by Jeff Templeton
I try to listen and learn about marketing and business from as many experts as possible. I believe that their insights will make myself and those that I work with and for that much better. One of the best I heard lately, was a marketing professional that said, " what matters now are tribes."
Tribes are by definition a group of people with something in common. Sometimes it's for basic survival and existence. Sometimes its for political, religious or social reasons. Whatever the reason, they are all built around a common cause, need or belief.Tribes are about common connections, people and ideas. It can also be about finding a group that is disconnected, but has a yearning and bringing them together.
The leaders are those that stand up and challenge the status quo, build a culture, reach out to those who feel the same, commit to the cause and/or create the movement. A tribe's success is built on leaders' ability to focus on their central premise and to work together to promote and execute the ideas that help the tribe's cause.This is true on so many levels of each of our lives and it is absolutely true for the Manufactured Housing Industry today. The tribe here at www.MHPRONEWS.com (www.MHMSM.com) believes strongly that we can do better as an industry, and when we do better together, we are better individually. The reverse can also be true. It starts with communication. Sharing the best ideas and practices, defining the future goals of our industry, implementing strategies to move us forward and executing a plan to accomplish our goals and advance the industry as a whole.Providing our tribe with the best news and information resources, creating new and exciting networking opportunities, giving businesses an effective and affordable business to business marketing platform, developing business building and image enhancement programs like the MHAlliance, offering Solution oriented services to strengthen the sales and marketing of manufactured home builders, communities, retailers, suppliers and others throughout the country, are all part of our efforts to work with associations and other to move the industry forward.The tribe gathers here at MHProNews.com by the tens of thousands every month. The tribe grows when professionals like you forward a link or a message to others in your circle of contacts, company or association.
We value all of you that are members of this tribe. We encourage you to participate in the advancement of this tribe and this industry. Your voice – through submissions of tips for news stories or articles for Industry Voices - has great value and influence to all of us.
With your help, participation and commitment, we can further grow this tribe into an even stronger voice committed to one cause, one movement. Which is to make the Manufactured Housing Industry the best that it can be! # #

CNNMoney reports following the year’s worst week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average bounced back, unfazed by the ten percent drop in Facebook’s stock, although encouraged by news from Europe, as the Dow gained +135.1 points, +1.09 percent, to close at 12,504.48. The Nasdaq moved up +2.46 percent to 2,847.21, while the S&P gained...
21 May 2012
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GoUpstate tells us the Spartanburg City Council in South Carolina is considering raising the fees on MHC owners to offset the cost of inspections so taxpayers are not subsidizing the expense of the inspectors. Other changes in the ordinance amending the original land management measure deal with lighting and setback for manufactured homes. At one...
21 May 2012
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WenatcheeWorld in Wenatchee, Washington says home sales according to Pacific Appraisal Associates spiked 44 percent in April over the same month last year, hitting $44 million compared to last April’s $35.1 million. In the greater Wenatchee area the number of homes sold year-to-date rose 25% over 2011. Sales of manufacture housing rose 120%...
21 May 2012
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PalmBeachPost reports from Jupiter, Florida a plan to build 348 rental units will force some 100 residents of Whitehaven Seniors Adult Park MHC to relocate. Jupiter-based FLF 1030 LLC says the company must close the sale of the property and then receive site use and zoning approval from the city before closing the community. In [...]...
21 May 2012
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Following up on a story we covered Jan. 19, 2012, HutchNews reports from Lawrence, Kansas the rental housing planned for University of Kansas students to replace the 241 site Gaslight Mobile Home Village is still being negotiated, as homeowners have begun moving out. Mid-America Manufactured Housing Communities will pay residents’ moving ...
21 May 2012
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NorthernColoradoBusinessReport says Edmonton, Alberta, Canada-based PTI Group Inc. bought the 100,000 square foot plant previously occupied by Barvista Homes modular home manufacturer in Johnstown, Colorado, to produce modular offices and housing for use by the burgeoning oil and gas industry in northern Colorado. Billing itself as one of the...
21 May 2012
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In it’s second newspaper conglomerate acquisition in six months, HoumaToday tells MHProNews.com Berkshire Hathaway has purchased 63 of Media General’s newspaper properties for $142 million cash, including the Richmond Times Dispatch and Winston Salem Journal. “In towns and cities where there is a strong sense of community, there is no m...
21 May 2012
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All three U.S. stock market indexes notched their worst week of 2012. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 3.5% for the year, falling -73.11 points today, -0.59%, to end the week at 12,369.38. CNNMoney reports continuing concerns about global markets kept investors on the sidelines. The Nasdaq dropped -1.24 percent to 2,778.79, while the [...]...
18 May 2012
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InForum says organizers of the Bakken Housing Summit in Williston, North Dakota are calling for 5,000 homes in western ND in the next 24 months to meet the demand for housing in this oil rich region. Real estate developer Michael Milner of Salt Lake City says, “Without federal interference, this will be one of the [...]...
18 May 2012
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A contractor for 20 years, Dale Jech is now certified to build modular homes in Rochester, Minnesota, another player helping to fill the need for housing in the oil fields of North Dakota. Creative Modular Concepts already has orders for 80 homes and anticipates the sixty-man crew will build 145 homes this year. Jech says [...]...
18 May 2012
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SeniorHousingNews tells MHProNews.com following the Great Depression about 25% of all households were multi-generational. That number fell to 12% during the 1980′s and climbed to 17% as people deal with the Great Recession. If that trend continues, the nation’s home builders may be develop more side-by-side houses, with one side better...
18 May 2012
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by Katy Weldon Something amazing is happening to older mobile and manufactured homes in certain areas of California. They are in demand! Mobile and manufactured homes built in the 1970’s and 1980’s... Read more
MARKETING

