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Newsletter
August 2008 |
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Announcements Annual Bill Farnan Memorial Golf Outing Bill Farnan, Memorial Scholarship Golf Outing Knob Hill Golf Club Monday, September 22, 2008 1 Shinnecock Drive Off Rt. 33 W Manalapan, NJ (732) 792-7722 www.knobhillgc.com Want to get your company's name out there! Tees and Hole-in-Ones are still available 45% OFF the NKBA Professional Resource Library To celebrate our 45th anniversary, the NKBA is offering our members 45% off the member price on the complete nine-volume set of the Professional Resource Library, the most definitive reference tool in the kitchen and bath industry. Regularly priced at $499, the library is now available for a limited time for only $274.45--a savings of over $224! To receive this special discount, call NKBA Customer Service at 800-THE-NKBA (843-6522) between now and August 29, 2008, and ask for the 45th anniversary special. Click here for more details . web link (click titles for link) News Association News
The NKBA has created an exciting new election process. For the first time, members have the opportunity to self-nominate directly through NKBA headquarters. This new directive should encourage more members to participate in the decision-making process. After years of the same procedure, in which officers were voted in only by those attending an election meeting, the NKBA has chosen to allow members the flexibility of voting from home. The major changes to the election procedure are: (a) All elections will take place by e-mail or fax ballot. (b) All candidates for an officer position must submit a self-nomination form to NKBA headquarters for eligibility, which will then be sent to the chapter secretary to be forwarded to the nominating committee. (c) The slate of officers will be sent by the secretary to NKBA headquarters and a ballot will be prepared listing all candidates for an officer position. (d) There will no longer be the necessity of holding an election at a chapter meeting since ballots will be posted online and voting by the membership will take place electronically or by fax. Staff will verify eligibility to serve prior to the nominating committee selecting the slate, thus avoiding a situation where a slate is submitted naming persons who are not members or who are otherwise ineligible to serve. By requiring the submission of a formal form, we hope to increase the number of members submitting self-nominations. While the nominating committee will still select the slate of candidates for the positions, anyone who has submitted a self-nomination form and was not slated by the nominating committee will be placed on the ballot by NKBA headquarters and will have an opportunity to run for office. Everyone who has submitted a self-nomination form and is eligible to serve will be placed on the ballot by NKBA headquarters. Ballots will be posted in the Members section of the NKBA website, where every voting member of the chapter will have an opportunity to cast their vote. No voting member will be disenfranchised. Additionally, since balloting will be done electronically, we will be able to verify eligibility to vote and obtain an accurate count of the voting membership. On September 2nd National will start to accept the self nomination forms. An email will be sent to all NKBA members providing a link to the Self Nomination form for easy submission. You will also be able to access the link on the NKBA website (under become a chapter leader). Association News MasterClass Conference 2008: Industry Perspectives Registration is now open for MasterClass Conference 2008: Industry Perspectives, which will be held October 1 and 2 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta in co-location with the Green + Design Conference and Exposition produced by Nielsen Business Media. MasterClass Conference is hosted by the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) and offers attendees engaging sessions and discussions with accomplished, world-class industry professionals who are masters in their fields. The conference will be held for a day and a half, giving industry professionals direct access to presenters. Attendees can look forward to topics including sustainability and universal design, among others. For more information on MasterClass please visit www.nkba.org/indust ry_masterclass.aspx web link | return to headlines How is NKBA Customer Service doing? The NKBA's Customer Service Department strives to give the best customer service possible. Our motto is "treat the customer as you would want to be treated." Our members are very important to us and we want to provide them with the help they need. We would like to hear from members as to how our Customer Service Department is doing. Whether it is a complaint or a comment, we want to hear from you. Please send your comments to dlaulette@nkba.org . Thank you. web link | return to headlines Web-Based Courses In June, NKBA Education introduced another convenience learning opportunity to our members: web-based courses. These types of learning modules are presented over the web in 90-minute sessions. Each course usually takes one to three weeks to complete. So far, the NKBA has offered Kitchen Starter, Bath Starter, and a new course entitled Designing with Color. Both the Kitchen Starter and Bath Starter program were written by David Newton, CMKBD, with Designing with Color written by Ann Morris, CMKBD. Each course session is recorded so that the student can catch up if forced to miss a session or if they simply want to watch and listen to a session they've already attended. If you missed the first sign-ups for this convenient type of learning option, sign up for the next round of these courses coming up in September: Kitchen Starter web-based series starts: September 23 Webinar 1-Hour Sessions One hour webinars are perfect for meeting the CEU cycle and for staying up-to-date in the kitchen and bath industry. Check the NKBA homepage under Industry Professionals -> Education for new courses: www.nkba.or g/industry masterclass.aspx web link | return to headlines Open Surveys Business Barometer The NKBA is conducting an ongoing business barometer survey to determine the economic health of kitchen and bath dealers in our industry. Previous surveys measured February, March, April, May, and June activity; this survey covers activity during July. Please take two or three minutes to fill out the survey at: www.nkba.org/survey/bizbar 0708 Style Barometer We have also launched a quarterly style barometer survey to determine which kitchen and bath designs are most popular. We'd like to ask you about what styles, colors, and products are going into the kitchen and bath jobs you do. The survey will take about ten minutes of your time. Please go to: www.nkba.org/survey/style02 08 You will be able to see preliminary results of both surveys when you finish, and full results will be available later. web link | return to headlines The New NKBA.org The new NKBA.org website was launched on June 30th. The new site features a more modern, easy-to-use look and feel, and will allow the NKBA to continually grow the site for the next several years. In particular, the new site includes new features such as:
