Doug Fisher thought he was retiring last December when he left his job as director of external affairs for Comcast in the Big South region after a 32-year career working on governmental affairs, marketing and communication strategies for everyone from former President Ronald Reagan, Gov. Winfield Dunn and U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp to Erlanger Health System and CBL Properties.
But with the college football season over and the winter weather unfavorable for golf, retirement didn't last long for the 63-year-old Chattanooga native and former UTC football player. Fisher was back at work two months later in February as the executive officer of the Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga.
Fisher's newest job representing local independent builders gives him a far different set of bosses than his last job at Comcast, a $95 billion-a-year cable and broadcast company that is one of the biggest media companies in the world. But Fisher, who is building a home on Signal Mountain, says he has always enjoyed building things. And he is eager to advocate for the local builders who help support an industry that is estimated to have produced over $500 million in income in the Chattanooga region last year alone from home builders, designers, mortgage lenders, Realtors, suppliers and others.
"I am a frustrated builder and I've always loved the world of construction," Fisher says. "But I've spent more of my career in governmental affairs, and it's exciting to be able to advocate for our builders and promote a pro-growth agenda to help bring the American dream of home ownership to more people."
The Home Builders Association, which was created in 1945 and includes nearly 500 members, advocates for local builders on everything from local rules on stormwater, sewers and steep slopes to promoting better workforce and contractor development, affordable housing and association health plans.
"Very few professions connect a community or region like the residential construction and remodeling industry does," Fisher says. Even before any foundation is poured, walls framed or carpet laid, the process of building or remodeling a residence brings together dozens of professionals from the real estate agent to the mortgage lender and from the plumber, electrician and carpenter to the carpet, appliances and siding manufacturer.
Fisher said home builders are interested in practical, effective government policies that protect consumers, workers and the environment but don't burden home builders and push the cost of home ownership out of reach for many Chattanoogans. The National Association of Home Builders estimates that government regulations add 26% to the cost of typical single-family home and 32% to the price multi-family housing. New rules proposed or adopted on flood insurance, building on slopes or stormwater runoff could push those cost and the price of new homes even higher, Fisher said.
"We certainly want safe workplaces and energy efficient and environmentally sound building, but too many persons cannot afford to buy a home and the costs of government regulations on home building, and one reason is that regulatory costs have increased significantly in the the past 10 years," Fisher says. "Working on trying to address that problem is an exciting challenge for me."