As the current leader of MHI’s National Communities Council (NCC), I look forward to this opportunity to serve you and represent the interests of community owners. I am confident that as we work together to face the challenges confronting our industry, we will continue to make progress and find success. Nonetheless, I believe that the key to the NCC’s success as a leading voice and advocate for the industry lays with you. Your support and involvement is more crucial than ever! I encourage you to be involved, engaged, and welcome your thoughts and ideas this coming year.

I hope to see all of you at the upcoming MHI Legislative Conference and Winter Meeting. Your presence and voice will be especially needed as we set out to educate and inform the many newly elected Members of Congress. The message is that millions of Americans depend upon our industry for quality, safe and affordable homes and communities. With the severe downturn in the housing market and our nation’s overall economy, the need for affordable housing has never been greater. Therefore, the importance of ensuring our industry’s ability to meet that need is critical. Yet, our industry continues to struggle with restrictive financing and limited access to capital.

For this reason, we need your help in educating lawmakers on the need for addressing and correcting a number of problematic provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173; P.L. 111-517). The implementation of this sweeping financial services overhaul bill will impact a wide variety of financial institutions and products. Looking ahead, it will undoubtedly impact our business and the affordable home purchasing of our consumers. For this reason, the issue of Dodd-Frank financial reform is and will continue to be a top priority for our industry, as well as, a key talking point for our Hill visits in March.

The NCC will continue to focus on the problems surrounding SAFE Act implementation. Over the course of the past year, MHI/NCC has been very effective working with our allies on the Hill on the clarification and relevance of the SAFE Act to the manufactured housing industry. While much has been accomplished, there is additional effort required. Again, I encourage you to attend the upcoming MHI Legislative Conference and Winter Meeting. Additional details, including the complete schedule and travel details, can be viewed at http://www.manufacturedhousing.org/event/winter_meeting.asp.

As a NCC member, I value your feedback. Please feel free to contact me at sschaub@yescommunities.com anytime. I look forward to working with you over the course of this year and hope to see you in D.C. in March!