George Allen / EducateMHC Blog Mobile Home & Land Lease Community Advocate & Expert

August 19, 2021

NO ONE ELSE WILL ASK YOU THIS…

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 6:53 am

Blog Posting # 652 @ 20 August 2021: EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing!’

EducateMHC is the online national advocate, asset class historian, data researcher, education resource & communication media for all land lease communities throughout North America!

To input this blog and or affiliate with EducateMHC, telephone Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764. Also email: gfa7156@aol.com & visit www.educatemhc.com

Motto: ‘U Support US & WE Serve U! Goal: to promote HUD-Code manufactured housing & land lease communities as U.S. @ 1 source of affordable attainable housing! Attend MHM class!

INTRODUCTION:

I.

NO ONE ELSE WILL ASK YOU THIS…

Did you attend the RV/MH Hall of Fame Banquet, on 16 August, honoring the combined classes of 2020 and 2021 inductees? If so, you were part of an attendance record-setting event (More than 640 guests), first time honoring of military veterans in the audience, and several heart-stirring acceptance speeches by inductees or family members. And the food was great as well.

But that wasn’t all you missed. Most event guests made it a point to take a walking tour of the huge, recently-completed manufactured housing exhibit hall; something many of us have awaited for decades! A few even made it upstairs to the reorganized, spruced-up library, where the industry and asset class library of George Allen, and his writings, are now on public display.

But a lesser known event occurred Monday afternoon, when second generation Hall of Fame member Jim Scoular met with several other industry/asset class executives. Purpose of the meeting? To share ideas on how to best organize displays and furnish the exhibit hall with examples of mobile and manufactured housing, and land lease community memorabilia. I’d like to share some of the ideas expressed, but it’d be premature to do so. But it does bring us to THE QUESTION: ‘How do you think the museum hall should be configured to demonstrate history and progress of our type factory-built housing and varieties of community lifestyle? Address your remarks to me via gfa7156@aol.com I’ll collect them to pass onto the committee chairman and members.

I can tell you this much though; all segments of the manufactured housing industry will, in some fashion, be represented. Some examples:

Manufactured housing exhibits will likely include a covered wagon, 9, 10, 12, & 14’ wide singlesection units, a new singlesection 16X80, and mulitsection 28X48. Also, outdoors, a modular home – maybe equipped as a Smart House. Also interactive displays, perhaps showing HUD-Code houses being fabricated in plants and transported to building sites.

Land lease communities? What type lifestyle to display? Smaller ‘starter’ homes characteristic of young families, or larger multisection homes often found in all-adult or retirement communities in and out of Sunbelt regions? One idea would be to showcase a new community, highlighting its’ new development and completed phases with a video, photos, and layout.

Suppliers, lenders, transporters, insurers, installers, and other segments of the industry will be included in the displays.

One aspect of the planning meeting ‘conversation’ had to do with trade terminology; i.e. ‘What to use when describing industry segments in the new exhibit hall?

Manufactured housing and homes has been in place since 1976, and likely will not change here, though the terms intermediate & affordable housing pop up from time to time. Your opinion?

Trailer & mobile home parks; manufactured housing & home communities; land lease & lifestyle communities. What term should be used in this new museum setting?

And then there’re the folk who market and sell manufactured housing? You comfortable with ‘dealer’, or prefer to use the contemporary term, ‘independent (street) MHRetailer’?

So, there you have it. Some thoughts in play relative to the new manufactured housing exhibit hall at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN. Make your thoughts known via gfa7156@aol.com
No guarantee though, that your suggestions will prevail.

II.

THANKS TO ALL!

Last week’s blog posting featured my ‘good-bye talk’ presented at the final Networking Roundtable & Retirement Celebration, on 12 August, in Nashville, TN. Well, that gala event (i.e. First national manufactured housing-related public event in 1 ½ years!) went off without a hitch. Close to 150 registered, but 20 or so fewer attended, mainly due to testing positive for covid, flight cancelations, etc..

A dozen vendors of products and services germane to land lease community operations featured wares and abilities during the first half the day. Then Scott Roberts of Roberts Communities kept the audience on the edge of their seats with his audio-visual supported description of land lease communities he’s been developing and enlarging during the past few years.

Following a group photograph of everyone present, and a cocktail party sponsored by Skyline-Champion, everyone enjoyed (especially me) a retirement celebration dinner. The highlight there was the presentation of a large shadow box crafted by Travis McCarty, my grandson, for the occasion. It featured the corporate logos of all the sponsoring firms, along with a dozen or so individuals who contributed to the legacy occasion.

Everyone present at the event received a copy of FROM SMITTYALPHA6 TO MHMAVEN, the autobiography I authored during the pandemic. It was ‘hot off the press’ just before the Networking Roundtable began. Copies will be mailed to individuals registered to attend, but unable to do so. Additional copies are available for $39.95 plus shipping & handling, via www.educatemhc.com or phone me via (317) 881-3815

So, many Thanks to everyone who made this rare event possible, especially my business partners, Susan McCarty, MHM, and Erin Smith, MHM, of EducateMHC. Carolyn and I especially enjoyed the less stressful time for us, planning and hosting this 30th and final Networking Roundtable!

George Allen, CPM, MHM

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