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The Parmer Group has celebrated the start of 2025 by adding The Zigmund Company to its family of operations. The Zigmund Company is an independent insurance consulting business that, for over forty years, has provided its clients with analysis, advice, and risk management assistance related to their property, liability, professional, and workers compensation insurances. The Zigmund Company is now located at 5300 Derry Street, Harrisburg, and Courtney Scamardella, a long-time Zigmund consultant, will head up the operation.
The Parmer Group owns and/or operates Fine Line Homes, Residential Warranty Company, HOME of Texas, and Eastern Atlantic Insurance Company among other companies associated with the home building, warranty and insurance industries. The Parmer Group continues to expand its footprint in these industries and has found that each newly company has made its sister companies and the overall operation stronger.
This is the fifth company the Parmer Group has acquired in the last fifteen months. Other recent acquisitions include Delaware Valley Plumbing of King of Prussia, PA, West End Hardware Supply Company of Voorhees, NJ, Musser Home Builders of Dillsburg, PA, and LTS Homes located in the Pocono Mountain region of Pennsylvania.
The 2025 NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS) is in Vegas from Feb 25 – 27. After a long day at the show and before evening social events, take a culinary journey through the hottest and newest dining destinations to hit the area.
#1 Aqua Seafood & Caviar Restaurant
Michelin-starred chef Shaun Hergatt offers the latest dining spot to hit Resorts World, Aqua Seafood & Caviar Restaurant. Dine like a high roller as you order from an extensive menu ranging from caviar and antipasti to entrees and more.
#2 Beerhaus
Whether you’re a beer nerd or casual drinker, Beerhaus, inside New York New York, is a fresh take on a classic beer hall. With a promise to find your favorite beverages, grab your choice cold and order savory sausages, sandwiches or snacks with hormone-free meat and locally sourced produce. Participate in trivia or watch the biggest game of the year indoors or on the outdoor patio.
#3 Canteen Food Hall
Canteen Food Hall inside the Rio Hotel & Casino is an upscale adult food court with six eateries, including Southland Burrito Co., Shogun Ramen, Tony Luke’s (a cheesesteak chain), Tender Crush (a chicken tender concept from the people behind Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer), Nama Nama (a sushi spot) and Attaboy Burger.
#4 Mijo Modern Mexican Restaurant
Send your tastebuds south of the border at Mijo Modern Mexican Restaurant to immerse yourself in the diverse flavors of coastal Mexican cuisine and spirits. Mijo puts an unconventional twist on prime meats, fresh whole fish, decadent desserts and elevated street food favorites. Explore Mexico’s most beloved spirits with Mijo’s one-of-a-kind tequila and mezcal program guided by “catadores,” tequila experts, and find hidden gems in tequila lockers.
#5 Ole Red Las Vegas
Country star Blake Shelton has begun his restaurant residency at Ole Red Las Vegas in the Horseshoe. Dine on delicious food or catch some live entertainment with a fun music-venue-meets-restaurant vibe. It’s also the venue for the IBS Young Pro Party for our industry pros under 40.
#6 Orla
Chef Michael Mina combines timeless flavors and textures to create culinary genius in his brand-new Mediterranean restaurant, Orla, inside Mandalay Bay. Embark on a dining journey with seafood, charcoal-roasted meats and zesty vegetables.
#7 Vic’s
Vic’s downtown is where jazz club meets supper club. Socialize, drink, dine and enjoy music by national and local jazz artists. Vic’s is a culinary experience like no other – adding new twists and eclectic flavors to Italian and American favorites.
After the Builders’ Show ends for the day, explore, indulge and savor the flavors of Las Vegas, where dining is not just a meal but a culinary adventure.
Download the IBS 2025 App from your app store! It’s the best way to ensure you see, do and experience everything you want to at the Builders’ Show in Vegas.
What Do Attendees Do at the Builders’ Show?
The Builders’ Show is massive and spread out over three halls in the convention center. This year is the biggest show in 15 years with 1,800+ companies, brands and exhibitors (which includes 739 new IBS exhibitors), spread over 720,000 net square feet. So that you can quickly and easily find the products and services that interest you the most, the Builders’ Show floor is segmented into six main product categories.
Connecting and networking with other industry pros is one of the biggest advantages of the show. There are receptions, parties and exciting events every day. Sprinkle in some networking opportunities by attending DCW Opening Ceremonies, Powered by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Featuring David Spade, buying tickets (if they’re not sold out already) for the Official IBS House Party and IBS Closing Concert, Sponsored by LG, Featuring Chris Janson.
