2012 Atlanta HBA President Neal Davis and 2011 HBA President Mike Smith are pictured with a thank you plaque for Mike’s service to the industry.

Here are Mike’s remarks from the Association Installation event. Looking back, 2011 went by fast, and proved to be another difficult year for the housing industry. We started off the year with some renewed optimism. We were seeing some signs of improvement in the market as well as at the Home Builders Association; we had exceeded our revised budget numbers for membership and financials for the final months leading into the year, but the spring market never seemed to gain any momentum and the summer was not much better.

While the market never seemed to get a foot-hold, everyone in this organization continued to look ahead, to find ways to reach the next step to making the Greater Atlanta HBA not only survive but begin to grow again. Through out this year you could feel the energy slowly beginning to grow as a result of the hard work by many of you. We have had some great turn outs at many events during the year, and several new programs rolled out creating even more value for our membership.

While it seems we still have a long ways to go for any economic recovery I believe we made some significant strides in continuing to strengthen the Greater Atlanta HBA and add meaningful value for our members.

Now through your hard work membership is again showing signs that it could be stabilizing along with our financial performance and I am looking forward to seeing it continue through out this year.

I am very grateful to have served as your President during this past year.

I want to thank David Ellis and the HBA staff, our Chapter Presidents, Council Presidents, Executive Committee, and Board of Directors for their outstanding leadership and support.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you.