Newsletter:

The Board of Directors meeting will be held at 5:00pm upstairs at The City Club. Please plan to be there. If you can not be there, please call Sherri Hedgepeth @ 704-867-0601 or 704-616-3596 so your absence will be excused.

GCHBA
Sherri Hedgepeth - Office Manager
gchba@carolina.rr.com
704-867-0601

President’s Message:

Message from 2008 President
Mike Brazell

I hope everyone is doing great! If you missed last month’s General Membership meeting, you missed a great time.
“Rowdy Ronnie” had us rolling in the isles with the Roast of Les McLean. Les took the ribbing like a gentleman. We are fortunate to have leaders like Les in our Association.
A lot of new things are happening in the Association. Our new Web Site should be ready in a few more weeks. If you are interested in your own website, we are being offered a special rate for a starter site. Please call us if you are interested.
We will be putting together names for consideration for the 2009 GCHBA Board of Directors. If you are interested in serving on the Board, please let me know.
On September 2, 2008 @ 6:00pm in the City Council Chambers at City Hall (181 South Street), we will show our opposition to a recently proposed Impact Fee for Recreation. The City Council will be looking at the proposal for consideration that will require dedication of land for public parks or payment in lieu of such dedication. WE MUST STAND UP! PLEASE BE THERE!
According to articles on the National HBA website, Housing Markets across the country may continue to experience difficulty in 2008 before recovering in 2009. Markets in the NE and South will recover ahead of other areas. On August 26, 2008 one report from the Commerce Department reflected that single-family home sales rose 2.4%. On August 19th, it was reported that permit issuance was also mixed on a regional basis. The Midwest posting a 1.4% gain, the South had a 4.1% gain and the West registering a 14% decline. An August 12th report said that a newly launched web site, www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com, has attracted more than 100,000 visitors, indicating that there is a strong interest among consumers to take advantage of a temporary $7500 tax credit for the purchase of a first home.
There is light at the end of the tunnel!
Thank you for your continued support of the GCHBA!

See you at the September 8, 2008 meeting!
Mike Brazell, 2008 President

PS. Thank you for all the condolences & flowers that my family and I received for the passing of my Mom.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!
Mike

Other Items of Interest:

Build-Pac/State Director Report
Krista Sands-Build Pac Trustee

I hope everyone has had a propsperous summer and is ready to get back to work!
We have to date $5124 towards our Build Pac goal of $7400, so we still need to get contributions.
Gaston county is a buzz with growth changes, so please be sure to mark your calanders for our September meeting.
We are having Canditates night and we need to be there to hear their stands on the issues so we can make imformative voting decisions.
Also fellow State Directors, we have meetings coming up in September, please try to attend these. Nominations are coming up for next years Board of Directors for local and state.
We need for you to take an active role in your profession! Please let someone on the board know if you are interested in getting involed.
All it takes is a little bit of time!
Looking forward to seeing everyone at the meeting!

Respecfully, Krista Sands

Government Liaison:

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS REPORT

Early Full Schedule!

September 2nd City of Gastonia Council Meeting for the Recreational Fee. Numbers, we need numbers. Attend and make your opinion known or stay home and write those checks. It really is that simple. And if I was a gambling man I think we will look back on this item as the first shot in the battle to impose an Adequate Facilities Ordinance. The State Legislature seems to be jealously guarding the power of allowing Impact Fees and Transfer Taxes have been soundly beaten everywhere they have been on the ballot. Leaving AFO’s as one of the few tax revenue generators outside Property Tax and Sales Tax.

September 8th Candidates Night – meet greet and discuss issues.

As always talking with local elected officials whether in their office or in the mall is the best line of defense against these things coming up. When they come up it boils down to numbers.

Jerry Fleeman
Construction - Development-Real Estate
P.O. Box 550908
Gastonia NC 28055
Office 704-824-5635 Fax 704-824-9577

Membership Memo:

Greetings to the membership from the 2008 Associate Vice President-
Melissa Griffin

September 8th Meeting

Join us at the City Club to meet and greet our local Candidates. Make sure you attend this meeting so you can get to know who is running for office and how they stand on
the issues that affect your Business and our Association.

***For those of you who did not attend the August meeting, boy did you miss it!!! We roasted Les McLean and learned not only has he been around forever, he is also quite the Sandal novice or should I say snatcher!!

Facts about September you might not know…

Labor Day is Monday, September 1st
The observance of Labor Day began over 100 years ago. Conceived by America's labor unions as a testament to their cause, the legislation sanctioning the holiday was shepherded through Congress amid labor unrest and signed by President Grover Cleveland as a reluctant election-year compromise.
This holiday that began over a century ago had very different intentions than that which are celebrated today. Along with the increase in United States industrialization at the turn of the 20th century came harsh working conditions, poor living situations, long hours, less pay, and no job security. It’s important to remember the benefits we now have as a result of the Labor Movements’ advancement. Labor Day is a celebration of the working class.

Sunday, September 7th is Grandparents Day and Grandma Moses’s Birthday
The impetus for a National Grandparents Day originated with Marian McQuade (now age 91), a housewife in Fayette County, West Virginia. Her primary motivation was to champion the cause of lonely elderly in nursing homes. She also hoped to persuade grandchildren to tap the wisdom and heritage their grandparents could provide. President Jimmy Carter, in 1978, proclaimed that National Grandparents Day would be celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor Day.

Thursday, September 11th A Day of Remembrance and Mourning for our NationThe September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11) were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States. On that morning, terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners.[1][2] The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the building, causing both buildings to collapse within two hours, destroying at least two nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania after passengers and members of the flight crew on the fourth aircraft attempted to retake control of their plane, which was heading for Washington, D.C.. There are no known survivors from any of the flights. Excluding the 19 hijackers, 2,974 people died in the attacks. Another 24 were missing and presumed dead. The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals from over 90 different countries. Please take a moment and pray for our Nation and our Men and Women in Service as the War on Terrorism continues.

Milton Hershey’s Birthday is Saturday, September 13th
God Bless Milton…what would we do without Chocolate!!!!

Wednesday, September 15th The Constitution of The United States was accepted on this day
The Constitution of the United States is the cornerstone of our American government. In 4,543 words this document describes the structure or plan of the government and the rights of the American people. The Constitution is known as a "living document" because it can be amended. Since its ratification, it has only been changed (amended) 27 times. The Constitution is a strong document, more powerful than any branch of government or any state. At the same time, it is flexible enough to allow for freedom and changes in America.

Monday, September 22 Autumn Begins
Monday, September 29th Rosh Hashanah begins and ends on Tuesday the 30th

See you at the September Meeting!!!!

Members in the News:

"PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO RECOGNIZE OUR NEW MEMBERS!"

Darrell Pearson – WDL Builders – dosteureqhy@aol.com
Terry Taylor – Direct Power, Inc. – terry@directpower.net
Joesph Marshall – Best Buy – jacquelyne.Lartey@bestbuy.com