Make time to visit one (or more) of six IBS Centrals. Centrals are open to all IBS registered attendees: Remodeling, Custom Building, Multifamily, 55+ Housing, Design and Sales.
What You Can Do with the IBS App
The IBS App is the quickest and easiest way to find everything happening at the show. It’s your mobile guide to the Builders’ Show.
With the app, you can:
How to Download, Set Up and Use the App
Download the IBS App on your smartphone or tablet. You can download the app at BuildersShow.com/app or go to your app store and search “IBS 2025.” If you’re registered for IBS 2025 and downloaded the IBS 2025 App, log in with your confirmation/badge ID and last name. When logged in, you can find everything IBS-related to events or education, create your schedule and more.
Find & Favorite IBS Education Sessions in the App
When you click on Education, education sessions are sub-divided by major track, speaker, type or professional interest. Once you choose a session, you can quickly and easily view descriptions, speakers and locations for the IBS Education sessions. To add an IBS Education session to your agenda, click the Add to My Agenda Button while in the education session. When you add an education session to My Agenda, you can view it in the IBS Schedule. You can also view all events via the IBS Schedule and apply filters.
Find & Favorite Exhibitors in the IBS App
Exhibitors are separated by segments, product categories, zones, Best of IBS™ Awards and Outdoor Exhibits. You can also view IBS Exhibitors by show specials, celebrities or new products. When you tap on the exhibitor listing, you can find contact information, booth number, social media connections and exhibitor-provided materials, such as brochures. To add an IBS Exhibitor to your Favorites, tap the star next to Add to Favorites while in the exhibitor listing or the star next to the exhibitor in the All Exhibitors listing. You can find your favorite exhibitors in the My Favorites section of the app. At the show use the map to find exhibitor booths and navigate between locations.
How to Create Your Daily Schedule in the App
Creating your schedule for the show is simple and easy using the IBS App. Tap the Add to My Agenda in the IBS Education session, event or meeting you want to attend during the show. When you favorite any events in the app, it automatically adds it to your agenda. You can access your daily show schedule under the My Agenda tab of the app. If you add a speaker or exhibitor to your favorites, these show under the My Favorites tab of the IBS Schedule in the app.
How to Set a Meeting or Event Reminder in the App
Next to the meeting or event in the app is a bell icon. If you click on the bell icon, this sets a reminder in the app. You receive a notification reminder five minutes before the event or meeting begins.
IBS App User Tips:
Any time you have a question, you can use the search feature in the app to find information on show hours, safety and security, The New American Home®, Design & Construction Week®, IBS Centrals, transportation and much more. You can also receive real-time alerts about what’s happening at the show, such as giveaways. Set your notification preferences so you don’t miss a thing!
Reprinted from nahb.org
INTERNATIONAL BUILDERS SHOW
FEBURARY 25-27, 2025
LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER
Is 2025 your first time attending the International Builders’ Show (IBS)? The Builders’ Show is an experience packed with innovation, learning opportunities, networking and fun. As a first timer, the Builders’ Show can be an overwhelming experience – from the sheer size and everything happening at the show – but it doesn’t have to be. Use this insider’s guide for the must-see and do things and some tips to make the most of your IBS experience. This is not a comprehensive list of everything, but rather some top stops on your show agenda.
To read more about these IBS sessions and learn about the IBS mobile app check out the nahb.org website blog: https://blog.buildersshow.com/
If you're heading to the Builders' Show, don’t forget to stop by MHWC/RWC's booth #W3955 and say hi. We'd love to catch up, and while you're there, be sure give our prize wheel a spin for a shot at winning great swag or cash prizes! Chat with one of the Account Executives and make sure you're tuned into all of the great services we offer, all under one roof. Plus - hot tip - if you're not yet part of MHWC’s Incentive Program, be sure to ask about it—it’s a great way to earn cash back on your good claims experiences, get the best rates, and save money on annual membership fees.
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The Kevin Costner film, Field of Dreams, is a favorite movie of sports fans, and of baseball fans, in particular. Based on W. P. Kinsella’s novel, Shoeless Joe, the movie follows the struggles of an Iowa farmer, Ray Kinsella, who tries desperately to wring enough money from his farm to keep the lenders who hold the mortgage on it at bay. He begins to hear a voice saying, “If you build it, he will come.” He wonders if the voice is a dream, a symptom of a psychological problem, or the deliverer of an important message to him.
