Trade Assn. Rebuilds Its Board, Looks Ahead With New Initiatives

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Jun 18

Written By Jean Lotus

*Members of the US Hemp Building Association’s reconstituted board. Not pictured: Saba Tesfay, director at large.*

By Jean Lotus

After a rocky couple of months, the U.S. Hemp Building Association has rebuilt its board and is moving forward with new initiatives, new board members say.

Shawn Ledig, elected to the board in February, has since taken over as president. Two of the organization's early members, Saba Tesfay and Eric McKee from the organization (founded in 2019), have joined him on the rebuilt board, Ledig said in a letter to membership.

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Americhanvre

South Bend Industrial Hemp

Hillside Center for Sustainable Living

Sativa Building Systems

Silacote Mineral Paints

Earthaus Plaster

HempWood

Evolve Construction

Now the focus is on rebuilding membership and the resources that come with it, Ledig told HempBuild Mag. (Full disclosure, the author was formerly a USHBA board member.)

Ledig announced lower membership rates, with individual membership dropping to $59 and student membership to $10, down from a $99 individual rate that had become a barrier for newer builders and students. "We chose to bring those numbers down on purpose," he wrote. "This industry grows when more builders, designers, homeowners, students, and advocates are inside the tent rather than outside of it."

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Alongside the lower rates, USHBA is expanding the technical resources available to members and relaunching its regional leadership program with clearer standards and more support. Ledig said the board is vetting new regional volunteers more carefully than in the past. "You gotta have a better vet," he told HempBuild Mag. "Can they bring something to the table? It's not just, ‘hey, I'm coming to the table and eating.’"

The association is also moving to a redesigned website at ushempbuilding.org and building a job board intended to connect employers, tradespeople, and homeowners seeking hempcrete builders, along with a national map of engineers, architects, and contractors working in hemp construction.

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Rocky Election, Resignations

The association's February board election drew criticism after several winning candidates were disqualified over unpaid dues, and a wave of resignations and declined seats followed in March, including the association's president, vice president and treasurer.

The current board consists of Shawn Ledig, president; Eric McKee vice president; Ryan Dougherty, treasurer; Ingrid Fay, secretary; and at-large board members Alex Escher, Tom Rossmassler and Saba Tesfay.

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Membership numbers are still being sorted out as the association cleans up its records, which Ledig said had been muddied by tracking errors and leftover “ghost memberships.” He estimated current paid membership at somewhere between 85 and 110, including roughly a dozen lifetime memberships held by original 2019 founders.

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Rebuilding Trust

Ledig said the priority for the rest of the year is straightforward: rebuild trust with members and prove the value of membership through technical resources, new tools, and a more functional regional network. "We have to give the members their money's worth," he said.