartered in Chatham over 50 years ago and is affiliated with OHBA & CHBA. Membership is
comprised mostly of local businesses related to the new home construction industry. CKHBA is very
involved in supporting the community and has contributed in excess of over $400,000.00 to support local
needs.

2015 Summer, Fall News Letter

Although the Chatham-Kent Home Builders Association takes two months off their regular scheduled dinner meetings through July & August, the workings of the Association lives on.

July 2015 was actually a busy month for CKHBA starting with the CKHBA Golf Tournament ran by Andrew McGregor of Federated Insurance and Ed DeJonge of Ed DeJonge Construction. The Golf Tournament took place at the Links of Kent Golf Course, the sun was shining, the food was great and the service was excellent! We also raffled off a bbq donated by our Platinum Sponsor Union Gas, the winner was non other than Andrew McGregor of Federated Insurance, proving that there is such thing as Karma! This tournament was not just a wonderful time for our Association to unite, it was also heavily sponsored from both members and non, which in turn became very profitable for our Association.

July didn't end with a simple Golf Tournament for CKHBA, we also decided to use some of the funds raised at the Golf Tournament to help the Habitat for Humanity install the roof of the Habitat for Humanity Build in Wallaceburg On. This roofing project was driven by long time CKHBA Member and Board Member Gilles Michaud of Gilles Michaud Construction. After the event we were sent some beautiful pictures and this thank you message from Nancy McDowell of Habitat for Humanity.
"Hi Dan, Please extend my sincere thanks to all for helping us out on a moment's notice!  The Home Builders have been great partners and are making a huge difference in the lives of local families needing a helping hand up.  I know the Davis family is excited as they see a building start to look like a home! Thank you again for stepping in and helping out.  It means a lot!"

August was a more quiet month however it did not stop the CKHBA from making some advances. For starters we hired a new Executive Officer and that happens to be myself, Kevin Owen of Owen Flooring. I am really enjoying the position thus far and look forward to advancing the CKHBA into 2016 and years to come! The CKHBA also enjoyed a Steak BBQ put on by the Municipality of Chatham-Kent at the Imperial Club on Aug. 12. This was a great opportunity to get together with each other as well as the building department to address issues and concerns with current practices. August also brought forward several CKHBA Website updates for members and future members benefit, we introduced a CKHBA On-line Calender highlighting all the future CKHBA events, locations, and times. We also released a "BE A MEMBER" tab at the top of our website, where users can fill out an On-line Application Form or Print out Application Form, and see the benefits of being a member with the Membership Overview, Why Belong, Discover RenoMark, RenoMark Code of Ethics. We also started posting meeting notices and agendas on-line under the Events tab.

We started September off with a bang, having a meeting in the Retro Suites Derby Room with special guest MPP Rich Nicholls to come in and discuss construction red tape, I believe the general census was that his hands are pretty well tied on the subject and we need to keep making noise as a local association. CKHBA BOD also put in place a Nominations Committee for the 2016/17 CKHBA Board of Directors made up of Mike Vandersluis of Bouma Builders Will Holsapel of Windmill Cabinet Shop and Kevin Owen of Owen Flooring to seek out potential candidates among CKHBA. If you know someone that would be a good fit as CKHBA Board Member please bring them to the attention of the Nominations Committee, as we will be hosting the election at our scheduled Annual Meeting of Membership in November.
MPP Rick Nicholls

Also in September with the help of Greg Hetherington of 99.1 CKSX we hosted a Fall Home and Leisure Show at the John D Bradley Convention Centre. It has been said that the event welcomed just under one thousand guests and raised $4000.00 to be donated to the Foundation of Chatham Kent Health Alliance. The Fall Home and Leisure Show went very well highlighting 80 vendors from in and around the Chatham-Kent area, just under 30 booths were made up of Chatham-Kent Home Builder Association Members, we also noticed a few members who could not entertain a booth show up and support the cause. This event is planned to happen again next year, however likely in late October. Thank you for all of your support! Our CKHBA President Dan VanMoorsel of Lafarge Chatham also attended the 2015 OHBA Conference in Huntsville at the Deerhurst Resort and we look forward to hearing more about this trip at our CKHBA October Meeting & Membership Drive

October is Renovation Month and CKHBA is kicking it off right with a CKHBA Membership Drive! This CKHBA member for a free meal and presentation put on and paid for by CKHBA. This year we have special guest Bruce Bolduc from Construction Workplace Safety Training to come in and speak a little bit about construction safety. We feel like this is the perfect person to speak after the summer we have had working with the new Safety Inspector in the CK area.
event is designed for members to bring a potential future

This past summer the Ontario Home Builders Association announced that over the next ten years the construction industry will need to attract 109 000 employees in our industry. We are currently looking into ways to do this locally, including high school and college presentations as well as attending local career fairs and as always we appreciate your support!

Over the next few months we will be seeing many changes happen within the CKHBA, we have several exciting guest speakers for meetings as well as an entertaining Christmas Party to look forward to and we anticipate an excellent winter!      




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