PWB: Busy behind the building scene
Having been a presence in North Idaho since the early ‘80s, Professional Women in Building today has seen the growth of the area and has charged ahead right alongside it, topping the 40-member mark with recent new memberships, which have doubled from a year ago.
And they don’t plan on slowing down.
“PWB has been around for a while. We do a lot. Not a lot of people know about what we do,” said Michelle Garcia, president of the North Idaho chapter.
Operating as a 501(c)(3) under the umbrella of North Idaho Building Contractors Association (NIBCA), PWB has a stated mission of “Supporting the North Idaho Building Contractors Association in protecting and promoting the building industry. The Council strives to be a positive influence in the local community through civic and educational projects and awareness of governmental issues.”
Garcia, an agent with Windermere by day, became a PWB member about two years ago. She explained the behind-the-scenes work that PWB does and its three key objectives: education, support of NIBCA and community involvement.
In support of NIBCA, PWB forms committees to work throughout the year on some of their major projects, like the annual Home and Garden Show, the Parade of Homes and the Gone Wild events.
They’re also involved with community events like Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build week and Kootenai Health Foundation’s annual Festival of Trees.
Another major undertaking for these ladies is an annual scholarship they grant. The Janice Wymer Higher Education Scholarship awards a scholarship each year to a student who will be pursuing a career in the building industry at an Idaho college.
In years past, the scholarship amount has been $1,000. This year, Garcia said, that amount has doubled to $2,000 due to the increase in membership and some other fundraising efforts that happen throughout the year. “Education is one of the things I am probably most excited about,” she said.
She described a new direction that the group will be taking. PWB will be looking to partner with other businesses in the area to coordinate the scholarship program on a bigger level.
“What I’m really excited about is that all this infrastructure is there to do this scholarship,” she said. “We have a way to receive the applications. We have an application form. We have the mechanisms to get in touch with the people who are in touch with the students who would want these scholarships. But I’m going to be opening up this scholarship thing up to other businesses in the region who want to sponsor a scholarship.”
Membership to PWB is in addition to NIBCA membership, and the annual dues are $60. With a bulk of members coming from careers in real estate, lending, title services and insurance, Garcia said “one of my objectives, being that we are called Professional Women in Building, was to get more builders involved.”
Members meet at noon on the second Friday for a monthly, one-hour luncheon at the Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn. Committees present updates on what’s happening with ongoing projects and each meeting features a guest speaker.
Speakers are generally women from within the building industry, but Garcia said the presentations aren’t just about what that person or their company does. She encourages them to be more personal and share about their backgrounds.
“I would say one of the main benefits is [having] a huge opportunity to get involved with other professionals and, you know, we’re all women, right? So it’s connecting to one another, building those relationships and then the opportunity for involvement in the community,” Garcia said.
Those interested in membership may attend the luncheon as a guest by registering: inf
www.nibca.com
