Porter, longtime advocate for homebuilders, dies

Irene Porter, known as the matriarch of Southern Nevada's homebuilding industry, died Thursday at Desert Springs Hospital. She was 68.

Porter spent more than 35 years as executive director of the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association and was to retire on Friday. She had been hospitalized for more than a month.

Since December 1977, Porter had lobbied on behalf of homebuilders at the local, state and federal level on all issues related to the industry. She managed operations and special programs, including the trade contractor certification and green-building programs.

Porter's death drew reactions from some prominent public figures in Southern Nevada.

Billy Vassiliadis, CEO of R&R Partners and a public affairs consultant for the builders' association, lauded Porter's dedication.

"If there's a major signature, it's the fact that in a man's industry, she was a leader," Vassiliadis said. "There wasn't an important discussion she wasn't involved in. There wasn't an elected official or an appointed leader who didn't look to Irene for information and insight. She had a tremendous commitment to the community and a passion for what she did. She had a genuine quality, a truthfulness that's so rare in politics today."

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., praised Porter's impact on the region's boom-era growth.

"Irene will be remembered as one of the major contributors to the development of Southern Nevada as a great American city," Berkley said in a statement. "Her role in helping a rapidly growing area to become an excellent place to live and work can't be overstated. Irene's accomplishments in business, government and the civic life of our community leave a remarkable legacy. Her achievements are all the more impressive because she had to break many barriers to open the doors of opportunity for Nevada women in both business and government. I enjoyed a wonderful friendship and working relationship with Irene for more than three decades. I will miss her as a friend and as a great community leader."

Before joining the association, Porter was project manager for American Nevada Corp.'s Green Valley master-planned community in Henderson and planning director for the city of North Las Vegas.

She was named Lobbyist of the Year in 1991 and was among the first inductees into the Nevada Legislature Lobbyist Hall of Fame.

Jim Wadhams, an attorney and longtime friend of Porter, said she already had a reputation as an effective lobbyist when he met her in 1977.

"In a way, as a young man, I was both intimidated and attracted to her," Wadhams said. "She was a warm and inviting person. She was always talking to you and not at you. With her staff, senators, governors ... she found a way to relate to people on a personal level, even though most of the discussions were about zoning codes and subdivision laws."

Robert Lewis, a Las Vegas homebuilder and past president of the association, said Porter was instrumental in working with municipalities and public agencies to find what would work best for all.

"She was really skilled, and I hate to say it, but she was sometimes under-appreciated by people in the industry," Lewis said. "A lot of people get credit for what they've done, and a lot of people are underappreciated for what didn't happen in our industry. A lot of builders and developers get beat up by ordinances and fees, and so the absence of those fees is a credit to Irene."

Skilled at presenting her position to lawmakers, she understood the long-term impact of planning and zoning, he said.

"A lot of times you see things at the Legislature that are not well thought out. The key was they really trusted her, even if it wasn't to the benefit of the industry. That's what people grew to respect," Lewis said. "She was a person they could rely on."

Lewis said he would seek out Porter as a resource on everything from construction issues to endorsement of political candidates. Even as her health declined in recent years, Porter stayed busy around the office, association spokeswoman Monica Caruso said.

"She was still our little Energizer bunny, going to meetings and answering phones," Caruso said. "Nobody could work a telephone like Irene."

Porter was "really pushing" to make it to her retirement party May 24 at the Four Seasons, where more than 300 people showed up to pay tribute, Caruso said. Two days later, she was admitted to Desert Springs Hospital.

Nathaniel Hodgson III, a former executive at Pulte Homes, was appointed as the association's new executive director effective Sunday.

Porter was born in Fargo, N.D., and moved to Southern Nevada in 1954 when her father was assigned to Nellis Air Force Base. She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard, in 2010, and is survived by daughter, Sherry Porter Rosch of Las Vegas; and brother, Chuck Gulland, of Roseville, Calif.

Visitation is scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. July 9 at Palm Eastern Mortuary, 7600 S. Eastern Ave. Funeral services will follow at 1 p.m. July 10 at the mortuary.

Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0491.