LOCAL BUILDING INDUSTRY PROS ARE TRULY GOOD NEIGHBORS

It's time again for the most heart-tugging issue of the year: the Good Neighbor Awards, co-sponsored by Florida Homebuyer Jacksonville and the Northeast Florida Builders Association (NEFBA).

It's our annual salute to the philanthropic work people in our industry do every year to make the First Coast a better place in which to live.

When we started the Good Neighbor Awards, it was at the height of the boom. And let's be realistic; it's a lot easier to be charitable to others when your own cash flow isn't an issue. Then came the biggest economic downturn in generations.

Frankly, when the market collapsed, a few people suggested to me that we suspend the awards for a while, under the assumption that all those good deeds we celebrated would likely go undone until the economy righted itself.

Not in Jacksonville. Despite tough times - or maybe because of tough times - local industry pros kept right on giving of their time, talent and even money to help those in need. 

Now, that really says something. It's that commitment to corporate citizenship, even when it isn't easy to do, that we're celebrating in this issue. The new-home market is coming back, but the spirit of giving in our industry never went away.

On a related note, I know you'll be moved by yet another story about the ways in which our industry reaches out to people in need. Builders Care, NEFBA's not-for-profit arm, undertook a project for a family that had been stricken by tragedy. And it was all documented in a TV program, Building A Difference.

Plus we have remodeling on a budget, public school scores and our usual directory of terrific new-home communities.

This is a special issue of Florida Homebuyer Jacksonville in many ways. I hope you'll be as inspired by it as I was.

Penelope Geismar

Publisher

penelopeg@florida-homebuyer.com