Message from BIAW President Sherry Schwab: Stay safe, stay healthy!
December 21, 2020
As we near the peak of the holiday season, I’m happy to report good news. Congress is poised to approve a new COVID-19 stimulus package with Paycheck Protection Program loans, tax relief and other provisions for small businesses. COVID-19 vaccines have been approved as safe and they’re being distributed. And the latest employment report from the Employment Security Department shows construction continues to add jobs. May 2021 be a better and brighter year than 2020!
As I reflect on 2020, I have an extreme sense of pride in what our industry endured and how we performed this past year. We faced threats not only to the health of our families, employees and clients, but to our livelihoods, our ability to provide family-wage jobs and our commitment to building and remodeling homes for our clients. All of this was happening at a time when spending more time in our homes was critical to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.
A year of strength, compassion and perseverance
While none of us expected the unusual circumstances in 2020, I’m- proud to have served as president of the Building Industry Association of Washington during this time. This year demonstrated to me and to the world, the strength, compassion and perseverance of our homebuilders, remodelers and associates— working on behalf of our clients, employees and communities and making the world a better place.
Thank you, stay safe and stay healthy!
As we come to the end of this year, I want to say thank you! Thank you to all the members of this great association who joined together to get us back to work and to keep our jobsites safe and healthy so we could continue working. Thank you to the senior officers who helped guide our association through the uncertainty of 2020. Thank you to the BIAW staff and Executive Vice President Greg Lane who supported us in so many ways, including negotiating our “essential” status and moving BIAW operations to new, modern headquarters in the midst of the pandemic!
I welcome Tracy Doriot as our incoming president and I’m honored to support him by continuing association progress on workforce development and strengthening our Professional Women in Building and Young Professionals Councils. The future looks promising for our industry—and we’ll continue our efforts to grow and to protect it!
A final reminder and a request: Please stay safe and healthy. Encourage appropriate use of personal protective equipment and masks on jobsites, in offices and in social settings. Follow safety and social distancing guidance. You are important.
Wishing you a relaxing holiday season!
Sincerely,
Sherry Schwab, BIAW President