For more than a dozen years under two mayors, Richard Beeland worked in a variety of communications and management roles at City Hall. Beeland said he was eager to make government more efficient and run better and ultimately determined he might be able to do more to accomplish that as an advocate outside of government, rather than staying in his job with the city.
So when the Homebuilders Association of Greater Chattanooga approached Beelend earlier this year about heading up the trade group, Beeland jumped at the chance.
“For some of the changes I felt were needed to improve government, I felt I would be a better advocate outside of city government, rather than within it,” he says.
With 475 organization members, the 73-year-old Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga represents an industry that generates local income of $192 million a year, supports more than 2,800 jobs and generates $26.5 million in annual taxes and fees for local government.
“There’s a delicate relationship between the developer and the regulator and there are always opportunities for the homebuilders to be at the table when local government is talking about those regulations that affect their industry and that is what I am here to do,” says Beeland, the 58-year-old executive officer for the homebuilders group. “As homebuilders, we want to be able to build affordable housing for our community, but a lot of times the regulations that are in place can affect that.”