Better Together
National and local leaders come together to promote home building and construction industry.
Iowa has long had a reputation for agriculture and as a great place to raise a family. In the construction industry, Iowa is also earning a reputation for leading the drive to educate the next generation of construction professionals.
This past month, central Iowa industry leaders had the opportunity to put that expertise on display for some national leaders.
“Some of our National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) senior officers had been to Iowa before,” says Rachel Flint, President of the Home Builders Association of Iowa (HBA Iowa) and Senior Vice President of Iowa Homebuilding and Land Operations for Hubbell Realty Co. “This was the first time that these officers have all been here at the same time. These guys travel a lot in their work for the NAHB, but to get them all to the same event is really rare.”
HBA Iowa was scheduled to host a regional Area 10 Leadership Conference this spring, so local officers decided to hold that event so that it coincided with the central Iowa Build My Future day (see “Build My Future by the Numbers”).
Because of Flint’s background with both skilled trades alliance and NAHB leadership, Greater Des Moines Home Builders Association Executive Officer Dan Knoup asked her to serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the conference. One thing led to another, and Flint and Knoup had a full calendar of activities for the NAHB officers when they arrived.
“We basically went straight from the airport to record an episode of Hubbell Realty’s Dig It podcast,” says Flint, “then we headed to Central Campus to tour the construction trades program before dinner, and the Area 10 Leadership Conference began right after that.”
NAHB Leadership Conferences, which are held annually around the country, provide members with a variety of educational sessions to help individuals develop their leadership skills and business expertise. In addition to those sessions, many of the conference attendees took time to visit the Iowa State Fairgrounds and tour this year’s Build My Future activities.
“Past NAHB Chairman Carl Harris had been singing the praises of Build My Future for a while, so he really wanted the other officers to see it,” Flint says. “We’ve gotten a lot of recognition for what we’re doing here in Iowa to develop the skilled trades, and that’s something the NAHB wants to try to replicate in other parts of the country.”
Although Flint’s official role at the conference was to host the senior officers and serve as emcee, she says representing the industry has always been much more than that for her. “This industry has given me a great career, and it can provide a really good living for young people if they just have the opportunity to look at the options available. As state president for the HBA of Iowa, I’m always looking for ways not just to get members involved, but to advocate for the industry as a whole.”
In just a few days, these events brought all those pieces together—industry leaders, current professionals, and the next generation of skilled tradespeople.
Dig It: NAHB Senior Officers Visit with Rachel Flint
Last month, the NAHB Senior Officers joined Flint to chat about advocacy, the housing market, and the future of the industry.
NAHB Chairman Buddy Hughes, Immediate Past Chairman Carl Harris, First Vice Chairman Bill Owens, Second Vice Chairman Bob Peterson, and Third Vice Chairman Gary Campbell all convened in Des Moines for several days and were able to see firsthand what some had only heard about.
“We were invited to join in the Area 10 Leadership Conference and to see your Build My Future event,” says Hughes. “Everyone says, ‘You’ve gotta go see this,’ and since I’ve been involved in coordinating our own state events for abut 25 years, I’m excited to see what you’re doing here in Iowa.”
“We just held our first Build My Future event last year in Columbus, Ohio,” says Owens.
Harris says, “This is my third time to attend Build My Future, and I continue to brag on it. At the NAHB, we’re trying to replicate what you’re doing in as many places as we can. We’re currently 295,000 tradespeople short in this industry, so we have to introduce, educate, and shape the next generation of tradespeople.”
In addition to the excitement of Iowa’s nationally recognized Build My Future day, the men say they value the leadership conferences, too.
“One of the top pillars of our NAHB strategic plan is to strengthen the federation,” says Harris, “and that can only be done if we strengthen the leadership. Conferences like the Area 10 Leadership Conference are one of the ways we can nurture emerging leaders.”
Peterson says, “I attended a leadership event back in 1997, and looking back, that conference was instrumental in my deciding to get involved in leadership in the first place.”
“It’s important for us as leaders to attend local and state events like this,” says Campbell. “When you’re in person, you can talk to people who are maybe less engaged or less involved with NAHB so they can learn more about what we do.”
“That’s one of the benefits of membership,” Peterson says. “The educational opportunities and tools that help you learn how to make your business successful—those more than pay back what you pay in dues.”
“If you had to rank the benefits of NAHB membership by importance, advocacy would be at the top,” says Hughes. “It’s why we were formed. Our industry is under attack at all levels. But to fight the national battles, we have to come together to do it.”
“We’re in this together,” Peterson adds. “No matter what state we’re in or how big it is, we all have the same issues, just on a different scale. That brings people together.”
Flint says, “It means a lot to our members here in Iowa to have the national board members here. It gives us the chance to show off our hard work. And it allows the NAHB to get that message across that we are so much more powerful when we’re together.”
Get involved!
Listen to this and other Dig It podcast episodes here.
To learn more about HBA membership and its benefits, visit the following:
Local | dsmhba.com
State | hbaiowa.org
National | nahb.org
Build My Future 2025 by the Numbers
- 6 Years in Des Moines
- 12 New Companies participating this year
- 20 Students involved in the 2025 Signing Day
- 125 Volunteers needed on event day
- 133 Companies who participated with booths and events
- 233 School Registrations
- 7,000+ Students attending this year