Home Builder of the Year named; '08 president installed at banquet

By Richard Mize

Published: December 15, 2007

The Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association named Caleb McCaleb as 2007 Builder of the Year and installed Jim McWhirter as 2008 president Friday night at its annual Christmas banquet held for the last time in the association's Regal Room.

McCaleb, owner of McCaleb Homes in Edmond, was 2007 president. McWhirter is owner of Gemini Homes in Choctaw. The association named Kelly Ranney of Lawyers Title as Associate of the Year.

McWhirter joined the association in 1983 and has been a member of the board of directors for eight years.

"I am excited about COHBA this year. There are many changes going on in our industry. I'm looking forward to promoting a united effort between our builders, developers, municipalities and legislature. Those groups working together will ensure better and more positive results for our Oklahoma consumers,” McWhirter said.

The banquet and officer installation had special significance for longtime members of the association, which soon will move from its offices building, which includes the Regal Room banquet and ball room, where it has been for more than 40 years.

The 16,874-square-foot facility at 625 NW Grand Blvd., built in 1960, has provided banquet accommodations for many businesses and civic and business organizations for years. Chesapeake Energy bought the building earlier this year.

"The association feels a sense of sadness as they leave a building with a tremendous amount of history, but they are excited about the future as they begin the process of building the new facility, which will be located on Britton Road east of Broadway Extension,” McCaleb said.

That's the association's immediate concern, he said.

"The most exciting project for the association is the upcoming groundbreaking and building of our new state-of-the-art headquarters and learning facility,” McCaleb said. "Our new home for the Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association will be a flagship for generations of builders and building associates to come.”

But McCaleb said the biggest challenge for the association next year will be overcoming the perception that the central Oklahoma housing market is in bad shape, when sales have only slowed this year — and home builders have responded by cutting back on construction.

National housing statistics have been bleak for months and some big-city markets, mostly on the coasts and in the industrial Midwest, are seeing home values drop significantly.

In Oklahoma, however, according to the latest figures from federal housing officials and the National Association of Realtors, home values continue to rise on a healthy job market and resurgence of the oil-and-gas industry.

"Oklahoma City has been doing well during this national slump and we anticipate a positive real estate market for the foreseeable future in our area,” McCaleb said.

Other additions to the association board of directors are Jeff Click, vice president; Mark Dale, vice president-treasurer; Jim Schuff, vice president-secretary; Vanessa Shadix, Associates Council chairman; Mike Gilles, president of past presidents; and John DeVere, membership chairman.

The Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association, with 1,400 members, is an affiliate of the Oklahoma State Home Builders Association, a federation with more than 3,000 members. Members include home builders, remodelers, developers, suppliers, manufacturers, architects, engineers, real estate brokers, lenders, attorneys and other industry professionals.

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