by Jeff Templeton A recent study found that the average American sees approximately 1600 advertisements a day. In a single day! Those ads are seen online, in newspapers, magazines, billboards, TV,... Read more
MARKETING

Featured Articles and Reports for Vol. 3, No. 8, 2012 Alphabetically by Category COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT & FAIR HOUSING (LEGAL) • “What’s in a Name?” by Nadeen Green, JD The fact that you are reading MHProNews.com to... Read more
index

by Chrissy Jackson Simply put, a budget is a tool. When effectively used, this tool can enable you to have a manufactured home land lease community that is financially sound. A... Read more
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT & FAIR HOUSING (LEGAL)

by Nadeen Green, JD The fact that you are reading MHProNews.com to gain insight into the manufactured housing industry shows that you are engaged and embracing the world of online information... Read more
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT & FAIR HOUSING (LEGAL)

by Andrew Peters It’s easy for professionals in the housing industry to forget just how extensive the language of mortgage lending can be. We’re often quickly reminded, however, when we try... Read more
FINANCING

by John Merchant, JD Many manufactured home communities and some MH retailers have – over the years – created their own notes. The following is an outline of the things and... Read more
FINANCING

by Kurt D. Kelley, J.D. For the last six months, I’ve served on The Woodlands, Texas Chamber of Commerce Health Care Program Committee. These efforts culminated on April 27th with a... Read more
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS

by George Porter A Manufactured Home is a more complicated piece of engineering than most other homes. Our building code makes us have a multi-purpose chassis. Strangely, we don’t move all... Read more
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS

by Margaret Clark (Editor's Intro: The following is a letter written by manufactured home community owner Margaret Clark to KWWL-TV reporter, Kera Mashek. Ms. Clark was writing in response to a... Read more
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS

by L. A. 'Tony' Kovach Trade media exists because there is a need to communicate facts and ideas relative to the industry being served. A robust online trade journal (e-zine) complements... Read more
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS

by L. A. 'Tony' Kovach If a picture is worth a thousand words, then there are tens of thousands of words captured in the photos that follow. The Manufactured Housing Institute... Read more
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS

Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, NV - April 11, 2012. Members of the manufactured and modular housing industries gathered today at an awards luncheon to recognize individuals and companies for outstanding... Read more
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS

by L. A. 'Tony' Kovach Manufactured home trade shows are a wonderful way to bring products and professionals together in one place. The home shown in this photo gallery carousel below... Read more
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS

by Tim Connor OK, have you figured it out or are you just waiting for my take on this topic? Come on – give it some thought – it might prove... Read more
MANAGEMENT

by L. A. 'Tony' Kovach If you are holding a smartphone, an iPad or are looking at a laptop, etc. you already know the answer to this article's headline's question. But... Read more
MANAGEMENT

by Tim Connor, CSP If you are not aware of the simple fact that fear is the major contributor to stress, illness, failure, worry and a whole host of other negative... Read more
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS, MOTIVATION and INSPIRATION

by Zig Ziglar Several years ago I was teaching a Sunday school class at First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas.Recalling G. K. Chesterton's paradoxical “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly,”... Read more
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS, MOTIVATION and INSPIRATION

by Tim Connor I just finished reading for the fourth time - one of my favorite books, The Power of Patience by M. J. Ryan. As I was reading, it struck... Read more
SALES

by L. A. 'Tony' Kovach Let's begin a periodic series of articles on some classic – but often unused or overlooked – sales tips and strategies. We will begin with the... Read more
SALES