Letter from the President

My name is Victor Banaszak and I am the President of the Northern Southeast Alaska Building Industry Association (SEABIA). Born and raised in Southeast Alaska, I feel there are few places in the world I would rather have grown up. I have always appreciated the small-town mentality where everyone knows everyone, and you can count on a neighbor to help in times of need. I grew up in the building industry and at age 13 began working summers and weekends with my father who owns a flooring company. He taught me to be an honest and quality tradesman. He also taught me that when you get a call because someone has water pouring through their ceiling, or an older couple has a snow-berm to shovel, you don’t hesitate to help. Throughout my teens, we traveled to Dallas, Seattle, Anchorage, and other places to get custom training and certifications in multiple areas of the trade. At age 18 I decided I was tired of my knees always hurting and started to work for a construction company building custom homes (FYI – at age 76 my father is still on his knees installing flooring!). In 2003, I started VRB Construction and have enjoyed being a contractor in the Juneau community ever since.

I heard about SEABIA a few years ago from one of the past presidents who urged me to join because of the professional benefits. SEABIA helped legitimize my company because it gave clients a degree of comfort knowing they are using a builder that is endorsed by other builders. SEABIA also gave me access to other companies I could network with and could benefit from: their resources, ideas, labor, etc. When joining SEABIA, my contact information was published in the online membership directory. The online directory gives Juneauites looking for good builders easy access to my information and services. This has rewarded my company with job opportunities including a contract to build a custom home.

In addition to being SEABIA President, I was recently appointed to the Alaska State Home Builders Board of Directors (ASHBA). Serving on the ASHBA Board of Directors the last few years has been very educational to me regarding their statewide effort’s to support what we are doing as contractors. ASHBA has been laboring intensely to promote the building industry and create better economic environments for the trades. Even though it isn’t always obvious, ASHBA has helped drive legislation which ultimately benefits our trade.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) also provides strong support for SEABIA. NAHB has a significant catalog of resources that all SEABIA members can access with their 3-in-1 membership in SEABIA, ASHBA, and NAHB! I have enjoyed talking with NAHB Field Representatives who have come to Juneau and helped SEABIA with organizational plans, membership benefits, etc. They have been happy to send any info needed regarding training as well as other areas of concern. SEABIA members can take classes and earn certifications in areas such as project management, estimating, basic contract law, green building, home sales, etc. Another NAHB benefit comes with the rebates and discounts that many companies offer if you are a member. Corporations in car sales, car rentals, travel, shipping, material suppliers…the list goes on…all provide significant discounts to members of home builders associations across the country.

I joined SEABIA because I loved being a part of an organization of members that had many of the same interests and needs as myself. I felt a camaraderie with the friends I already knew in the business as well as the many new friends I made along the way. Networking with others in the business helped to make me a better builder and business owner. I joined the Board of Directors because I felt it was time to give back. During my term, I would like to focus on uniting our builders and associates in a more proactive way through more membership events, social occasions, and civic volunteering. No one can do this alone. It will take all of us working together and I invite you to join me. Let’s make our membership in SEABIA something we can continue to be proud of!

Sincerely,

Victor Banaszak

Owner & Operator, VRB Construction
President, Southeast Alaska Building Industry Association (SEABIA)

Board of Directors