Ray’s wife Annie, played admirably in the movie by Amy Madigan, wonders, too. She listens to her husband describe the voice and the other messages it conveys: “Ease his pain”; and “Go the distance”. Then Ray sees a baseball field in the middle of his corn and an apparition of the long-dead Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was a great player from the early twentieth century and who was his father’s favorite player, standing in the middle of the imaginary baseball diamond. He feels called to construct the field, and despite her concerns about her family’s security and her worries that they may soon lose their farm to creditors, Annie accedes to his plan to build the ball field.
Shoeless Joe and his teammates, who were banned from baseball for fixing the 1919 World Series, begin showing up and playing on Ray’s field. They seem to enjoy themselves, but Ray has trouble understanding how he fits into the picture. At a school board meeting, Annie argues against a group of parents who seek to ban books from the school’s library, particularly the books of Terrence Mann, who is a favorite author of her husband’s and hers. Ray then remembers a reference in one of Mann’s books to a baseball player named Kinsella and takes this as a sign that Terrence Mann might have the answer to what Shoeless Joe, the voices, and the field might mean for Ray Kinsella.
Costner’s character travels across the country to Boston and brings Terrence Mann, played wonderfully by the great James Earl Jones, back to his farm. Ray is still unclear about what is in it for him, but Shoeless Joe provides the answer. As the players are wrapping up their game and heading back into the cornfield where they magically disappear each night, he says to Ray, “If you build it, he will come”, and he nods toward a catcher who is removing his gear and staying behind. As Shoeless Joe disappears into the corn, Ray realizes it is the spirit of his father.
Later, still worried about the fate of his family and farm, Ray looks to Terrence Mann for assurance. Mann explains that the field will be an attraction that people will pay to see, and in the best lines of the movie, Mann assures him that, “People will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.” The movie ends with a scene of a road full of cars driving up to the Kinsellas’ cornfield that has become a field of dreams.
But why are we recounting this movie to you? First, it’s a great movie, one of our favorites. If you haven’t seen it, you should. If it’s been a while since you saw it, we recommend that you watch it again. This time, though, think about the voice, and what that iconic line, which we paraphrase here, might mean to your building business.
If you build it, they will come. “They” means your future customers, and the “it” is not a cornfield in Iowa. In this context the “it” is the kind of home your future customers are looking to buy.
It’s easy to get in a rut and stay with a product that has been successful in the past, even after that product is no longer as popular as it once was. The auto industry has experienced this with some regularity. Large cars with big fins were replaced by sportier models with big engines that eventually were replaced by aerodynamic fuel-efficient vehicles. Station wagons gave way to vans that gave way to SUVs, and gas guzzlers are being replaced by hybrids and electric cars. Nearly every industry goes through this, and the homebuilding industry is no exception.
Today’s new home buyers are different from the ones twenty, ten or even five years ago. The Covid pandemic has caused some of the open floor plans of recent years to give way to more private spaces in houses to allow for home offices and quiet places for students to attend class remotely. The new generation of homebuyers (under the age of forty) are placing added emphasis on patios and see the kitchen island, with its ability to serve the multiple purposes of additional workspace, a makeshift breakfast bar, and added storage, as more of a necessity.
Affordability is even more important to today’s new home buyers. In September 2023, the annual median new home price dropped by the largest amount since 2009, with most homes selling in the $150,000 to $499,999 range. Following a stretch of high inflation and with interest rates hovering near a twenty year high, many prospective new home buyers cannot afford to pay as much for a house as they might have paid two or three years ago.
To have more success and to gain an edge on your competition, it is a good idea to study what prospective buyers in your market want and then deliver that product at a price those prospects can afford to pay. If you do that, the people will come. They will most definitely come. And they will buy your houses.
Here’s hoping you continue to dream big and that you choose to go the distance with MHWC by your side. Have a great winter!
The 2023 National Sales Meeting, held in Harrisburg, PA, October 24-26, brought forth a blend of emotions as we welcomed new faces, felt the absence of some big personalities, and embarked on a journey to accomplish some major achievements.
At the 11th hour we got the unfortunate news that we would be without fellow colleagues Fred Taylor and Jana Watts for the weeklong rally. They were sorely missed personally and professionally, as two of our most prolific and confident “conversation starters.” Some new faces included Crystal Jackson from the Midwest, Tiaira Satchell covering the northern mid-Atlantic region, and Logan Canby as our new New Jersey Account Executive.
