Melody Shacter is the division president of Harmony Homes, A Drees Co., located off of Philips Highway.
WHAT'S THE HISTORY BEHIND HARMONY HOMES?
Harmony Homes was owned and founded by Shacter's husband David in 1994. In 2002 David had a heart attack and Melody stepped into his role to run the operations part of the company while he was out of the office. She has never left. When he returned, he focused on finding land while she focused on building the business. The company builds primarily on the Northside and the Westside. Within the next few months Harmony Homes will be opening a community in Baker County. Currently, the homebuilder build about 250 homes per year with an average price of about $188,000.
WHEN WAS THE COMPANY BOUGHT?
Harmony Homes was purchased by Drees Co. in August. Before the company was purchased, Shacter was the COO. Her husband was the CEO. "When we were purchased, they created a company called Drees Homes of Florida. Underneath it is the construction company, Harmony Homes and the other is a land company, Harmony Land. David is now the president of the land company."
WHAT DO YOU DO?
"I'm responsible for everything. A lot of that is transitional right now. But, ultimately, I'm responsible for making sure that we meet all of our goals. I work very closely with David to ensure that he knows what land we need. In other words, what areas of town we want to build in and what size lots we want to build on. I work very closely with architecture to make sure we have the right plans. I approve all the new plans. I determine what we are going to build in each community and then work with the sales managers and vice president to determine that. I then oversee the rest of the operations."
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOUR JOB?
"Diversity. Every day is a new day. You never know what will happen over the course of a day. I do so many different things that it is never boring."
CONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE?
She had no previous construction history prior to taking over for her husband. "You become a very quick learner. I have a very good support staff in terms of construction. I've always had a very good group to turn to, to ensure that all construction standards are met. My job becomes more of vision and leadership and my staff underneath me is responsible for all the details."
WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH AS THE DIVISION PRESIDENT?
Melody said the company has grown 140 percent in the last year. "We've been very busy. I've been making sure we have the appropriate staff and that we are building the organization the way we need to. My vision going forward is to grow another 100 percent over the next year. By 2010, we want to be building at least 500 homes a year."
BEFORE HARMONY HOMES?
She owned a home health care agency, Home Companion. She sold it to Mayo Clinic and ran it for them until she decided to retire and be a stay-at-home mom. She did that for six months before she was needed to run Harmony Homes for her husband.
HOW HAS YOUR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE HELPED YOU?
"I was basically an entrepreneur, so it was really envisioning the business and putting the entire plan together. I completely wrote that business. We were a regulated field like building where you have codes that you have to write your procedures by and follow them. Even though they are very different in terms of business, they are run very much the same way."
ADVICE FOR OTHER WOMEN EXECUTIVES IN THE BUILDING INDUSTRY?
Shacter said that in most industries, women start at the bottom and work their way up. "I think that in construction women aren't drawn to the field of building so you don't see a lot of women out learning to be builders. You generally see them coming through the sales force. I don't know how to change that and their interest. I think they should learn the business from the bottom up if they can. I think that it is helpful to be knowledgeable. I would recommend that they work for a company that has a training company that can be moved around to the various departments. As a division president you need to understand, not in detail, but in generality every single department of the company."
HOMETOWN?
Watseka, Ill. She moved to Jacksonville in 1986.
COLLEGE?
She earned a bachelor's degree in sociology and business from the University of Tampa and a master's in health care management from the University of Phoenix.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS?
She is a board member of Builders Care and a member of the Northeast Florida Builder's Association's Sales and Marketing Council.
PERSONAL SIDE?
Melody and David have two children, Zackary, 15 and Jacob, 10. When she is not working they enjoy doing water activities including boating, skiing and surfing. She enjoys watching comedy and slapstick movies. A book she would recommend is "The Singularity is Near," by Ray Kurzweil. When relaxing at home, she likes tuning into forensics shows. When traveling, she favors Nevis, a small island in the Caribbean. When dining out, she enjoys Lemongrass, a Thai restaurant in Baymeadows.