A SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION CHAMPIONING OUR LOCAL WOMEN IN BUSINESS. PHOTOGRAPY BY JESSICA WHITLEY.

Ivey Hall, Executive Director
Regina Sweeney, Board President

690 Holt Ave., Macon
478-745-0630
ihall@maconhabitat.org
maconhabitat.org

What is your mission and how has it shifted because of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope. For the last 35 years, Macon Area Habitat for Humanity has been building low-income homeownership opportunities and leading neighborhood revitalization efforts in Macon-Bibb and Jones counties. Our Macon affiliate was started in 1986 by a group of volunteers from Northminster Presbyterian Church and did not hire the first paid staff member until 1996. For the first time in 35 years we have not had volunteers on our job sites in over a year. We miss our volunteers and the love they bring to our work. But we could not let this change impact our mission. A “home” is more important than ever right now, so we restructured our model to build with more subcontractors, added an additional temporary staff member and are now building more homes at one time than we have in a long time. Thanks to funding from the Middle Georgia COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund and funding from partnerships with Macon-Bibb County and the Bibb County School District we have four new construction projects and one rehab in the works – all with approved families excited to move in. While we can’t wait to have our volunteers back, this has provided an opportunity for us to look at new ways to approach our work and increase our capacity. The need for safe, stable and affordable homes is going to continue to increase as we work our way out of this pandemic and we are ready to help offer solutions.

Your advice for women wanting to start their own business in Macon?

Building relationships is so important, but then having the strength to be honest in those relationships will get you so much further. Not every day will be a good day. We need to be willing to share the bad ones, the times we failed, so we can all learn from our mistakes. Seek out strong mentors and meaningful relationships as you build your business so you have a support system to celebrate your success and to lean on after those hard days. – Ivey Hall

How do you define success?

Success starts with a clearly defined purpose. In April 1986, a Sunday School class at Northminster Presbyterian Church saw an opportunity to help address Macon’s serious need for affordable homeownership opportunities. This has remained our mission for the last 35 years and we have served over 120 families through our work. Our approach as changed; we moved from building all over Bibb and Jones counties to a neighborhood revitalization approach 16 years ago, but the mission has stayed the same. As we approach each new opportunity, we return to our mission. Our board of directors returned to our mission statement often over the last year as we looked at opportunities to help our community during the pandemic. We have stayed focused on the need for affordable housing and looked for ways to increase our capacity because we know that our response to COVID-19 will be long-term as families continue to recover. – Ivey Hall

What are you most excited about right now in our community?

I think it is the same thing that made me excited about moving to Macon in 2015, the commitment of this community to “do” something, together, to make life better for us all. I work and worship in Pleasant Hill and live a few streets away in Vineville. I love the history and beauty in every street – sure, some of it is diminished and neglected, but it is still there. If you can’t see it yet, you can definitely feel it and hear it. We have loads of challenges, but I enjoy the opportunity they present. I am delighted that Habitat is a part of the Pleasant Hill community now. I love welcoming our new neighbors to the neighborhood. — Regina Sweeney

You might be surprised that:

Organizationally, many people don’t realize that Habitat does not give away homes. Our families purchase their homes with a 0 percent interest, 20-year mortgage. The families also invest in the construction of their homes through sweat equity. Over the last 35 years, Habitat families have invested around 40,000 hours of sweat equity in the construction of homes and revitalization of neighborhoods. Personally, there are always two pairs of boots and a pair of work gloves in my car so it doesn’t matter what I have on, I can always walk around a jobsite. – Ivey Hall
I love cemeteries. I really love ones that are old, interesting and designed as gardens. I was super happy to find just that in Macon with Rose Hill, Linwood and Riverside and all local to my neighborhood. — Regina Sweeney

What is the most gratifying part of your job?

While I love home dedications, my favorite day is walking with a homeowner around their home when they can “see” it for the first time. They can imagine their kids’ rooms, picture where furniture will go and they realize that their dream is really coming true. As we walk through a house, I can slowly see their fear and anticipation about homeownership turn to joy and a sense of accomplishment about what will soon be a safe and stable home for their family. – Ivey Hall

What has been the most challenging part of being a woman in business?

When I was a young commercial real estate and construction law attorney, being taken seriously was an issue on occasion in such a male dominated area of the law, but I generally made it work to my advantage when people underestimated me. I had amazing mentors and bosses in the law firms I worked with. — Regina Sweeney

I admire women who:

I admire women who are unapologetically themselves. From the time we are small, we are shown so many stereotypes of what a woman should look like and do. I love to meet women who have embraced their own personality and approach life with their “true self” leading the way. I hope my two girls grow up knowing that they are perfect just the way they are and there is no reason to ever hide behind a stereotype. – Ivey Hall
I admire women who don’t try to do it all at the same time. They know that it is a balancing act, sometimes you are all-in on family, sometimes at work, but it all gets done. — Regina Sweeney

What was the best business advice you ever received?

The best business advice I ever got was from my dad. He expected each of his three daughters to be self-sufficient and independent. His advice: show up, be confident in your ability and add value. — Regina Sweeney

I hope more women will:

Be unafraid to jump in, be heard, and work hard to make a difference. Women are often the missing voice, link or piece, in many good projects. With that missing piece, those projects would be great! — Regina Sweeney

How can women better support each other?

When women get into more senior positions, they must make a concerted effort to become the framework, the scaffold, for those coming next but, without falling into the trap of creating a female replication of the old-boys network. Many women are cautious about asking for advice. So, don’t wait. Engage her – be interested in what she’s doing. Add value – be a sounding board, be a road map and a cheerleader, particularly if you have a good contact list. It doesn’t have to be structured. Try to be the person on the other end of an email, text or phone call who will always listen and try to help. And, most importantly, women are in charge of the domestic purse. We have great spending power and money talks. We should go out of our way to do business with women-owned businesses or women in businesses. — Regina Sweeney

How can men better support women business owners/leaders?

Pretty much do the same as I think women should do. Invite women into the fold. — Regina Sweeney

Looking back, I wish I had known:

Don’t be afraid to fail, that’s just experience by another name and life is never perfect. — Regina Sweeney