On Oct. 16, the Manitoba Home Builders' Association held its annual Fall Parade of Homes Gala at the RBC Winnipeg Convention Centre. More than 700 people were in attendance and popular emcee Joe Aiello kept the evening lively with his humour and enthusiasm. It's no wonder Joe is one of the most popular and requested emcees in Winnipeg -- he handled the long lineup of awards like a pro.
There were 35 separate categories and gold, silver or bronze awards were given based on consumer judges visiting the various homes in each category. Judges had 20 different categories in which to grade each home and a possible total of 450 points per home. Judging was extremely close and many categories were decided by one or two points out of 450. There were even a couple of ties. This is not surprising when you consider the judges were faced with choosing among the best designed, best built and best displayed new homes in Canada.
As president of the MHBA, I informed the crowd this was the 35th anniversary of the Fall Parade of Homes, the largest such parade in all of Canada. Almost 40,000 people visited the 130 homes featured in the Parade this year, making it one of the most popular ever.
Past chairs of the MHBA and Parade committee members were in attendance. It was truly a celebration in recognition of those people who have given so much to this association. City of Winnipeg chief administrative officer Doug McNeil, director of planning property and development John Kiernan and MHBA board member Laurence Rosenberg assisted in handing out the awards.
The first five categories were for condominiums. These included bungalows and apartment-style condos.
The bulk of the presentations were for single-family detached homes. There were 30 distinct categories based on style (townhouse, bungalow and two-storey) and price range.
One of the key messages of the evening was association membership. The strength of the Manitoba Home Builders Association comes from the support and activity of its membership. Those in attendance were encouraged to hire and buy from other MHBA members and to promote membership to those who have displayed excellence in the industry.
To view all of the entries, go to the website of the Manitoba Home Builders Association, www.homebuilders.mb.ca, pictures of all homes are displayed along with a digital copy of the Fall Parade of Homes magazine.
Remember, the show homes that were featured in the Parade and honoured at the gala are still open.
Mike Moore is president of the
Manitoba Home Builders' Association
