LBM leaders have a responsibility to support their communities. I’m sure many in the LBM industry would agree with that statement but are unsure if they are in a position to act on it. Sometimes, however, there’s a strong business case in support of philanthropy.
SRS Distribution understands this. According to our story “SRS Salutes and Supports Military Veterans” (page 20), the company is committed to hiring an additional 500 veterans by 2023. The benefits to the veterans are obvious, but SRS benefits as well. Hiring service members offers SRS access to young employees who have a strong work ethic and experience leading others in high-stress situations.
There are other ways to support communities while also growing your business. At Epicor’s Insights LBM event in early November, Lisa Pope, the company’s executive vice president of Americas, spoke about this in her opening keynote address. Her central message focused on resiliency and the need for dealers to help members of their community brace for severe weather. (Read “Epicor Urges Resiliency at its Insights LBM Event” on page 7 for full coverage of her presentation.) Since 1980, she said the frequency of severe weather has doubled and that she herself has experienced her fair share of natural disasters, forcing her to evacuate from Houston due to flooding, St. Martin because of a devastating hurricane, and Southern California due to wildfires.
Some might argue the industry can’t afford to build more resilient housing across different geographies. “The truth is,” Pope said, “we can’t afford not to, because we are already paying for it.”
When disaster strikes, businesses are disrupted, taxes must pay for relief, home insurance rates increase, and property values drop, she said. And that’s why she is asking dealers to help. “Every $1 we spend on creating a more resilient home saves $4 in the actual recovery, so there’s definitely an extremely strong cost benefit here,” she said, adding that dealers can help by promoting or selling wind-resistant roofs, fire-treated lumber, elevated building designs, and solar-powered solutions.
Naturally, you have a responsibility to grow your business. (Turn to our 2019 Excellence Awards coverage, starting on page 25, for some great ideas.) But, if you do nothing to help residents in vulnerable areas, they could get priced out. In that case, what good is growing your business, if there’s no one left to buy from you?
