Every year, volunteer members, HBAs and their staff work tirelessly to build strong communities, strengthen the industry, and give back to cities, towns and neighbourhoods across Canada. The CHBA Association Leadership Awards honour the leaders within our association – both individuals and our local and provincial homebuilders’ associations. This year’s honours were given out during CHBA’s Home Building Week in Canada in Victoria, BC. Congratulations to the very deserving recipients, who you can learn more about here.
Member of the Year – Gary Sharp
The prestigious Member of the Year award is a long-term achievement award, and it was presented this year to Gary Sharp. Sharp has dedicated the last 30 years of his career to advancing the residential construction industry, especially when it comes to building science and professionalization. While he’s spent most of those years as a member of the association, he even worked for CHBA for a while, first as a contracted employee working on the R-2000 program, then as Director of Renovation Services, where he was passionate about helping support professional renovators.
Sharp was an integral part of the creation of the Adaptiv Home Manual, and an instructor for every delivery of the Adaptiv Home Course until recently. He has helped to bring a variety of emerging technologies to market, and is a strong supporter of the LEEP program. Sharp was critical to the production of the CHBA Builders Manual, and led the development of the inaugural Renovators’ Manual in 2021. Since returning to his business full-time after working for CHBA, he has continued to be actively involved in the Net Zero Council, the Technical Research Committee, and the Renovators’ Council. He has made meaningful contributions to the residential construction industry, and is very deserving of the 2025 Member of the Year honour.
Lifetime Achievement Award – John Bos
This year, a lifetime achievement award was presented to the longest-standing employee that CHBA has ever had at the national office. John Bos, Director of Finance, has been keeping CHBA in the black for 40 years and is retiring soon. We wish him all the best and a retirement filled with even more cycling than he already does.
Rooftopper Membership Recruitment Champion – Vince Lapico
New this year, the Rooftopper Membership Recruitment Champion recognizes the member who has excelled in recruiting new members to their local HBA over the previous year. Vince Lapico, from Windsor-Essex HBA in Ontario, fully embodies the name of this award. Whether he’s at an industry event, a business meeting or simply having a conversation with a colleague, he is consistently advocating for all three levels of the association.
Lapico is not afraid to pick up the phone and personally call individuals he believes should be members, and those people stay engaged because he ensures they join for the right reasons – understanding the true value of their membership rather than feeling pressured into it.
His efforts have been instrumental in this smaller association’s resurgence and surpassing their membership goals, having directly contributed to the recruitment of more than 50 new members. Keep it up, Vince.
Community Service Award – London HBA
The Community Service Award was given to the London HBA, a local association based in London, Ont. dedicated to giving back to its community through multiple activities throughout the year, from donating socks to maintaining a cancer survivors garden to raising $345,000 for their local food bank.
Its Green Home Build, a Net Zero Ready Home supported by the contributions of more than 50 members and other businesses in the industry, was integrated into a local college program and provided the means to give a $100,000 donation to a children’s cancer program. The association also hosted a large soccer tournament, raising $70,000 for the city’s homelessness crisis, and ticket sales for its Parade of Renovations helped a registered charity supporting families after a workplace fatality, life-altering injury or occupation disease.
The members and staff from the London HBA are certainly raising the bar high when it comes to giving back to their community.
Executive Officers of the Year
This Executive Officer of the Year goes to the staff leader of a local or provincial association who has demonstrated exceptional leadership of their association, as well as the ability to work effectively with volunteer leaders to create a strong and positive voice for the housing industry, including administration, financial and human resource management, policy development and advocacy, membership development, media relations and communications. This year, two awards were given out: One for an HBA with fewer than 200 members (small HBA) and one with 200 or more members (large HBA).
Executive Officer of the Year (Small HBA) – Melissa Jonker
Melissa Jonker, EO at Guelph & District HBA and Greater Dufferin HBA in Ontario, excels while wearing many hats. As the lone staff person, she is heavily involved in numerous committees and working groups locally on behalf of members, especially around housing supply, development and affordability.
With Jonker at the helm, membership retention has been consistently high, and membership numbers continue to rise. She communicates regularly with members through regular newsletters and networking and informational events. She has implemented administrative tools to free up more time for advocacy, and has revamped the HBA’s bylaws, website and financials in addition to media outreach and career development initiatives for youth.
Executive Officer of the Year (Large HBA) – Mike Collins-Williams
The 2025 honour went to Mike Collins-Williams, EO of the West End HBA in Ontario. Mike has a strong focus on advocacy, visibility and connecting with members. Collins-Williams’ motto is being “everywhere all the time,” and in addition to extensive advocacy efforts, he is also strategically involved in many community and member events, resulting in frequent mentions in print, radio and podcasts.
Collins-Williams has led his HBA in consecutive operational surpluses and successfully revamped a separate advocacy fund. Membership has grown 25 per cent since he joined, and he prioritizes regular one-on-one meetings with members. He supports the professional career growth and wellbeing of his staff, and is also a vocal contributor when EOs get together, sharing his experiences and perspectives to help others.
HBA of the Year
The HBA of the Year Award recognizes overall excellence by an HBA in delivering a strong and positive voice for the homebuilding industry, and in supporting the business success of members and their ability to provide affordability, quality and choice in housing for consumers. This year, two awards were given out: One for an HBA with fewer than 200 members (small HBA) and one with 200 or more members (large HBA).
HBA of the Year (Small HBA) – CHBA New Brunswick
CHBA – New Brunswick took home the honour after it saw a year of significant growth thanks to its increased involvement in industry training, strong profile in the community and strategic advertising. Its education offerings include a Master Builder Certification Program, and it has some free training open to the entire industry, used as a membership recruitment opportunity.
CHBA-NB has monthly networking events for members, mentorship and awards programs, and a bi-weekly newsletter to keep members informed. This year, in addition to governance and administrative changes, their government advocacy included provincial election activities, meeting with the housing minister, pursuing mandatory contractor licensing, and informing several working groups and committees.
HBA of the Year (Large HBA) – CHBA Central Interior
CHBA Central Interior (CHBA-CI), based in Kamloops, also had a record-breaking year. Thanks to great member retention and continuous building up of local professionals through their Training House, the association had its largest membership numbers in six decades. CHBA-CI hosts high-value member networking events and awards that sell out and bring in critical sponsorships. The HBA also facilitates training opportunities, provides free e-learning for members.
Their strong strategic planning, active engagement from their board of directors and committee members, and sound financial management has resulted in a strong association that is able to effectively advocate locally on important issues including bylaws and housing policy, environmental challenges and electrification.
Congratulations to all of the recipients of this year’s Association Leadership Awards.
