Person of the Week
Ray Puzzitiello
By Paul M. Thompson, CAE
When it comes to home building industry leadership, Ray Puzzitiello and the Puzzitiello family of Ohio and Florida take the prize.
Incredibly, Ray is one of nine family members who have served or currently are serving as president of a National Association of Home Builders-affiliated local HBA. And two of those nine went on to lead their state association as president.
As part of that family tradition, Ray was president of the Gold Coast BA in 1994 and has long been recognized as a “builder’s builder” within the Florida Home Builders Association.
Indeed, few FHBA builders offer the breadth or depth of experience that Ray has gained through a career that began at age 12 sweeping out the homes of his father-builder.
“My father always wanted me to be an architect or an engineer,” recalls Ray. “But I was destined to be a builder.”
Today, Ray is president of Puzzitiello Builders, Inc., based in West Palm Beach, and specializes in $1 million-plus custom homes, high-end remodeling, and consulting. More than that, he is a vanishing breed: the hands-on builder who learned the business from the ground up.
“As a teenager, my father would put me with a different subcontractor every summer,” says Ray. “Each group had an ethnic link. The masons were Germans; the carpenters were Irish; the electricians were Jewish. Not only did I learn from master craftsmen, but I grew in my understanding of and appreciation for different cultures.”
Between semesters at the University of Western Michigan, Ray did remodeling jobs back home in Cleveland, and when he graduated, he had a decision to make. “I knew there were too many Puzzitiellos in Ohio for me to have my own identity,” says Ray “so I decided I would either go to Colorado, where I could work and ski, or to Florida, where the weather was always great.
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| “Ray truly epitomizes what I respect most in our members: an understanding of, and a first hand involvement in, the building process."
Len Tylka |
“When people broke in and stole the attack dogs, that’s when I knew it was time for a change,” laughs Ray. “I decided it was time to begin building homes.”
Ray joined the Florida Atlantic Builders Association in 1987. When FABA, as it was known, merged with the HBCA of Palm Beach County, Ray stepped into the friendship of a lifetime.
“The merger was negotiated by a committee from each association,” says Ray. “I was on the FABA committee and Jon Rappaport was on the HBCA committee. In the process of working out the merger, Jon and I became great friends and business partners.”
So great, in fact, that the careers of Ray and John would be forever linked, working together in their own building company and teaming up for a stint with the mega-builder and developer K. Hovnanian as well as MR Homes, a company they owned with fellow FHBA leader Bruce Malasky and his father and brother.
Ray’s career also included running an Arthur Rutenberg franchise in West Palm Beach and working with his friend Ron Hyman at Sunland Homes before once again establishing his own firm.”
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with some really great friends and great people,” says the affable Puzzitiello. “I look back on each situation and appreciate the opportunity that it provided me.”
Ray’s high level of professionalism has not gone unnoticed, including by a man who himself has attained lofty standards: FHBA Immediate Past President Len Tylka of West Palm Beach.
"I've had the good fortune to known Ray since we participated on the merger task force that created Gold Coast and have found him to be one of the most competent builders I've met in all of my years of participation in our Association,” says Tylka. “Ray truly epitomizes what I respect most in our members: an understanding of, and a first hand involvement in, the building process."
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| Person of the Week Ray Puzzitiello (right) and his buds Warren Powers (left) of Jacksonville and Tony Martin of Orlando traditionally provide the laughs at FHBA installation night ceremonies with their outrageous attire. Their 2006 ensemble mimicked Captain Jack Sparrow in the hit movie Pirates of the Caribbean. |
“I think we’re doing a good job of attracting young people through programs like the Future Builders of America but the true craftsmen are hard to come buy,” says Ray. “We used to be able to rely on the unions and the immigrant population to train the next generation of skilled workers. Today, the pipeline is almost empty.”
His concern puts him in the middle of the great immigration debate gripping the country. “I just don’t buy the argument that immigrants are taking jobs from Americans,” says Ray. “Sure, we need to protect our borders but we need to welcome those people who do the jobs that are necessary to keep our industry moving.”
One of the 16 charter members of the FHBA Building University for Individual Leadership Development (BUILD), Ray was asked at the first session what he did better than anyone else in the world. “I feel like I’m a good listener,” he said. “I use that in working with my custom home buyers. They will tell you what they want but a good listener will translate that into what they really want, which is often two different things.”
Ray and his wife Dawn are the life of the party at FHBA functions. Dawn is frequently called on the sing the National Anthem or special songs at the conferences, and Ray and his buddies Tony Martin of Orlando and Warren Powers of Jacksonville always steal the spotlight at FHBA installation night with their outrageous attire.
One year is was Bermuda shorts with tuxedoes; one year kilts; one year pith helmets and jungle garb; and last year, they came as swashbuckling Pirates of the Caribbean. Says Ray, “We hatched this idea in a bar – imagine that – and Dawn has choreographed everything. It’s been a lot of fun.”
With a perpetual grin and a kind word for everyone, Ray Puzzitiello has delivered the lighter side of life to family, friends, business associates, and customers… and in the process, continued to a rich family heritage of industry leadership and construction excellence.
Paul M. Thompson, CAE is the Senior Vice President of the Florida Home Builders Association.