Inside Storey general contractors anticipating what their workload will be and, if they have the space and resources, stockpiling materials to eliminate bottlenecks and keep the machine running. And I’ve heard of smaller builders, knowing they need things but not right away, getting them while they can.” TELL ME THE POSITIVES DURING YOUR PRESIDENTIAL TENURE.
THE PANDEMIC PREZ
It’s been a unique term for OHBA’s current leader BY TED McINTYRE WITH FARSIGHT HOMES PARTNER BOB SCHICKEDANZ
THE TERM “unprecedented times” seems on the tips of everyone’s tongue these days, and so it is for the Ontario Home Builders’ Association and its enduring president, Bob Schickedanz. Next month at the annual Meeting of Members, OHBA representatives will weigh the merits of extending the term of the association’s leading man…again. Schickedanz is already the first OHBA president since William Docherty (1976-1978) to hold the post in consecutive years. Nobody’s ever held it for three. In many respects, though, it was fortuitous to have had Schickedanz, a partner at FarSight Homes, take the wheel of the association in the autumn of 2019. Who better to help steer OHBA through the relentless storm of COVID than a man whose temperament is as serene as a millpond? But is Schickedanz game for a third term, or is it time to move on? ohba.ca
@onhomebuilder
OHB: HOW’S BUSINESS AT FARSIGHT HOMES? BOB SCHICKEDANZ: “I said to my
brother Rick a little over a year ago, in the grips of the pandemic, ‘I don’t think we’re gonna sell another house this year.’ Boy, was I wrong. “We actually didn’t have a lot going on pre-pandemic. We had one smaller project in a community called Beeton. It’s now sold out, so we’re building those units, battling the challenge of getting materials to complete the homes. One thing COVID has shown us is how vulnerable our supply chain has become. We take it for granted, but when it gets disrupted, all hell breaks loose. You can’t find stuff, and when you do, it’s ultra-expensive. I’m curious when the dust will settle and if there will be less volatility.”
“A highlight was how our association and industry pulled together to find a solution to the circumstances we found ourselves in after COVID hit—to complete homes for people, many of whom had nowhere else to go after being contractually obligated to move after selling their own homes. And helping the Ontario Ministry of Labour develop health and safety protocols. We kept adding pieces and communicating with locals. Another positive was, looking back 18 months later, how our whole sector had a very low infection rate—a testament to the efforts by members in dealing with work in a COVID environment.” IS THE WORST PART OF YOUR TENURE NOT GETTING TO INTERACT FACE TO FACE?
“It’s definitely been a low point. I take great pleasure meeting members from across the province. When I began my tenure in September 2019, I hit the ground running and visited a fair number of locals and engaged in various meetings and awards nights. It was terrific! And then the door slammed on us. And the focus became Zoom and Team meetings and figuring out how to navigate through this.” AND THEN A SECOND TERM WAS FOISTED UPON YOU.
“Yes, but I was not only willing and pleased to do it, I consider it a great honour. We also still have a family business to run, but my brother and nephews have picked up a lot of the slack.”
SO IS IT WORTH STOCKING UP?
HAS IT BEEN HARD TO DELEGATE THAT RESPONSIBILITY?
“I’ve heard of distributors and larger
“You can kind of do it remotely, but it’s ONTARIO HOME BUILDER FALL 2021
17