The other elephant in the room was the absence of our long-time leader and recent retiree, Sue Palkovic. Sue’s fingerprints were all over this meeting as most of the leg work putting it together came from her and Assistant Manager, Jody Lehman. Many thanks to both for shaping it up.
The first day of the meeting kicked off with 30 minutes of where we came from, where we are now, and where we’re going with President/Owner, George Parmer. Richard Swartz, Executive VP and Chief Counsel was up next to share his words of wisdom and encouragement. Additional managers who delivered presentations and lead brainstorming sessions included those from the IT Department, Insurance, and Marketing.
We also formally announced the results of our annual sales competition with Staci Cool taking first place and Fred Taylor grabbing second. Additional certificates of merit were awarded as well.
The 2nd annual Round Robin Session took place the next day at the corporate office. Account Executives were teamed up and conducted visits to the Membership, Enrollments, and Warranty Resolution Departments to gain insights into current developments and to refresh their knowledge of daily operations. The third and final morning started off with discussions of our Key Estates Extended Warranty Product. The afternoon allowed management to rejoin the sales team for a comprehensive review of the Round Robin sessions. The conversation proved to be productive and forward thinking. Such opportunities for the Account Executives to interact and brainstorm with the staff at the corporate headquarters are priceless. It creates a chemistry and camaraderie that is enviably portrayed in our business practices with our members and their homeowners.
Ambition was high heading into the meeting. We’ve put a lot on our plate for 2024. There’s one way to get there. In the words of Rich Swartz (quoting his track and field coach) - “Run as hard as you can for as long as you can.” and that's exactly what we plan to do.
After decades of dedicated service and unwavering commitment, VP of Sales, Suzanne Palkovic, bid farewell to RWC & Affiliates this summer as she embarks on a well-deserved retirement.
Sue began her career at RWC in October 1987 as our Pennsylvania sales representative after a short stint selling life insurance for another company. Her devotion to her job, her coworkers and the company led then Vice President of Sales Lynn Nelson-Probst to promote Sue to Assistant Sales Manager in 1994.
By virtue of her imagination and ability to see projects through to the end, Sue was promoted to Director of Research and Development in 2001, and in 2003 she was named Vice President of Marketing, Research and Development. After Lynn Nelson Probst retired, Sue became our Vice President of Sales in June of 2015, the position she held until her retirement. During her last eight years with the company, she managed our entire sales force and was a constant proponent of superior customer service for our builder members. Sue was a tireless worker for our company. Her strong leadership and keen understanding of the warranty marketplace contributed greatly to our companies’ success. We will miss her wit, her wisdom, her tenacity, and her dedication.
Sue is succeeded by our new National Sales Manager, Rich McPhee. Rich is new to the position, but not to the company, having served as a highly successful sales representative in the mid-Atlantic states for the last ten years. Sue had an opportunity to mentor Rich, and we are happy to report that he has hit the ground running.
Sue plans to travel, spend time with her family, and become more active supporting causes that are near and dear to her heart. She leaves RWC with our good wishes for a long, happy and healthy retirement and with heartfelt gratitude for many years of loyal service.
Optimism. It was a favorite theme of our parents when they told us to hold our heads high and keep our chins up. We heard it from coaches and teachers who suggested that we should look on the bright side of things. “Count your blessings,” is advice often heard from friends and counsellors. Optimism is a recurring element of books, movies and music. If we try hard enough, we can almost hear Louis Armstrong urging us to “Grab your coat, grab your hat, leave your worries on the doorstep. Just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street.”
Optimism has been described as hopefulness and confidence about the future or about the successful outcome of something. Most of us have lived long enough to know that an optimistic path filled with hope feels much better than the pessimistic one characterized by a sense of dread or despair. Medical and psychological research suggests that there are tangible and even provable positive effects when we live our lives optimistically.
Optimists feel healthier. If we tend to believe that life will work out in our favor, we are more likely to rate our sense of well-being and health higher. Optimists have a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and better cholesterol numbers and are generally healthier. Optimists live longer, and their immune systems are stronger. They tend to have better relationships with others, they enjoy their work more, and they are less prone to stress.
Being an optimist makes emotional, medical, and psychological sense. Sometimes, however, troubling circumstances can make even the most happy-go-lucky person worry, and doubt can creep in causing us to become, well, pessimistic. In these days of the twenty-four-hour news cycle and with the explosion of social media, it seems that, everywhere you look, someone is dying to tell you how bad things are and how worse they are going to get.
