This feature is a question-and-answer session with a new Blount County Chamber member. So, here we go with our 185th installment visiting with Bobby Eason, executive director of the Foothills Community Development Corp., which was created to provide affordable housing opportunities to the area’s lower income workforce and households.
How did you get started? I started working for my father in the construction industry as a child and continued in the industry until my late 20’s. At that time I decided that I wanted to utilize my construction experience and entrepreneurial spirit to help lower income families obtain safe and affordable housing which brought me to Blount County Habitat for Humanity.
What is your background? I was fortunate to have a wonderful father who showed me the ropes on how to successfully run a small business. That, combined with the knowledge that Blount Habitat provided me about the affordable housing industry, has equipped me to serve our community in my current capacity.
Describe your customers. Our customers are hard working local families who have been left behind due to the escalating cost of housing in our area and relatively flat wage growth.
What impacts your operation? Providing affordable housing is dramatically impacted by a variety of factors outside of the organization’s control. Any increase in project costs affect our ability to build units and keep them affordable to our applicants. So when material costs are rising to unprecedented levels, it creates a huge challenge for us to fulfil our mission. Similarly, when legislation is passed that increases costs or decreases investments into affordable housing, these measures also detrimentally impact our mission as well.