Last night’s NHC “Housing Person of the Year” Gala honoring the Federal Home Loan Banks’ Affordable Housing Program (AHP) promised to be as grand as its venue – the National Building Museum. With a record-breaking $712,000 raised, and more than 800 attendees, the Gala exceeded expectations. The event provided not only a chance to recognize the AHP, but also an opportunity to celebrate affordable housing’s future.
The program for the event coincided with the theme, “Housing’s New Era,” by opening with an innovative video of NHC President and CEO Maureen Friar addressing the issues and future of affordable housing. But before ascending into the “New Era,” Friar and all the Gala attendees paid tribute to former NHC head Conrad Egan. He was greeted with a standing ovation from the audience, many of whom had either worked with him or followed his achievements during a career spanning 40 years.
Ultimately, the over-arching message was moving beyond the current housing crisis to grow affordable housing as a first-tier national priority through better coordination within the affordable housing field.
This theme was echoed by all of the Gala speakers including: Dan Nissenbaum, NHC chairman; Angie Garcia Lathrop, community affairs representative for Bank of America; Phil Bracken, executive vice president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage; Ed DeMarco, acting director of Federal Housing Finance Agency; and Lee Gibson, chairman of the Council of Federal Home Loan Banks.
NHC member Builders of Hope of Raleigh, NC, was also recognized at the Gala for receiving NHC’s “Pioneering Housing Strategies” Award last year. The organization won the award for its uniquely comprehensive Building Green Communities model that focuses on recycling homes slated for demolition using green building standards and then selling the homes at cost to working families.
The Gala took place on the 20th anniversary of the FHLBanks’ Affordable Housing Program and fell on the eve of NHC’s 80th anniversary in 2011, signifying the importance and resilience of the affordable housing community in the past, present and future.
If you would like to order a high resolution DVD version of the “Housing’s New Era” video, please contact NHC Communications and Digital Media Associate Tim O’Keefe.