This constant drumbeat of negativity can affect people in all walks of life, and builders are not immune from the stories that affect us all. Some stories, however, hit closer to home with builders. Labor shortages and supply chain problems have lingered after the pandemic and still have not resolved. War in Europe has spooked financial markets and wreaked havoc on the price of oil. Inflation and the resultant hike in interest rates have made some homebuyers skittish and have driven some out of the market altogether.
When we think about these circumstances, we could hang our heads or mope around. But it is important, even in times like these, to be optimistic and to consider the words of Benjamin Franklin who wrote, “While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us.” That is, we can choose to keep our chins up, count our blessings and look on the bright side of things. We control what happens inside us by staying optimistic, and in that way, we continue to enjoy life and reap the benefits that optimism brings.
Not letting these kinds of problems affect our mood or our outlook on life is healthy, but thinking positively about the future will not make the problems go away. What is an optimist to do in these circumstances? The great British statesman Winston Churchill answered this question when he wrote: “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.”
Rather than wringing his hands over a tough economy, the optimist looks for whatever opportunities these difficult times present. If we are not as busy building houses, we can identify our best workers and subcontractors and do those things necessary to keep them in the fold. We can also cull those who are problematic, who are not team players, or who do not fit into our long-term plans. We can analyze the market and check to see if the designs we offer our customers are consistent with current trends. We can sharpen our pencils and decrease expenses by finding the best value in building supplies and by looking for more efficient ways to build our homes. By seeing these opportunities in our present difficulties, the optimistic builder can make his company stronger and come roaring out of these doldrums at the helm of a better and more profitable company.
Making money from the work that goes into creating a business and running it well is good, but keeping those hard-earned dollars is even better. We believe one of the best ways for you to protect your bottom line and to hold on to more of your profits is to place a MHWC/RWC warranty on every home you sell. After closing on a home, you can get on with building the next one, confident that your homebuyers are in good hands and that any construction defect claims they have will be handled with the utmost care and professionalism.
In our decades of home warranty experience MHWC/RWC has covered more than four million homes. We offer a wide variety of warranty options and all warranties provide clear performance standards that help create realistic homeowner expectations and provide a road map to resolving even the stickiest customer complaints.
At MHWC/RWC, every guarantee our warranties make is backed by Western Pacific Mutual Insurance Company, RRG. Western Pacific has an A- rating from A.M. Best and only insures home warranty and similar new home construction risks. No other warranty company has an insurer with this kind of strength solely dedicated to covering builders and their homes.
We are optimists here at MHWC/RWC, and we know life is better on the bright side. Here’s hoping your homeowners and you join us there!
Have a great Summer!
RWC, HOME of Texas & MHWC are proud to announce our Annual Sales Achievement Awards for 2022. In spite of an economy that continues to give some pause for concern, our small but mighty sales force worked tirelessly to bring as many new builders into our warranty family as possible. Results for the year cracked the Top 5 standings of most new members added going back to before the Great Recession (or the last 14 years or so). We want to acknowledge their efforts and thank them for representing us well in the industry. As sales go, so too does the company. With this group, we are in good hands.
Outstanding Account Executive(s) of the Year: We had a tie this year. Rich McPhee (MD, NJ, DE and NYC metro area and parts of northern VA) and Staci Cool (IN, IL, OH, MI, WI and MN) both claimed top dog status in a category that encompasses much more than “simply” sales. They are true professionals, and we rely on them for their team leadership, knowledge, and steadfast support.
Most New Applications, Most Projected Homes, Most Big Builders (over 20 homes/year): Freddy Pesqueira (GA, FL, MS, TN, AL & KY) is a work horse, plain and simple. He is all over the southeastern corridor for us and his production shows. Because of his unmatched efforts, Freddy lays claim to several of our top awards for 2022.
Average Size New Member: Fred Taylor made his mark this year bringing in the biggest builders he could find, and we love that. Career builders are the foundation of our business, so we applaud Fred’s efforts. He also worked very hard at keeping all his members happy and was rewarded with the Best Retention Rate award as well.
Highest Approval Rate: Getting builders to apply can be a tall task sometimes. Making sure they get approved is yet another layer since we are quite selective when it comes to Membership qualification. Lydia Toscano led the charge in 2022 for getting the highest percentage of her applicants approved.
Congratulations to the entire Sales Force for a job well done. We also applaud the support team of Jody Lehman, Dana Myers, Agnes Brennan and Jana Watts, a group that makes the Account Executive’s job manageable for sure.
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