Central Washington Builder becomes BIAW president for 2024
January 3, 2024
A longtime Island County builder now building in Chelan takes the helm as BIAW President for 2024. Jay Roberts, vice president of Cascade Custom Homes and Design, Inc., is a BIAW Certified Builder and past president of the Skagit/Island Counties Builders Association (SICBA). He builds custom homes in the Chelan area.
“This association is at the pinnacle of trade organizations not only in this state but nationwide,” Roberts said in his induction speech in November. “This is the opportunity of a lifetime and I look forward to a wonderful and challenging year.”
Roberts leads a diverse group of senior officers from across Washington.
President Jay Roberts
Skagit/Island Counties Builders Association (SICBA) | Central Washington Home Builders Association
A BIAW Certified Builder, Roberts is a state director and past president of SICBA. He serves on the BIAW Workforce Development Taskforce and Member Services Corporation. He is also past chair of the Legislative Policy Committee. A proud Husky, Jay is involved in his community and a member of the Public Stadium Authority Board for Lumen Field and Event Center. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three daughters and a grandchild.
First Vice President/Treasurer Kent Arola
Master Builders Association of Pierce County (MBAPC)
Kent Arola has owned his residential construction company, Wind River Homes, for 20 years. He has served as a BIAW director for 13 years, has sat on the Washington Affordable Housing Council since 2012, and as a member of the Legislative Policy Committee since 2016, which he chaired in 2020. Arola has served in several leadership positions at Master Builders Pierce, as well as at the state and national levels. He has earned numerous awards and accolades including multiple Master Builders Pierce REX Awards, BIAW Excellence in Remodeling Awards, Master Builders Pierce Member of the Year in 2015, Recruiter of the Year four times, and is a Statesman Spike with 508 spike credits.
Secretary Cameron Kartak
MBA of King and Snohomish Counties
After working his way through every department of the family business, Cameron Kartak stepped in to lead as chief executive officer of AAA Kartak Glass & Closet in January 2018. He worked in marketing, administration, manufacturing, field craftsmanship and ultimately in sales where he broke several records before becoming deputy CEO for AAA Kartak in 2017. Having grown up in the business, he has worked informally for AAA Kartak since the mid-90s but also worked his way through college as a deli worker and Subway sandwich artist. He graduated in 2013 Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in business management from Northwest University then earned his Executive MBA from Washington State University this year.
Second Vice President Nicole Ahola
Central Washington Home Builders Association
As a health insurance broker for Ahola Benefit Consultants, LLC, Nicole Ahola has been active with multiple local homebuilders associations over the years. In recent years, she has served in several leadership positions and is currently vice president of CWHBA and president and chair of the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce. She has also been involved with the BIAW Health Insurance Program since 2007.
Third Vice President Aaron Marvin
Building Industry Association of Clark County
Aaron Marvin of A.C.T. Builders, LLC, and BIAW Certified Builder, is a family-focused community leader with 30+ years in construction. He and his wife, April, have been married for nearly 18 years and have three children: Carson, Kamble and Tiko. Marvin coaches youth soccer and heads “Food+Water+Shelter,” a nonprofit providing food, education, housing, and sustainability in Malawi, Africa. Actively involved in BIACC, he co-founded A.C.T. Builders, LLC, with his dad in 2004. Marvin earned a BS in Business and Social Science with a minor in Economics from Warner Pacific College in 2004 and played collegiate soccer from 2000-2004. In his free time, he enjoys mountain biking, soccer and family time.
Immediate Past President Gary Wray
Skagit/Island Counties Builders Association (SICBA)
Gary Wray of Laser Construction and Development has been a member of SICBA since 1998 and a SICBA board member for nearly 12 years. Over the last ten years, Wray has served on numerous BIAW committees, including education, legal and workforce development taskforce. He chaired the Legislative Policy Committee from 2015 to 2016 and actively participates in the Washington Affordable Housing Council.
* This article was originally published in the November/December 2023 issue of Building Insight magazine.