Deadlines & Dates of Significance:

• Deadline for Completed Entries and Fees: May 27, 2022

• Deadline for Sponsorships: September 30, 2022

• Judging Period: June 14 through August 2, 2022

• Sales Achievement Interviews: August 11 & 12, 2022

• Judging for Home of the Year Nominees: August 10 through August 22, 2022

• Great American Living Awards Reception: Thursday, October 6, 2022

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Eligibility Time Frame:

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• All entries must have been available for sale, rental, sold, or viewed by 3/31/22

• Entries in Marketing Categories 16-28 must have been available to the public between 6/1/21-3/31/22

• Sales Achievement Entries in Categories 5-15 are for the period 6/1/21-3/31/22

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The Northern Virginia Building Industry Association invites any member firm developing and/or marketing housing and communities in the Washington area to enter.

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• Entries in Marketing Categories 16-28 must have been available to the public between 6/1/21-3/31/22.

• Production homes must be completed at least through the drywall stage by 3/31/21.

• Custom Homes—Category 46-48, home must be completed within 12 months of 3/31/22.

• All Advertising and Marketing entries must have been available to the public between 6/1/20-3/31/22.

• Entries in Categories 16-28 must display an Equal Housing Opportunity logo or statement.

• Builder/Developer, Architectural Firm, Advertising, Marketing or Interior Merchandising Firm must be a member of NVBIA or MBIA.

• Sales Companies and Sales Persons must be a member of WMSMC.

• Entries must reflect information as of 3/31/22.

• Previously submitted entries can be resubmitted as long as they meet eligibility requirements stated above. 

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Entry Submission Process:

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1. Select from the award groups below to access categories and subcategories to add to your cart. Once in your cart, select the quantity to reflect the number of entries you would like to submit in that category and subcategory. 

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2. Fill out the appropriate online form per entry. Please upload entry forms and entry images here.

• Link to Community of the Year Entry Form

• Link to Sales Achievement Entry Form

• Link to Sales Environment Entry Form

• Link to Marketing Materials Entry Form

• Link to Interior Design/Merchandising Entry Form

• Link to Design & Architecture Entry Form

• Link to Custom Homes Entry Form

3. Please ensure that the online entry form and the supporting documents use the same entry name. The entry name should reflect what is being entered, such as the name of the individual, model, community and/or project name. Examples:

• Community of the Year Category: River Woods

• Sales Achievement Categories: John Doe

• Sales Environment Categories: The Pinegrove at River Woods Sales Center

• Marketing Categories: River Woods by JLS Builders Website

• Interior Design/Merchandising Categories: The Pinegrove at River Woods

• Design & Architecture Categories: The Pinegrove at River Woods

• Custom Homes Entry Forms: 3301 East Parkway by JLS Builders

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4. In the online form, in the field for the link to entry materials, include one link from a preferred file sharing platform (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) that allows access to all entry materials as required by the entry category.

• Each file should not exceed 10MB

• When naming files, label them with the entry name, category number and subcategory letter (if applicable). Please note that the image indicated as number one will be used at the awards ceremony if the entry should win. Examples:

  • RiverWoods_30A_Project Form

  • RiverWoods_30A_Floorplan

  • RiverWoods_30A_Siteplan

  • RiverWoods_30A_Image1

  • RiverWoods_30A_Image2

  • RiverWoods_30A_Image3

  • RiverWoods_30A_Image4

  • RiverWoods_30A_Image5​

5. All entries and payments must be received by May XX, 2023.

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Judging

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Design & Architecture Judging

Committee members review each builder’s GALA entry. However, the process does not end here. GALA judges consider a combination of design, excellence, value and overall quality of living. Interior Design/Merchandising entries will be judged by a distinguished panel of judges selected for their expertise in new home design, sales and marketing. This year, the judging will be conducted onsite. Judges will meet and judge each entry as a team. Judges will also complete the judging forms as a team. After all judging forms are completed, the judging team selects the GALA winners. All completed judging forms and winning selections are turned into NVBIA.

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Sales & Marketing Judging 

All marketing entries will be judged in July by judging teams composed of experts in new home design, sales and marketing. Sales Achievement Finalists will be judged by an experienced and distinguished panel of sales professionals. Finalists will be notified of the time and date for their scheduled interview appointments at NVBIA offices. GALA Judges reserve the right not to bestow an award in any category or to bestow only an award of merit. Criteria for judging each category are listed under the individual categories. Judges with personal involvement in an entry are disqualified from judging that entry. Judges reserve the right to move an entry into another category.