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DJ Pendleton is an award-winning state exec and attorney who is deeply committed to advancing the cause of his members and manufactured housing in general. DJ has the notion that we all have a duty beyond ourselves and our own immediate, personal or professional interests.
Texas has a lot going for it, has for years and is a key state for our Industry. DJ and his crew don't take that for granted. DJ and his members routinely give back to the rest of us. Time! Treasure! Talent! They are to be applauded and emulated in many ways.
Please see DJ's expert report on the LO Comp rule, where we stand on HOEPA and more in the Industry in Focus report by DJ Pendleton linked here.
Mark Bowersox did not realize that his reports in our Featured Articles or on the Industry Voices guest blog draw a crowd, because he keeps focused on the task vs. the accolades or attention.
Mark's article on "It is Now or Never" is right behind Senator Marco Rubio's hotly read Featured Article. Those two are only exceeded by the high-flying leader at Adventure Homes, in his exclusive: A Cup of Coffee with…Wally Comer. All have similarities that you will only discover by thoughtful reading!
Please see Mark Bowersox take on the 2013 MHI annual meeting, linked here.
FYI, for those who keep asking me where all new new blood or the 'young guns' are for our industry, look up! You will be looking at two of them.
Dave Shanklin is building an audience too, and his commentary on what is going on among major chattel lenders is worth a close look.
Please see Dave's insights and comments on MH lenders in his Industry Voices column linked here.
I'd be remiss if I didn't point you to all of the fine Featured Articles we have this month, you can read the recap of them here, or just go to the MHProNews.com home page and scroll down to the center Featured Articles module.
Remember, you too are invited to join us with your 'letter to the editor' or OpEd guest column – please email me with Industry Voices submission in the subject line.
Off with his head!
I don't have to tell you that there are reasons to write and reasons for not doing so. As soon as you express a point of view that someone does not like, you have opened yourself up to criticism. To many, it doesn't matter if what you have written or said is true or not, what matters to some is that you dared state something they did not want to read or hear!
Back in the day when messengers brought news to their lord, nobleman, commander or king in person, bringing bad or unwanted news was risky business indeed.
Sometimes bad news was met with the order, "off with his head!" as a way to punish the one who brought it and to warn others who might dare share 'bad news.' That happened even if the messenger had nothing more to do than report the unwanted words.
We'd like to think we have advanced past all that, but have we? Do we close our minds, eyes and ears to words we don't want to hear? Do we allow our beliefs to be challenged – tested and strengthened, or tested, found wanting and realizing that improvement is needed – in order to confirm or correct our path? Do we vilify those who say what we don't want to hear or read?
DJ, Mark, Dave – and all of our featured and guest writers – are to be commended for investing the time to share news, tips and views that pros can use. I'm thanking them! Please join me in thanking all – including our sponsors and clients – who make sharing here possible, so that together, we can advance.
Wally Comer and Adventure Homes
Part of what Wally spotlights in his exclusive interview with us is how critical Dennis Hill and Ron Thomas Sr. – each in their respective rolls – have been to making the return of the Louisville Show possible. A good trade show takes literally hundreds of people to do their parts to make a show a success, but there are also unsung heroes, and Wally is right to say that Dennis and Ron are among them!
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Please see the latest about how The Louisville Show Draws Praise and Enhanced Interest. See the updates and industry pros can pre-register for free on their show site, linked here.
Debunking the negative stereotypes about Manufactured Homes
If you think there are myths and negative stereotypes about manufactured housing that harms our image with the media, public and officials, raise
your digital hands, please!
If you think those negative stereotypes harms our SALES levels, please raise your hands!
One of the strongest myths out there is that manufactured homes are typically weaker than conventional housing, when quite the opposite is true.
Because of the 'weakness' myth, many think manufactured homes blow away with the first stiff wind.
Thanks go out to Ross Kinzler at the Wisconsin Housing Alliance – who some 7 years ago shared information and inspiration, along with thanks to Knute Chauncey for providing the raw footage that made this myth busting video possible.
The first year this video was online, it drew roughly 10,000 visits. In the last 90 days, since being posted on the new ManufacturedHomeLivingNews.com, it has drawn another 11,000 visits, for 21,000 plus visits total!
That's an accelerating rate of views, by a factor of some 400%. Wouldn't it be nice to see our Industry grow at such a rate too? Share the video widely, and watch for people who see it, get it and will turn from doubters into interested manufactured home shoppers.
As you watch this, remember that the home in the video wasn't a Wind Zone 3 home, it was a Wind Zone 1 home!
But this isn't about 'gee, how nice.' It is about how simple it would be for you to spread the word to others about how great our homes truly are.
First, watch the video yourself. Then, send the video link to your staff, peers, industry contacts and friends.
Then send the video link to others. How committed are you to the growth of the industry and your business within it?
Please take 5 and just do it. 3.27 minutes to watch the video, see the 'wow' for yourself and then 90 seconds to share the link above with others and encourage them to do the same.
That is how things online can go viral. It is also a simple way to promote and an easy example of MH Evangelization.
Annual Meeting and Wrap
MHI has shared their annual meeting report, found at this link here. Some expressed surprise and frustration to us that no report came sooner. Two of our contacts at MHI said lean staff combined with the timing between two major meetings, etc. were the reasons for the time lag. Let's not tag them for the timing issue. Let's keep focused on what matters most, which is that MHI is pushing for HR 1779, while another national association is still mysteriously AWOL on that topic in terms of their own press releases, even though they have members who feel as strongly as we do that this is critical for their firms.
Speaking of HR 1779, please read and – please, please share this link – with others far and wide.
Lots more to say, but let's have this be enough for today. Want to peek at the MHI annual meeting photo report? We opted to place that story in ManufacturedHomeLivingNews, please check it out at this link here.
See our MHI Annual Meeting
Photo report at the link here.
I hope to see many of you at the National Communities Council Fall Leadership Forum. Speaking of leadership – with keynote speaker Sam Zell from Equity Lifestyle headlining – one of their topics is branding. Please look at the column about branding – rebranding, unbranding – and why each has its place, linked here. ##
PS: Check our many Exclusive and Red Hot Featured Articles for October and see the other new stories at MHLivingNews.com too.
L. A. 'Tony' Kovach
ManufacturedHomeLivingNews.com | MHProNews.com |
Business and Public Marketing & Ads: B2B | B2C
Websites, Contract Marketing & Sales Training, Consulting, Speaking:
MHC-MD.com | LATonyKovach.com | Office 863-213-4090
Connect on LinkedIN:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
