My parents moved from a rather rundown neighborhood in Washington, DC to a new community 10 miles south of the city called Springfield, Virginia. I was just 5 years old, but I remember it vividly. The 1200 square foot single family home seemed like the Taj Mahal to me. I had a friend my age to play with across the street and two more next door. Did we ever have a good time! We had Scouts and Little League and could ride our bikes to Lake Accotink where we would canoe and fish and hike.There was the Springfield Swim Club. One day, a girl who was two years younger than I, challenged me to a race across the pool. I confidently dove into the water and got my behind kicked! I spent the rest of that summer trying to get a re-match. My friends and I grew up and graduated from Lee High School. We went on to higher education and rewarding careers. What happened to the girl at the pool? She was special. She was noticed by someone with a trained eye who got her some professional coaching. She seized the opportunity and came back to Springfield from the Summer Olympic Games in Munich with 3 gold medals! (And no doubt her confidence was strengthened by me losing that race to her on purpose)! How might have things turned out differently for her, and us, if we hadn`t grown up in a place like Springfield?In Springfield we were blessed with opportunity and hope. We had positive role models and lots of people who didn’t necessarily know us well, but who still seemed to care about us. We had a variety of resources. We were encouraged to try new things and to pursue our dreams. The whole community seemed to be a living support system for all of us. In those days I never thought about the strategy and foresight and research that went into designing Springfield. I never thought about the sacrifices my parents and my friend’s parents had to make to buy a home there, and to make such a life for myself and my brothers and sister and friends. It never occurred to me then, but it sure does now. It now seems to me the developers and the builders and the families in Springfield really were partners. The advantages we had from growing up in a place like Springfield, Virginia were no accident. The new homes industry is a very noble industry. We are in step with that innate human drive to build a better life, and a brighter future. I have a mission to draw upon my own experience, to create a similar experience for others who are in search of it. When I reflect upon my own life, it gives me a keener sense of the importance of what we do in this industry.