Time is an interesting thing! Hours turn into days, days into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, and before you know it, 41 years have passed in the blink of an eye.
“Where did the time go?” Dave Flohr, our outgoing executive director, asked just before he retired last month. He’s right. Where did it go?
For the past 18 years, I’ve worked closely at the agency with Dave, and I truly don’t know where those 18 years went. I like to contemplate time and life now and then, and this is definitely one of those moments. Maybe it’s something that naturally comes with age, when you begin to reflect more deeply and more often than you did in your younger years.
I remember when I started at the agency 18 years ago, I was one of the “kids,” the young ones. Well, not anymore. When new team members join and you realize they were born years—and I mean many years—after you graduated high school or even college, it hits you: you’ve become the one who carries the institutional knowledge, the one passing down what was once passed to you. It’s a sobering feeling. You know the one—when you mention something like using a rotary phone, and someone looks at you the way a dog does when it hears a strange sound: ears perked, head tilted, a silent “What are you even talking about?” And in that moment, you realize the roles have shifted. I vividly remember being the one asking those questions, and now I’m the one answering them. I suppose this is just a microcosm of life, a cycle we all go through.
Now, as I step into the role Dave once held, I do so with deep humility and gratitude. I don’t take this responsibility lightly. While my title may be new, our mission remains the same: to provide safe and affordable housing for all North Dakotans.
I’ve had the privilege of working alongside incredible teams over the years, and that continues today. It’s an honor to lead alongside such dedicated, talented people. A good leader surrounds themselves with a great team and then gives them room to do what they do best. That’s exactly the kind of team I have inherited, and I couldn’t be more thankful.
Of course, none of this happens in a vacuum. Our success has always been built on strong partnerships with lenders, developers, local leaders, service providers, and others who share our commitment to housing solutions. These partnerships must continue for us to succeed.
If you’re reading this and you are not yet partnering with us in some way, please reach out. We can’t solve housing challenges alone. The more voices at the table, the better the solutions.
Now, you might be wondering, how does all this talk about time and reflection relate to housing?
Here’s how.
Just like life, housing is about transitions. It’s about building something meaningful over time, brick by brick, choice by choice, family by family. A home isn’t just a structure; it’s the backdrop for birthdays, quiet mornings, late-night worries, and new beginnings. Time moves, families grow, neighborhoods change, and our needs shift, but housing remains a constant thread that ties those moments together. Our work in housing isn’t just about programs or policies; it’s about creating a sense of stability and belonging through the inevitable changes life brings.
In the end, housing is really about people. And people, like time, are always moving forward. The reflections, the memories, the lessons, they shape how we build, how we serve, and how we prepare for the next generation to take the reins.
So, when we ask, “Where did the time go?” We also know exactly where it went.
It went into building and financing homes.
Supporting communities.
Helping others write the stories of their lives, one chapter and one home at a time.
Here’s to the next chapter as the journey continues. I am honored to walk it with all of you.