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Iowa CEOs highlight need for affordable housing while building two Habitat homes in Des Moines
Sarah Kay LeBlanc, Des Moines Register
5 min read
Instead of suits and deals, more than two dozen Iowa executives donned hard hats and picked up power tools Wednesday.
The leaders of some of the state's largest companies gathered in Des Moines' Capitol View South neighborhood at 8 a.m. to help build two homes, as part of Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity's annual CEO Build event.
The event encourages CEOs to jump into community service to further Habitat's goal of expanding affordable housing for working-class families.
For eight hours, the business leaders who generally spend their days giving orders, spent Wednesday taking them. They lifted walls into place, learned how to use drills and other tools, and hammered nails into wood.
Don Coffin of Bankers Trust holds a wall while Bob Ritz of MercyOne hammers a nail into it during the Habitat of Humanity CEO build day on the Shaw Street worksite on Wednesday, August 31, 2022. The CEO Build is an annual fundraising event that brings together CEOs to help transform our community. The participants have each made a commitment of their time and philanthropy to help advance affordable housing in Central Iowa.
Chris Nelson, president and CEO of Kemin Industries and co-chair of the event, has participated in more than a dozen builds with Habitat and joked in his remarks to the group that CEOs may not be the biggest helpers.
"I'm sure when they measure various groups and their ability to be able to do anything for the day, the CEO Build comes out on the lower tier," he said with a laugh.
The leaders did their best to prove him wrong. The group spent the day putting up frames for two single-family houses at 1045 and 1039 Shaw St.
Lance Henning, the executive director of Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity, said its held the CEO Build for nearly 10 years. The event helps raise funds for the houses, allows CEOs to network and shows them firsthand where their money is going.
Many of the leaders, in addition to their labor, contribute financially to Habitat, and the event is sponsored by Iowa Bankers Association.
In central Iowa and statewide, Henning said the need for affordable housing is "huge," adding that in Polk County, one in eight people pay more than 50% of their income to cover housing costs. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development calls for no more than 30% of person's income be spent on housing, including utilities.
A workforce housing study released in 2019 also found central Iowa is short 57,179 housing units for the region's anticipated job growth over the next 20 years. Nearly half of those new workers would need housing priced below $175,000 for an owner-occupied home or below $1,250 a month for a rental.
Henning said that for every $1,000 added to new housing construction, more than 1,900 Iowans are priced out of buying a home.
"Finding ways to do homeownership and allow the opportunity for homeownership is important," he said. "It's important for Des Moines. It's important for Iowa."
Delta Dental of Iowa CEO: 'They're gonna call this home'
Delta Dental of Iowa CEO Jeff Russell remembers his first time working on a Habitat house in central Iowa about 20 years ago. The children who were moving in took him through the home and showed him their rooms, which inspired him to return for years to come.
"I think you can't help but be touched by that," he said.
Suzanna de Baca of Business Publications Corporation marks a measurement for a wall during the Habitat of Humanity CEO build day on the Shaw Street worksite on Wednesday, August 31, 2022. The CEO Build is an annual fundraising event that brings together CEOs to help transform our community. The participants have each made a commitment of their time and philanthropy to help advance affordable housing in Central Iowa.
Russell said watching people work toward a better future for themselves and their families by building their own homes reminds him to give back to his community. Recipients of Habitat's homes are required to put in 400 hours of "sweat equity," or physical labor on their family's or another's home, as well as complete a homebuyers' education course, counseling and coaching.
The opportunity to step out from behind a desk for a day doesn't hurt, either.
"In the insurance business, you push a lot of electrons around the internet," Russell said. "(Here) at the end of the day, we're gonna see walls go up. When you look at the walls, you know that it's gonna be a family — that they're gonna call this home."
Nelson, whose ingredient manufacturing company, Kemin, is headquartered in Des Moines, said helping people become successful through homeownership is an important part of advancing his business.
"To be able to be in a community that is vibrant, that is upwardly mobile — that becomes a really important part of building our company as well," he said.
By the end of this year, Habitat will have built 30 houses in central Iowa, Henning said.
When the CEOs' homes are finished in December, they will go to two families who have qualified for Habitat's homeownership program.
Elizabeth Presutti of Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority smiles and watches during the Habitat of Humanity CEO build day on the Shaw Street worksite on Wednesday, August 31, 2022. The CEO Build is presented by the Iowa Bankers Association and co-chaired by Zac Voss of Voss Distributing and Dr. Chris Nelson of Kemin Industries.
In addition to sweat equity and counseling, potential homeowners must also be earn less than 80% of their area's median income, which varies based on household size. When they purchase a home through Habitat, they pay a mortgage they can afford based on their income.
"We really want to see people be able to reach their God-given potential," Henning said. "When you have safe, decent housing, that helps people do that."
Twenty-seven CEOs and other business leaders participated throughout the day Wednesday, including:
Mike Anderson, Mom’s Meals
Kate Banasiak, Diversified Management Services
Don Coffin, Bankers Trust
Anthony Coleman, Broadlawns Medical Center
Rowena Crosbie, Tero International
Suzanna de Baca, Business Publications Corporation
Rob Denson, DMACC
Kurt Gibson, Community State Bank
Cory Harris, Wellmark
Lance Henning, Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity
Dan Houston, Principal
Scott Jean, EMC Insurance Companies
Tanner Kinzler, Kinzler Construction Services
Dave Ling, Beisser Lumber Company
Mike McCoy, NCMIC
Chris Nelson, Kemin Industries
Terry Nielsen, Raccoon Valley Bank
Jim Plagge, Bank Iowa
Elizabeth Presutti, DART
Darren Rebelez, Casey’s General Stores
Bob Ritz, MercyOne
Jeff Russell, Delta Dental
John Sorensen, Iowa Bankers Association
Larry Taylor, Merchants Bonding
Chris Vernon, Vernon Company
Zac Voss, Voss Distributing
Kris Williams, Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines
Sarah LeBlanc covers the western suburbs for the Register. Reach her at 515-284-8161 or sleblanc@registermedia.com. Follower her on Twitter at @sarahkayleblanc
