Page 10 - Builder Brief January 2024

2024 PRESIDENT
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I want to thank you for the opportunity to be your 2024 President. There are many great Presidents that have come before me, and I am humbled to have the honor of serving as your 80th President.
At my installation on November 30th, I shared a bit about myself. I was born and raised in San Antonio by my parents Jerry and Marilyn Pruski who just celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary. My wife, Regina, and I have been married for 17 years and together for 20 years. Regina is my rock and she recently retired; she had a very successful career in the residential mortgage industry.
I have been blessed to work in the residential construction industry for thirty (30) years and have been a member of GSABA since 1997. For the last ten (10) years, I have been actively involved in GSABA’s government affairs initiatives. We must continue to address affordability issues and how new ordinances and legislation impact our industry and cost of building homes.
There are several GSABA members who serve on important building related and development committees in our community. GSABA members serve on the San Antonio Water Systems (SAWS) Capital Improvement Committee, the Building Related and Fire Appeals Board for the City of San Antonio (COSA), the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) Development Task Force along with others who serve on special task forces that give us a voice in city and county offices across our 22-county jurisdiction. We urge you to get involved, there is strength in numbers.
The strength of the Association is our members and the ability to make our voices heard together. Membership is a top priority of mine and with Membership Chairman and First Vice President, Jeff Kuwamura, and the 2024 leadership team we will get our membership to the 800-company mark this year. Our membership has been down since Covid, and we are working diligently to get our numbers up. I want to thank Randy Oliver with Hollywood Crawford Garage Doors & Openers for sponsoring the membership drive and the cruise this year! Several members won the cruise, and they will set sail in mid-February.
Getting our membership numbers up will also help us balance the 2024 budget. At the present time, we need to increase 2024 revenues to meet our budget needs. We can do this together and I can’t stress how important it is for all of us to join the recruitment effort.
One way we have gotten members involved in GSABA is through the Leadership Council. Past President Jeff Czar had a vision of starting a Leadership Council in 2022 and we invited 20 members who had been involved in the association, participated in a key event like the Parade of Homes or chaired or served on one of our committees or councils. I had the pleasure of co-chairing the Leadership Council and will continue to be involved this year.
We will continue to work to support college students working to get a one-, two- or four-year degree in the construction trades. We will do this
TIM PRUSKI
by awarding scholarships from the Reese Pruski Foundation and the Greater San Antonio Education Foundation. We have active student chapters at St. Philip’s College; the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and Warren High School’s Construction Careers Academy. We need mentors, speakers and companies that will participate in our job shadowing week in March 2024.
We will be seeking a builder to help us build our Scholar Home. The GSABA team will be reaching out to our members for donations to help build the Scholar that we will sell, and a portion of the proceeds will go back into our Education Foundations to support students from all walks of life that are learning a trade or studying for a career in the residential or remodeling building industry.
In closing, I want to urge you to FIND YOUR SPOT in GSABA. A few years ago, Past President JackUptmoretoldmeitwastimetoSTEPUP. Iam asking you to STEP UP. We sincerely need your time and talent as we take on this new year and the challenges that lie ahead. Thank you for your membership, please call me at any time.
Sincerely, Tim Pruski
10 JANUARY 2024 | GREATER SAN ANTONIO BUILDERS ASSOCIATION