Building a Bright Future – 20th Annual MHI Congress and Expo

by Suzanne S. Felber – Lifestylist
The Home Idea Factory
answers@lifestylist.com

The 20th Anniversary MHI Congress and Expo was this week. I haven’t attended all of them, but I think this was one of the best.

Las Vegas is always a busy place, and this year Avon was having their national convention there as well. Their theme was “Now is Our Time” and I thought that was applicable to our industry as well. It is our time, and I’m seeing great things for our industry on the horizon.

Obviously others feel the same way – attendance was up almost 10%, and almost every seminar and event was standing room only. What I have always noticed about Congress is that it’s attended by people who believe very strongly in our industry and want to make a difference. We all need to make a living, but this is one group that truly seems to love what they do and are very generous about sharing their experiences and time. The changes that have happened lately seem to have us going in the right direction – with the promotion of Thayer Long and the consolidation of some manufacturers there was a positive spirit throughout the event.

Tuesday was the 2010 Communities Forum which was a partnership between the MHI National Communities Council and the Urban Land Institute Manufactured Housing Communities Council. An exceptional turnout, and lots of great information. I was a speaker at the roundtable and the people who participated in my group were all very positive about our future and anxious to get more involved in social media. That evening was the reception for Congress and the Communities Forum, and it also was the opening of the exhibit area. This is always so well done, and I’m seriously thinking about having a booth next year because I can certainly see the value. MHI does a great job of bringing people into the space by having great food and beverages available at different times and the exhibit area is definitely where people go to meet and network.

Social media is a resource who’s time has definitely come, and some of us who have met each other on LinkedIn, Facebook and through MHMSM.com made a point of meeting face to face. This is something I think we’ll try on a larger scale next year. Meeting George Allen, Eddie Hicks, and Doug Gorman was quite a treat.

And then we had the opening Keynote address by Jim Clayton on Wednesday – no wonder everyone was in such a great mood! Only in manufactured housing would you have a sing-along with Jim Clayton leading and playing the guitar while industry leaders Kevin Clayton, Joe Stegmayer, Bill Griffiths and Erv Bontrager along with the rest of us sang along. What a great man with an inspiring story. It was also really interesting to watch the interactions between Jim, Kevin, and the Clayton team. The admiration and respect they all seem to share with each other was really special.

Jim had great stories (including one about Dolly Parton and the Doll House Beauty Salon – you’ll have to ask him about that yourself) and shared a lot of valuable information on how to be successful. He shared something that Warren Buffet shared with him – “It only took 37 years to develop our reputation at Berkshire Hathaway, yet we could lose it in 37 minutes”. Many times we forget the repercussions we can face by a quick, un-wise decision. He also shared his philosophy that he is here to run a business, not just give away money. So true, but yet so often forgotten. Mr. Clayton brought copies of his book which he generously gave the proceeds of to MHI-PAC and he stayed around to sign the books. I purchased two, and was thrilled to get to meet this amazing man in person.

The 2010 National Industry Awards were held that afternoon, and again it was really exciting to see how far we have come as an industry. The homes and communities that won looked absolutely amazing and the concept homes showed how bright our future will be. If you think the manufactured housing industry has stalled, all you have to do is come to an event like this and realize we have some bright, talented, and successful new leaders among us. I sat with some of the Yes! Communities Group at the awards, and their approach to to the industry is refreshing and is working. Their entire branding is unique, and this is a company to keep an eye on. ROC Communities was also there and a sponsor and both companies were awarded trophies in various categories.

Congratulations to Joe Stegmayer and the Cavco team – they were awarded Manufacturer of the Year. I have worked with their Texas team lead by Craig Calkins and they definitely earned this title. I have ever seen a plant that was as efficient as their Seguin, TX plant. Clayton Homes received an Energy Star award, and Dick Ernst was named Industry Person of the Year.

Thursday Dr. Harold Gross of Market Research Answers shared his crystal ball with us and gave us some fact based answers on what the future can hold for our industry. I took away 6 pages of notes, but to summarize Dr. Gross encouraged us to ignore social media at our peril and listen to what our customers are saying, re-think our positioning in the market place (we ARE a great value proposition!) and find out what our customers value. He also sees smaller, greener homes becoming more important and that there is a huge wave of non-traditional buyers heading our way.

If you were a part of this very special event I think you’ll agree with me it was time and money well spent, and if you didn’t make it to Congress this year make your reservations now for 2011 -the future does look bigger and brighter for all of us.