Builders News May 2019

4 ICAHBA Builders News | May 2019
Build My Future Gives Students Hands-on Constr
Steps were taken April 2 to shrink
the home-building industry’s skilled
workforce gap thanks to our inaugural
Build My Future-ACE Career Day &
Industry Showcase. The event, hosted by
the ACE Sector Board, was held at Jones
Hall on the Cedar Rapids Kirkwood
Community College campus. Sponsors
were Hills Bank, The Greater Iowa City
Area HBA’s Vocational Training Council,
The Greater Cedar Rapids HBA and
Kirkwood Community College.
A total of 153 7th- and 8th-grade students
from nine different junior highs or middle
schools in three Eastern Iowa counties
busily learned construction-trade skills
through 15 interactive, hands-on exhibits.
Volunteers from HBA-member companies
directed and inspired the kids. The fun
included hammering nails for roofing
carpentry, piecing together plumbing,
operating heavy equipment, building a
wall with brick and mortar, drywalling
and more. Students also heard about
architecture and engineering careers
during educational sessions and stepped
inside a tiny house.
“I liked that we got to do a bunch
of things in different areas,” said
Kennady Breitfelder, an 8th-grader from
Springville. Her classmate Emerson
Ripple’s favorite thing was the tiny
house. “It was interesting and reduces
space,” she said.
Learning about the construction trade in
this way shows students early in their
schooling an alternative path to a fouryear
college degree and lets them testdrive
different careers. “Informing kids
while they’re in junior high allows them
time to learn more about the field, find
what peaks their interests and explore
throughout high school how it can be a
viable choice for them,” said ACE Sector
Board member Tim Ruth of McCreedy-
Ruth Construction, whose company
taught kids how to build housing frames
at the event.
The Iowa City-Cedar Rapids area
Build My Future is one of four such
events being held across Iowa this
Spring. Others are through the Quad
Cities Home Builders and Remodelers
Association; HBA of Greater Des Moines
and HBA of Greater Siouxland. Materials
– including photos and video – from
the four showcases will be used to put
together a tool kit for HBAs nationwide
to implement similar events, thanks to
a grant from the National Association
of Home Builders National Housing
Endowment.
Our Volunteers Were Amazing
Leadership in Attendance
National Housing Endowment CEO Mark
Pursell (left) and Dr. Lori Sundberg, president
of Kirkwood Community College, were two
of several leaders at a pre-event breakfast
during Build My Future day. The National
Housing Endowment provided a grant for
Iowa’s four Build My Future expos.
Local, state and national industry leaders were on hand for Build My Future. Pictured are
(back row, left to right): National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Regional Field
Representative Matt Milroy from Chicago; Greater Cedar Rapids HBA Executive Officer
Melissa Olson; Greater Iowa City Area HBA Executive Officer Karyl Bohnsack; and Home
Builders Association of Iowa (HBAI) Executive Officer Jay Iverson. Front row (left to right):
HBAI and HBA of Des Moines Workforce Development Director Brandon Patterson; National
Housing Endowment CEO Mark Pursell; HBA of Des Moines Executive Officer Dan Knoup;
and Greater Iowa City Area HBA member Tim Ruth of McCreedy-Ruth Construction who is
an HBAI representative to NAHB.
Andy Martin (left) of Martin
Construction; and ACE Sector Board
Vice-Chair Eric Heim from Precision
Drywall were two of many volunteers.
Among the exhibitors were (left to right) Tim Ruth,
McCreedy-Ruth Construction; Alex Andino, Andino
Construction; David Mapes, CertainTeed; and
Jessica Andino, Andino Construction.
McCreedy-Ruth Construction’s (left to
right) Riley Sullivan, Ava Peterman and
Cullen Klebe taught kids framing.