Industry News Bathrooms Close the Deal The National Association of Realtors' Cost vs. Value Report, which is published annually in conjunction with Remodeling magazine, states that bathrooms are the most important feature homebuyers want in a house. A top-end bathroom remodeling job earns back 93.2 percent of the investment price. "Knowing what's in and what's out in bathroom design is important for homeowners deciding just where to spend their makeover dollars," cautions Interior Motives by Will Smith owner Will Smith. "I suggest they look at four key areas: the mirror, paint, hardware and lighting." All can be simply and inexpensively upgraded to offer a modern appearance to the bathroom." A mirror frame provides a bathroom with a finished, up-to-date look. Meanwhile, using paints with beige and pale tones can create a spa-style atmosphere, while other popular colors are aqua, chocolate, and olive. Brushed nickel, pewter, antique, or oil-rubbed bronze finishes that match the lighting, fixtures, bath bars, knobs, pulls, switches, and receptacle covers are good hardware bets. Lastly, lighting that provides beauty and soft lighting with shades or sconces is in and can be attached above a mirror or flanked on each side. Enhance Your Kitchen Lighting and Ventilation Kitchen building and remodeling experts suggest lightening cabinets, countertops, walls, and sometimes floors to lessen the need for electric lighting. In addition, installing one or more venting skylights to provides the kitchen with natural light and clean air. Kirsten Ritchie, a civil engineer and regional director for sustainable design for the international architectural, design, planning, and consulting company Gensler, notes that one of her favorite design ideas for an environmentally-friendly kitchen is "lots of operable windows for natural daylight and free ventilation." Meanwhile, VELUX America trade business development manager Steve Alfaro states that operable skylights and operable windows can offer additional natural light and fresh air to increase kitchens' usage and enjoyment. "Venting skylights can utilize their natural chimney effect to exhaust not only kitchen air but to vent volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other indoor air pollutants from other areas of the home as well," he says. Skylights, combined with blinds and shades, can be controlled by hand or by remote control. In addition, electrochromic glass enables homeowners to lighten and darken the glass by using a remote without losing the sky view. Lighting designers and additional housing experts can help homeowners choose a combination of natural and artificial lighting options that will make their kitchens functional and appealing. Strong Productivity Defies Trend and Gives Fed Room to Maneuver Productivity usually trends upward in good economic times and downward in sour economic times, going by the six U.S. recessions that have transpired since 1970; but since the end of 2007, productivity is estimated to have risen an average 2.5 percent at an annual rate despite economic deterioration. This growth gives the Federal Reserve breathing room to maintain interest rates lower than it otherwise might. "U.S. labor productivity has continued to grow faster than almost any other industrial country, and it just shows how strong this economy is," boasted Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke in recent congressional testimony. Some economists think the productivity growth signals a move from less productive domestic sectors such as home construction and into exporting industries, while the dollar's depreciation has helped boost the competitiveness of U.S. exports. "When exports are relatively strong, that means the most productive firms in manufacturing and services are growing, and that's going to increase aggregate productivity growth," says Dartmouth College's Andrew Bernard, one of a group of economists who authored a paper last year concluding that manufacturing plants involved in producing exports had substantially higher labor productivity than those that were not. In contrast to the 1970s, soaring energy costs are unlikely to inhibit productivity. return to headlines A classic look in kitchens is obtained through the employment of cabinetry, creatively, and color. Wood-Mode design director John Troxell notes that a classic look is best attained through the utilization of proportions. For instance, the relationship of the cabinets to the kitchen has to be balanced. Clean lines and a basic trim that are scaled to the cabinets and the size of the room are other classic elements. Troxel cautions that the signs must mesh with the house's architecture. Cherry is regarded as the most classic wood for kitchen cabinets, due to its grain pattern and richness. Raised-panel doors provide a comfortable yet dignified atmosphere, while panel doors that are recessed offer country charm. Kitchens do not necessarily have to be inundated with expensive furnishings to be classic. Good materials such as quartz or stone countertops will provide a feeling of timelessness. Will Redone Bath Help Sell a House? For homesellers, a renovated bathroom can make or break a deal. Homeowners are notoriously fussy about bathrooms, especially if they need to be redone. But a full bathroom remodeling is extremely costly and homeowners rarely recover their full investment. Basic renovations cost an average of $15,789, with $12, 932 of that amount recovered through a higher resale value, according to an annual study by Remodeling magazine. Larger projects are even more expensive. Remodeling magazine found that homeowners who expand the average 35-square-foot bathroom to 100 square feet with amenities pay an average of $52,000. While the current homesale market does not justify that level investment, real estate agents say even spending $16,000 on a renovation is unreasonable. "I wouldn't do that, to be honest with you," says Long & Foster agent Anita Centofanti. "I think it's very speculative for a seller to put a lot of money into a property in today's market without knowing if it will be to everyone's taste." A more cost-effective alternative, experts say, is to invest $2,500 on an acrylic tub and wall overlay. |
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