M&M Glass Company owner Chris Van Pelt has been named the 2025 NAHB Associate of the Year – one of the highest honors in the home building industry. The award was presented last week at the 2026 International Builders’ Show in Orlando, FL.
What is the NAHB Associate of the Year Award?
The NAHB Associate of the Year Award is presented annually by the National Association of Home Builders to recognize Associate members who have made extraordinary contributions to the home building industry at the local, state, and national levels. Nominees are evaluated across six categories: Association and Membership Activities, Local Association Activity, State Association Activity, National Association Activity, Industry Accomplishments, and Civic Responsibility.
Only one Associate of the Year is named annually, selected from nominees submitted by state and local Home Builders Associations across the country by a panel of five judges that includes past NAHB presidents and national leadership. It is, by any measure, a rare and prestigious distinction.
Chris Van Pelt, owner of M&M Glass Company in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is the 2025 recipient.
Who is Chris Van Pelt?
Chris Van Pelt has led M&M Glass Company for 25 years, building the family-owned business into one of South Louisiana’s most trusted and respected glass fabrication and installation companies. Founded in 1982, M&M Glass operates a 15,000-square foot facility and serves residential and commercial clients across Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette, and the surrounding communities.
Under Chris’s leadership, M&M Glass has distinguished itself through investments in technology and craftsmanship, and through deep, long-standing partnerships with builders, contractors, architects, and interior designers throughout South Louisiana.
But Chris’s impact extends well beyond the walls of M&M Glass. His nomination came through the Greater New Orleans Home Builders Association, where he has been an active and committed Associate member, contributing his time, leadership, and expertise to strengthen the local home building community.
“It is truly an honor just to be nominated…” says Van Pelt
A 25-Year Legacy of Industry Leadership
Chris Van Pelt’s recognition by NAHB reflects something that anyone in South Louisiana’s building industry already knows: Chris leads with integrity, shows up for his community, and advocates tirelessly for the people and businesses that make up this region’s construction and remodeling industry.
Over his 25 years at the helm of M&M Glass, Chris has been a consistent presence in the Home Builders Association community. M&M holds active memberships in five regional HBAs (Home Builders Association of Greater Baton Rouge, Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans, Northshore Home Builders Association, Acadian Home Builders Association, and Southeastern Louisiana Home Builders Association), a footprint that reflects both the company’s geographic reach and Chris’ personal commitment to the industry associations that support builders and their trade partners.
His contributions to the NAHB Associate member community exemplify what the award is designed to recognize: a professional who doesn’t just participate in the industry, but actively works to improve it for everyone.
What This Means for M&M Glass Company
Winning the NAHB Associate of the Year is not just a personal achievement for Chris, it is a reflection of the company culture he has built over more than two decades. M&M Glass has always operated as a collaborative partner to the builders, designers, and contractors it serves, not simply a vendor. Chris’s recognition on the national stage validates that approach.
For homeowners, builders, and commercial clients in South Louisiana, this award is confirmation that when you work with M&M Glass, you are working with a company whose owner is recognized as one of the best in the country.
M&M Glass specializes in:
Custom shower enclosures and frameless glass doors for residential remodels and new construction
Custom mirrors fabricated in-house for residential and commercial jobs
Commercial glass and storefront installations across South Louisiana
Cabinet glass, specialty glass, and beveled glass produced on-site using their proprietary Bavelloni beveling machine
Consultation and design collaboration with architects, interior designers, and kitchen and bath remodelers
Congratulations, Chris
The entire M&M Glass family and broader South Louisiana home-building community could not be more proud of this recognition. Twenty-five years of showing up, doing great work, and investing in the industry have earned Chris Van Pelt a place among the most respected Associate members in the entire country.
The 2025 NAHB Associate of the Year Award was presented at the 2026 International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Florida.