.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Duane Van Hemert calls himself a cheerleader – and a manager. For seven years he served as executive director of facility management for the Des Moines Independent Community School District, overseeing a $350 million capital improvement plan. In this role, he was in charge of bringing together school leaders, nonprofits, government bodies and the community to complete the largest school construction program in Iowa’s history. In April, Hemert announced his resignation and within the week, The Hansen Co. Inc. asked him to become vice president of construction management services.

What is your background?

I graduated from Roosevelt [High School] in 1968. Then I ended up in Uncle Sam’s navy for a few years. When I got out, I became a student in the building and trades program at Des Moines Area Community College. After that, I went out on my own for a while. From 1975 until 1980, I was the building and trades instructor for DMACC. Then I built custom homes from 1980 through the early ’90s. Through the ’90s, I did almost all commercial projects – a lot of warehouses and industrial facilities.

What was it like going from the private sector to the public?

It’s different. The reason I went there was the challenge of rebuilding every school in Des Moines. It was an awesome challenge and it was a successful program. We’ve completed 30 school buildings.

What caused you to leave?

It’s like any job that has a lot of exposure: I think change is good. It was good for me and probably good for Des Moines schools to get some new ideas in there.

Did you ever feel caught up in all the publicity?

I sometimes wondered about the politics, what people’s motivations were. But what contractors are good at is keeping their heads down and staying focused on their projects. What my focus was, was getting the buildings rebuilt as efficiently and quickly as possible. And in seven years, the thing I’m proudest of is we did not lose one day of classroom instruction because of construction issues.

What does your new role entail?

We’re hoping to gear up our construction management division, so my responsibility will be to manage that division and to look for projects for Hansen to act as a construction manager on. The type of projects we’re going to look for initially are school projects or other public entities.

Is that where your passion lies?

There’s a lot of satisfaction in building a project, but there’s also a lot of satisfaction with managing large projects for school districts and seeing the end result. You get a school done and you have a grand-opening ceremony and all the kids go back in the building. Their smiles on their faces, you can’t put a price on that.

What would like to see happen for the school district as you leave?

The school district needs to find a way to fund the rest of the project. The public school system has 60 buildings; we got half of them done. And then the taxpayers need to find a way to sustain these buildings. Otherwise in another 30 to 40 years, they’ll be back to the same mess they were in in the ’90s.

What is one goal in your new job?

Our goal is to be the best construction manager in the Midwest. There are a lot of people who think they can get the architect and contractor, just turn them loose and they’ll get it done. Well they’ll get it done, but does it meet the needs of the client and was it done in the most cost-effective way?

What do you like to do for fun?

I have a little acreage near Saylorville. I’m an outdoors guy, so you’ll seldom find me in the house. I also like to travel. I’ve been just about everywhere from Maine to Hawaii. One thing I love to do is take cross-country trips off the beaten path. Last summer I drove from Texas to Des Moines without using an interstate.

Is there a philosophy you live by?

Be willing to do what you ask others to do. I just got an [education leadership] award from the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute. It was an honor for me, but it gets back to teamwork. We did a lot of collaborative projects, for example, George Washington Carver Elementary School. We did that with Boys and Girls Clubs of Iowa, Iowa Health [- Des Moines], Prairie Meadows [Racetrack and Casino] and the city of Des Moines. It is going to be one dynamite school and it’s really a community school.