On Cape Cod, a lifetime achievement award for Tony Shepley.

Shepley, center, with Joe Cusack, MRLDA past president; and Kevin Costa, current MRLDA president.

Massachusetts prodealer pays its ‘civic rent’

A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR TONY SHEPLEY.

By Andy Carlo

Tony Shepley has been honored by the Massachusetts Retail Lumber Dealers Association (MRLDA) with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

With no experience in the lumber and building materials industry, a used lumber truck, $4,000, and an idea that there was a need for another lumberyard in Hyannis, Mass., Tony Shepley and a partner started Shepley Wood Products in 1978.

The MRLDA Lifetime Achievement Award honors an individual for their cumulative contributions to the lumber industry. It is a special recognition to a person who has truly “made a difference” in the business and has made a significant and measurable impact on the lumber industry and the communities in which they serve.

The award is not presented every year and is only given when a person is nominated and fits the special criteria.

When Shepley Wood Products was founded, the idea of an upstart lumberyard competing with the six established competitors in a 10-mile radius was a preposterous idea. And the competing yards didn’t take Shepley seriously.

Today, Shepley is the only lumberyard remaining in the Hyannis area with additional locations in Wellfleet and Nantucket. The company, a division of Kodiak Building Partners, has over 160 employees.

The MRLDA said Shepley has been a leader in both the industry and his community. He served on the MRLDA board of directors from 1992 to 2001, including one term as president, and on the Northeastern Retail Lumber Association board from 2007-2013, including one term as chairman.

Shepley has also served on the board for the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, Cape & Islands United Way, and the Rehabilitation Hospital of Cape Cod and Islands (now Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital).

The lumber and building materials executive views his community efforts as “paying your civic rent.”

“I view ‘civic rent’ as a social obligation that we should pay back to our community both personally and professionally,” Shepley said. “The center of every family is the home. Without safe, stable, and affordable housing, any family is at risk.”

In 1996, Shepley hosted its first charitable golf tournament — The Shepley Wide Open. Now in its 26th year, the annual event has raised more than $1 million for organizations on the Cape and Islands.

In 2021, Kodiak Building Partners acquired Shepley Wood Products and Shepley transitioned into a new role as president of the company.

Shepley remains excited about leading the company he founded in its next stage of growth.

“We have always said that we were in the people business and yes, we sell lumber and building materials,” Shepley says. “We are an industry of relationship sellers, where your word is still your bond.”

According to Shepley, the dealer has always focused on selling to building professionals. This includes a third generation of the same customer in some cases.

“I have had the same job title for 45 years,” he says. “My goal is to coach and mentor and to carefully choose the times to get out of the way of others to let them grow and prosper.”

Shepley was also honored to share his special MRLDA evening of recognition with two other deserving individuals. Garry Prevedini from US Lumber also received a Lifetime Achievement Award and Tom McManus from Cape Cod Lumber Company, Inc. was honored as the MRLDA Lumberperson of the Year.

A Boston native, Shepley has lived in Hyannisport since 1971. He and his wife Lorraine also spend time in Bethel, Maine. They have two sons, Niles and Cole.

Niles works in operations for Shepley’s Nantucket branch and Cole is in his senior year of college, studying architecture.

Shepley Wood Products has served builders and contractors on Cape Code and Nantucket since 1978.

Housing remains bipartisan issue amid a divided congress

By John Tobin, Executive Vice President Government Affairs, National Association of Home Builders

Midterm elections are always a referendum on the occupant of the White House and the 2022 midterms were no exception. President Biden, armed with a slew of policy victories (e.g., the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act) and social touchpoints (e.g., the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision to overturn the federal right to abortion and Biden’s executive order on student loan debt forgiveness), campaigned for a continuation of Democratic control of Congress. To the contrary, the GOP campaigned on the need for change in Washington, citing high crime rates, inflationary pressure driving up the cost of living and the specter of an economic recession.

With the parties well-funded by record-breaking campaign spending and both chambers of Congress closely divided, it did not take a “wave” election for either party to claim the majority; it was merely a question “by how many seats.” The high number of early voting ballots and the counting rules in many states make “election night” more of an “election season.” Eight days after the midterm elections, we do not know the outcome of a handful of the House races and one Senate contest, but we do know that the anticipated GOP wave never materialized, and the electorate is split down the middle. Republicans have reclaimed a narrow majority in the House of Representatives. Democrats retained the Senate with a slim 50-49 margin, as Georgia is heading to its third runoff election in less than two years.

So, what does this all mean for home building and housing? Regardless of the final House and Senate tallies, any legislation with a prayer of being signed into law by Biden must be bipartisan. While the next speaker of the House can likely wrangle the 218 votes needed to move legislation, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) does not have the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. So the parties will need to negotiate and compromise to move important legislation forward in the next Congress, including housing legislation.

Housing has always been a bipartisan issue. High home prices have pushed ownership out of reach for most Americans and sky-high rents are punishing renters. The housing affordability crisis in America has become a top-tier political issue. As the Federal Reserve continues to tighten monetary policy and the housing sector faces a recession, Congress and the administration must turn their focus to policy solutions that lower the cost of building and allow the nation’s home builders to expand housing production. NAHB is poised to work with the new Congress to propose bipartisan solutions to create more affordable and attainable housing.

This article originally appeared at NAHB.org.

What should be top-of-the-list for winners of mid-term elections:

Fight inflation

Secure borders

Fight global warming

Reduce business regulations

Other

Improve infrastructure

Create jobs

Lower taxes

Source: HBSDealer Poll Question, n=176

9% 7% 6% 4% 4% 3% 20%

If elected, I promise …

Before and after the mid-term elections, HBSDealer.com invited readers to share their opinions about what the key hot-button issues should be for incoming elected officials. Here’s the question and the results.

47%