West Des Moines, IA (September 9, 2014) – Rick Tollakson celebrates 30 years with Hubbell Realty Company this week and 11 years as the President and CEO.

 

“In a company that can trace its roots as far back as 1855, I guess 30 years isn’t that long,” Tollakson joked. All joking aside, Tollakson has played a strategic role in the company since joining in 1984, with his earliest contributions including overseeing the development and opening of the Hub Tower and Kaleidoscope at the Hub in downtown Des Moines, starting the company’s first Residential Land Development in 1993, and completing the largest real estate transaction in the history of Iowa in 2007 catapulting Hubbell into the apartment market.

 

Since Tollakson was named President and CEO in 2004, Hubbell Realty Company has expanded into Florida and South Dakota and grown from 50 to more than 200 employees.

 

“We take pride in continually building on the entrepreneurial spirit F.M. Hubbell and his family started so many years ago,” Tollakson explained. It is that kind of thinking that led Hubbell Realty to be the first to introduce Conservation Communities in central Iowa in 2005 and to accomplish “9 Homes in 9 Days” challenges in 2009 as well as the Cabins for Campers Extreme Build in 2013.

 

“Rick and his team are always looking for ways to improve or reinvent real estate,” said Eugene Meyer, President of the Greater Des Moines Partnership. “And just as important, he leads by example in volunteering and giving back to the community.” Hubbell Realty Company was recently inducted into the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame and was recognized this month in the Top 100 Heart Walk Fundraisers.