Alan Wilkerson. We welcome you to our 12th annual Home Solutions Expo and encourage you to make the most of this one-stop shopping experience. Photo by Douglas Miller __The mission of the Roanoke Regional Home Builders Association (RRHBA) is “To serve, support and represent the building industry.” As part of that mission, we are proud to bring to the Roanoke Region the 12th annual Home Solutions Expo - ideas for kitchens, baths and renovations, and it is my distinct pleasure to welcome you! Once again at this year’s show you will find a wide variety of ideas and solutions related to building, renovating and maintaining a home. Through this convenient, one-stop shopping opportunity, it is our hope that the wide variety of exhibitors will answer your questions and help you to determine the ideal ways to keep your home looking and functioning its absolute best year round. There will also be solution related clinics, which have become a popular feature of the show. For more information, please see HSE 5. In addition to the expo, this fall the RRHBA is also proud to provide another exciting opportunity, the 2007 Parade of Homes, during the weekends of September 29-30 and October 6-7. A free public tour of new single-family, unoccupied homes and new neighborhoods, this parade will offer the opportunity to see some of the finest additions to the region’s housing options, and will take place in the counties of Roanoke, Bedford, Botetourt, Craig, Floyd and Franklin as well as the cities of Roanoke and Salem. It is anticipated that more than 25 homes will be open during the Parade. For current information, visit our website at rrhba.com and/or stop by the Parade’s information booth in the lobby of the Salem Civic Center during the Expo. Once again this year the RRHBA also takes this opportunity to share with you something we proudly offer – our annual scholarship program. This year’s program, included one $500 scholarship to each of the following three recipients; Aaron Blomberg of Roanoke County, and Dustin Sordelett and Dylan Henderson, both students of Virginia Tech’s Building Construction program. Blomberg plans to study engineering at Virginia Tech beginning this fall. Henderson and Sordelett are on track to graduate from Tech In December of 2008 and May of 2009, respectively. Sordelett’s scholarship was made possible by the family of the late Wayne Morris of C. W. Morris Construction Co. Lastly, it is also my pleasure to acknowledge the efforts of our excellent Home Solutions Expo Committee members and RRHBA Staff - who each work tirelessly to ensure the Expo’s success. A great big thank you goes out to each of the following: Elisha Conrad of MKB REALTORS and Bench Mark Builders, Rick Gumpert of Closet Storage Organizers, Bobbie Hawkins of The Roanoker magazine/Leisure Publishing Company, Joe Thomas, Jr. of Thomas, Ltd., Chris Wade of Reico Kitchen & Bath, and RRHBA Trade Shows & Office Operations Coordinator Carolyn MacLeod. The RRHBA is proud to present the Home Solutions Expo to the Roanoke region each year, and we hope as you visit and explore the opportunities offered at this year’s show that you will find our efforts very beneficial. Chartered in 1955, the RRHBA is a professional, non-profit trade association, affiliated with the Home Builders Association of Virginia (HBAV) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Under our mission statement, our aim is to serve the building industry by representing the interests of residential and commercial builders, developers and remodelers, as well as suppliers, subcontractors and related service providers throughout the region. We do this through 1. Lobbying efforts, 2. Liaison with local governments, 3. Member and consumer education, 4. Industry promotion, 5. Charitable and community involvement, 6. Communicating industry information, 7. Enhancement of a positive, professional member image and 8. Networking opportunities of a professional and social nature. We believe that home ownership should be within the reach of all Americans and that the free enterprise system is essential to the high standard of living that we enjoy, and it is in that spirit that we bring the Expo to you each year. With your continued support we look forward to bringing you many more successful Expos in the years to come. Thank you for your interest and participation in our 12th annual Home Solutions Expo. We trust you will enjoy finding the solutions you need for all of your home projects as much as we enjoy bringing them to you. –Alan Wilkerson, Expo Chairman Ferguson Bath, Kitchen and Lighting Gallery