Message from the President

I am pleased and honored to help lead the BRI into its 78th anniversary year.

In many ways, the BRI has been a constant in my life. My father, John DeRosa, served as President of the BRI in the 1960ā€™s and was a longtime member of the organizationā€™s Board of Trustees. My mother, Margit DeRosa, was a President and longtime member of the BRIā€™s Womenā€™s Council. As I look at the challenges we face as an organization, Iā€™ll take strength from their advice, their notions of what it means to be a leader, and their longstanding ties to the building and realty industry. My father always told me, ā€œA busy man is never too busy.ā€ To me, that means that thereā€™s always time to listen. Listen to everybody, and then make your own decision — but listen first!

My goal is to bring the BRI to the forefront on all real estate matters in our region and give the organization a greater voice. Whenever an issue occurs in the building and realty industries, I want the BRI to be the ultimate source in the Hudson Valley. We have so many useful resources and an abundance of knowledge. Many of our members have issues that need and deserve to be highlighted and addressed by the media and legislators. I want to amplify our membersā€™ voices and give the BRI a larger spotlight.

This is an exciting time for our association, which continues to adapt to local and regional trends in the building and realty industry sectors, and to weather any challenge, whether it comes from state and local government or a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. BRI had to adapt quickly to continue to serve our missions and provide value to our members despite all the obstacles from COVID-19. We didnā€™t miss a step and continued to live up to our core purpose of improving the image of the industry and its relationship with government and the community, and promoting relationships among builders and real estate business owners to the mutual advantage of the industry.

The foundation built by my predecessors seventy-eight years ago is so solid that we continue to evolve and thrive through these many decades.

We are always stronger together, and I look forward to working with you all and BRIā€™s talented staff to ensure our voices are heard.

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Onward and upward,
Lisa DeRosa
President, 2024