HBA's Morrow receives national recognition

Matt Morrow, executive officer of the Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield, was recognized as the top new executive officer in the nation by the National Association of Home Builders Executive Officers Council.

As a part of the NAHB Executive Officers Council Seminar held recently in Vancouver, British Columbia, Morrow received the David Lloyd Memorial Award at the annual Association Excellence Awards banquet.

The award is named for the late executive officer of the Home Builders and Contrac-tors Association of Palm Beach. It is presented each year to one executive officer who has served no more than three years in an association management position and is judged to have made major contributions to the profession. Morrow was hired as the executive officer of the HBA of Greater Springfield in January 2001.

The organization's achievements under Morrow's direction include:

The establishment and direction of the Coalition for Building a Better Tomorrow, the HBA's political action committee. In its first year, the CBBT raised more than $100,000 for supporting candidates and issues that promote positive growth of the community and the home building industry. The CBBT has had a 93 percent success rate in electing the candidates it has supported.

The establishment and direction of the Home Builders Association Charitable Foundation, which raises money to support more than $6,000 per year in scholarships and departmental grants to area construction and design students. Other charitable efforts supported by the foundation include Habitat for Humanity, American Red Cross Disaster Relief, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks, Boys and Girls Town of Missouri and Foster Care of Greene County.

The establishment and direction of the HBA's marketing and advertising campaigns. Since 2001, the HBA has implemented an advertising plan to promote major events including the Home Show, Remodeling Show and Parade of Homes. The program also includes seasonal image campaigns and public service announcement programs and a weekly local radio program hosted by Morrow, which is aimed at educating homeowners about the home building process and encouraging the public to hire HBA members.

Morrow did not know he had been nominated for the award. Brett Godfrey, president of the HBA of Greater Springfield, nominated Morrow.

"The award is a wonderful surprise," Morrow said. "It is a testament to the vision, commitment and hard work of our members, our board of directors and our HBA staff, that our association has received this level of national attention."

Added Godfrey, "Matt is an excellent choice for this award. He assimilated into his executive officer position seamlessly and in a short time has achieved what many other executives hope to achieve in a lifetime of service."