Cause for Celebration

Incoming president Chris Pickard leads local HBA into its eighth decade.

The year 1945 marked some major historical events: the end of World War II, the explosion of the first atomic bomb, the formation of the United Nations. And here in Iowa, 1945 marked the inception of the Greater Des Moines Home Builders Association (DMHBA).

Thirty years later, while the U.S. was celebrating the end of the Vietnam conflict, listening to Barry Manilow sing “Mandy,” and cheering on Arthur Ashe, the first black man to win the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament, DMHBA was planning its first HomeShowExpo for 1975.

And here we are, entering 2025 and looking back at a lifetime of growth in one of the oldest home builder associations in the country.

Incoming DMHBA president Chris Pickard of Sage Homes says it’s an honor to be leading the association in such an historic year. “I’m fortunate to be following on the heels of some great leaders and supported by a fantastic team at HBA. So my goal for this next year is to maintain the course, to continue focusing on what we’re doing, and to make this association the best it can possibly be.”

It’s only appropriate that Pickard will be leading the association during an anniversary year. Sage Homes itself just celebrated its 10th year in business.

Pickard grew up in the trades, starting his career working for his father in the concrete business. Eventually he moved into residential construction, serving as project manager for a large local builder before going into business on his own.

“I was fortunate to have the financial backing of a longtime business associate who was looking to invest in a home building business,” he says. “He was absolutely instrumental in getting us started.”

Pickard’s time as a project manager taught him a lot about what was required to see a project from beginning to closing. And his entire professional life had taught him to work hard and to treat clients and contractors with respect. Starting his own business was a learning process of its own.

“That first year, I built two houses and the next year over a dozen. The third year 32. For those first five years, we were about 90% built-to-order.”

And that’s when Pickard’s involvement with the Greater Des Moines HBA really began.

“I joined the HBA in 2020 so I could participate in the HomeShowExpo. For a guy that grew up in the industry, somebody who’d always been a consumer of the home show, it seemed like a rite of passage that I needed to do at some point. And 2020 seemed like the right time.”

Despite the soon-to-come COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that Sage Homes had never done a custom project of this level, that first HomeShowExpo was a turning point for Pickard and Sage Homes. “We won a number of awards that first year and have had a home in four of the past five shows. Each year, we’ve won several awards, including People’s Choice this past year. We’ve been very fortunate.”

Pickard has remained active in the HBA since that first year, far beyond his HomeShowExpo involvement.

“Jenna Kimberley was instrumental in getting me involved in a leadership role,” he says. “She kept encouraging me to be on the presidential board, and she’s pretty persuasive.”

He had to be convinced to take on a leadership role. However, Pickard has never needed persuasion when it comes to participation with the association.

“This industry has been so good to me. How can I not give back? It’s our industry to take care of, to shepherd, and it’s how we ensure our industry is healthy and growing.”

That’s also the approach Pickard is taking as he leads the Greater Des Moines HBA through its 80th year.

“We need to continue to focus on what we’re doing because we’re doing it well. I’ve had the privilege to tour other home show parades in other areas of the country, and ours holds a certain prestige,” he says. “We’ve never had a year in the past 50 years when we didn’t have a home show.”

In addition to the stellar home show, Pickard says efforts like promoting the skilled trades are crucial to the success of the association and the industry as well. “Our association has done a spectacular job with the skilled trades, and that’s going to remain a focus. The situation is going to get worse before it gets better if we don’t make some changes to how we develop our workforce.”

Like so many leaders in this industry, Pickard started on the college path before realizing it wasn’t the right fit. “College isn’t for everyone. In our industry, there’s no substitute for hands-on experience. Trade school, working your way up through the trades is a viable, worthwhile path. We have to change the mindset,” he says.

Despite the challenges facing the home construction industry, Pickard sees reason to celebrate this anniversary year and the industry as a whole.

“To have the HBA we have, the leadership time and officers we do—those are positives to celebrate. Other HBAs I’ve visited don’t have the same sense of community and the consistent support we have here. The more of us that get involved, the better we can each be and the better off we’ll all be.”