Louise Henson resigns as HBA executive officer

After more than 10 years as executive officer of the Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield, Louise Henson announced Dec. 12 that she will resign as of Dec. 31. Henson was hired to the position in September 1990.

Henson said she has enjoyed working with HBA, but she's ready to move on to other challenges.

"The association has grown a great deal in the past 10 years, in many ways, and there comes a time when it's time for a new challenge, new opportunities. Ten and a half years with one association in the nonprofit area is a very long time," she said.

Henson added that the growth of the organization, which now has 350 member companies, is one of the things she's proud of. She said that number does not indicate how many people are active with HBA, though, because any employee of a member company can participate with the organization.

Henson herself was active with the National Association of Home Builders Executive Officers Council, and she said she's pleased with the local association's growing presence on the national front.

"The increased role that we played on the national level, I think, was a very big accomplishment. At the association here, one of the builders, John Doran, was the national representative from the state of Missouri ... never before has there been a Missouri state representative to the National Association of Home Builders from Springfield. Until Doran's term, they had always been either from St. Louis or Kansas City," she said.

Springfield's growth is another issue Henson has dealt with during her tenure. She said Springfield has grown a lot and is continuing to do so, and with that population growth comes growth in the building industry.

"Springfield is a little bit unique and I'm probably a little bit prejudiced in this respect but I think Springfield has some of the very finest builders anywhere. We don't have production builders here," Henson said. "Springfield is a lot more individualized, so it makes it more distinctive and a lot more interesting ... there is very little cookie-cutter style residential construction."

HBA's relationship with the community is another source of pride for Henson. She said during her years as executive officer, HBA has framed a house for Habitat for Humanity, and it has built a computerized Smart House. More recently, she said, HBA members completed the construction of a second Fire Safety House, which is used by the Springfield Fire Department to demonstrate home fire safety to the community. Also, she said HBA has enjoyed a "very good" relationship with Springfield and Greene County.

"We've worked very well with the city and county to discuss and work out code issues, and any issue that comes up that affects the building industry," she said.

Henson said HBA is an active supporter of the Construction Readiness Education for Women program at Ozarks Technical Community College, and Henson has twice she secured grant money for Project CREW from the NAHB.

She said HBA also provides financial help to OTC and Southwest Missouri State University students pursuing building-related degrees.

"You need to keep replenishing an industry with people to work in it, so we provide scholarships," she said.

Ed Alden, vice president of Stenger Homes, will in January become president of the HBA's board of directors. He will replace Sam Bradley, whose term ends at the end of this year.

Alden said finding a replacement for Henson will be difficult, but he said the board of directors will form a search committee.

"We will establish a process that will do a thorough and timely investigation of what candidates are out there that could possibly take over that position," Alden said, adding that HBA has some specific qualifications in mind for Henson's successor.

"Obviously, Louise was very effective in the organization, and her charm and personality made her a great spokesperson for our association. We're looking for somebody with all those qualities, but we will be keeping an eye out for somebody with expertise in governmental affairs," he said.

"We believe that's the direction that the Home Builders Association will be taking in the future, more of an active role in that," Alden added.

He said the HBA board will work however long it takes to find the right person for the job.

"We would like to make it as timely as possible, but we just can't afford to rush into anything. Luckily, Louise has a great staff in place that will be able to take care of the day-to-day business, so we're in the fortunate position that we are not in a hurry," Alden said.

As for what she'll do next, Henson said she does not yet have any definite plans.

"Sometimes, you reach a point in your life when you know it's important to stretch yourself a little bit and explore some new opportunities, and that's what I'm doing," she said.