A Conversation With ... Gloria Roling

After succeeding 11-year CEO Matt Morrow, you have been on the job less than a month. What are your goals with the HBA?
We want to make the community more aware of the professionals that make up the HBA and encourage professional builders to contribute their skills for the health of the community. This office covers 10 counties, so it’s important as the industry is rebounding, that everyone is aware of the professional skills members of the association offer.

With 14 applicants vying for the position, why do you think the HBA board chose you too fill its top spot?
I think it was my diverse background. I wasn’t looking for a new job, but when this one came up, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

My background in areas such as real estate sales can help me with people looking to sell their homes. Other areas in my personal life where I’ve been hands on, such as building and remodeling my own homes, also contribute to my diverse qualifications.

There is also my work with the chamber, the networks I’m part of and my three years of experience serving on the planning and zoning commission. I have been very involved in the community for a long time. I think they saw I had the connections, the experience, the interest and a passion for people.

A central theme of the HBA is legislative advocacy both at the local and state levels. How do you plan to approach this advocacy mission?
I need to get up to speed on the things the HBA has been handling and what the legislature has on their plate, so I can help the members and the community. I want to help make homes affordable. There were only 111 new homes permitted in the city of Springfield in 2012 – that’s up, but still down compared to past years. We are seeing a positive motion, but I want to ensure that continues. I want to get involved in building codes, which I’ve worked with in planning and zoning. Homebuilders and owners can face a tough battle there.

What are the current issues facing the homebuilding industry right now?
We feel the home is still the American dream, and we want to make that affordable. We want to make sure there are not codes and things that are brought down that would add cost to the homes. We want them to have that new home.

The HBA also supports professional training. That’s one of the things many in the community don’t know. Last year, the HBA gave scholarships to some of the members to help them get certifications in things like sustainability and green homes, but also certifications they need to help elevate them in their profession. I think it’s important we continue and help encourage that.

As new CEO, what are some things you like about the HBA, and what are some things you think the HBA can do better?
No. 1, I think homeownership is the fabric of our community and has a lot to do with quality of life. If everybody has that home to go to at night, that is what makes our community a great place to live. That is what the HBA is for, to bring those professionals in that can help provide those backgrounds and skills to the community. Most people only build one house in their lifetime, or purchase one home, and it is their biggest asset.

If it isn’t done correctly, the process can be such a negative in their life. The HBA does that very well, by educating those professionals and providing them that baseline to learn.

I think we need to strive to engage the community a bit better.

The HBA does a great job with things such as its website – it’s very comprehensive – but we need to toot our own horn more and bring more awareness to the HBA. We are not just in Springfield. We cover 10 counties, so we need to learn to be more regional in our thinking and get people to realize the wealth of information and the professionals in the organization. A lot of people don’t realize what the HBA can do for them. It doesn’t matter if you are building a new house of just moving to the town, the HBA has a lot of skills it can offer.[[In-content Ad]]