After a 12-year membership in the West Virginia Home Builders Association, Jacob Meck, of Green Bank, and owner of Jacob Meck Construction, has taken the helm of the organization as its president.

The association, which boasts 750 members state-wide, provides information, training and other assistance to individuals and businesses in the home building industry.

“There’s a lot of work that the association does,” Meck said. “Primarily, it is to benefit the homebuilders of the state, so there are a number of things that we do. We like to do training. If people want to keep up with building materials and new things that are coming out. We have people come in and talk about new products.”

The association also assists with insurance packages through its partnership with BrickStreet.

Meck said the association is divided into 11 local chapters, where most of the training takes place. Prior to becoming president of the WVHBA, Meck served as president of the Greater Greenbrier Chapter.

While the chapters take care of training, the state level focuses on staying up-to-date on the forever changing industry.

“One of the biggest things on the state level is we have a lobbyist that works for us at the state office and spends quite a bit of time with the state office, just keeping up on laws and those types of things that would certainly affect the industry,” Meck said.

A change that has been prominent in the home builders industry is energy efficiency and green building.

“One of the things we’re working on right now is the new energy code changes that are coming up,” Meck said. “Typically they become more stringent, so we have to, as builders, know what’s coming up, what’s going to go through the legislature and what’s going to happen.”

Meck has noticed the push in recent years for more energy conscious buildings.

“I think, as far as the biggest change coming down the pike, really is the energy conscious items that we’re starting to hear more about, and also green building,” he said. “People are more conscious of, or becoming more conscious of their carbon footprint. Those are all things that are being taken into account now. The green building, the energy building, I like to call them best building practices.”

With the change to energy efficiency, Meck said some contractors have shown concern over the time and price that comes with this modern building style.

“A lot of it is just being aware,” he explained. “Here’s an item that needs a little special care when you’re putting it together and many times, it doesn’t take any more effort to do it right than it does to do it wrong. If there’s a space that needs a little more insulation, a lot of times it doesn’t cost a lot more. It’s just best building practices and being aware of where the weak points are.”

As president of the association, Meck is able to share his love of an industry he has been a part of for a long time.

“I’m pretty passionate about home building, so I was excited to become a part of the home builders,” he said. “We’ve been part of the Home Builders Association for probably 12 years now.”

As its president, he has the opportunity to commend fellow builders for their accomplishments.

“Our fall convention/ board meeting, we mix a little pleasure with a bit of work,” Meck said. “It’s how we wrap up each year. So that’s always fun. It’s exciting because you get to see the neat projects that have happened across the state. It’s neat to see what other builders are doing. Also, it rewards them for the projects.”

At the fall convention, contractors may submit projects to be considered in categories like remodeling, commercial building, single family new home and starter homes.

The association is open to new members who are interested in networking with other contractors or subcontractors.

“We would encourage anyone that’s a home builder, or anyone that would see the home builders as a benefit to them – whether they are an associate in another type of business or maybe a subcontractor. Hopefully they would find it beneficial.”

For more information on the Home Builders Association, visit hbawv.org

Suzanne Stewart may be contacted at sastewart@pocahontastimes.com