As Director of Professional Development at Coldwell Banker Mid-America, Sarah Kavalier is in the business of helping people find a home.<\/p>\n
But even outside of work, Sarah continues to help people find their spot in Altoona.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How? By leading and serving the Altoona community, guiding our city\u2019s growth to make sure people feel<\/em> at home here.<\/p>\n Why? To support the community that\u2019s made her feel safe and welcome since the day she arrived.<\/p>\n Before coming home to Altoona, Sarah Kavalier lived and traveled in quite a few places.<\/p>\n For starters, she grew up on a farm as the oldest of 5 just south of Dedham, Iowa, in Carroll County. From there, she went on to the University of Northern Iowa, where she did a LOT of traveling while studying business.<\/p>\n In 1996, she spent a summer on an army base in Germany, working as a UNI Camp Adventure<\/strong><\/a> counselor.<\/p>\n Her time there was filled with basketball games, school dances, and other fun activities that got the on-base teens excited to be together. Plus, she spent her weekends traveling all over Europe!<\/p>\n Sarah also participated in the UNI National Student Exchange, which allowed her to attend the University of North Carolina Wilmington at UNI\u2019s tuition rate.<\/p>\n Her final collegiate travel adventure came during her senior year when she spent a semester abroad in Ecuador. While there, she traveled all over the country and even got to spend her spring break in Cuba!<\/p>\n After all the crazy years of travel and post-college moving, Sarah needed to find a place to call home.<\/p>\n So, she moved to Altoona in 2006.<\/p>\n Great homeownership opportunities are what initially caught her eye, but our community itself is what made her decide to make the move.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the very moment I moved here, I knew I was going to love the town\u201d, she said. \u201cBecause it had the small-town feel, but I was super close to anywhere else that I wanted to go.\u201d<\/p>\n She immediately loved the people of Altoona, and quickly grew fond of all our city\u2019s amenities as well. Altoona\u2019s library, pool, trail system, and other important resources all stuck out to her when she arrived.<\/p>\n And as a mother of 3 boys, she was especially fond of Altoona\u2019s schools.<\/p>\n Sarah said our schools are \u201cfilled with teachers and administration that love our kids, want to protect our kids, and that want our kids to do their very best.\u201d<\/p>\n When she became a licensed REALTOR\u00ae in 2018, Sarah started helping people find a home in Altoona for a living.<\/p>\n Interestingly enough, a couple of her clients actually became her neighbors!<\/p>\n She was showing them houses in the area but hadn\u2019t shown them anything in Altoona yet. \u201cThey were like, \u2018Sarah why aren\u2019t we looking at Altoona? You haven\u2019t stopped telling us about much you love Altoona\u2026\u2019\u201d, she said. \u201cThey ended up living like 5 houses or 6 houses down from me!\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah\u2019s real estate career has grown even further since then. Now, she\u2019s working at Coldwell Banker Mid-America as Director of Professional Development.<\/p>\n She sets up the curriculum for the Mid-America School of Real Estate<\/strong><\/a>, helping to educate and license Iowa\u2019s realtors so they can help people find homes in the area. (Hopefully, some of them will wind up right here in Altoona.)<\/p>\n Sarah said she loves our community and wants to see it grow so that more people can find their place here.<\/p>\n Therefore, she\u2019s stepped up as a local leader.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year, I was able to join the Altoona Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. I\u2019m also part of the Arts and Culture Commission with the City of Altoona\u201d, she said. \u201cI want to see our community continue to grow in a healthy way. We\u2019ve got a lot of great things going for us, and I want to help keep us in that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah encourages other Altoona residents to consider how their talents can help guide our city\u2019s growth. After all, it takes a lot of teamwork to create a community as vibrant as the one we enjoy.<\/p>\n She said, \u201cIn order for the community to grow, stay close, and keep that small-town feel\u2014we need more people to be involved, and to care, and to give their time.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah has always felt welcomed and supported by Altoona\u2019s community, from moving day to the present.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the first things I fell in love with was my street\u2014my neighborhood\u201d, she said. \u201cThere are a ton of families. When I had young kids, the kids could all run out and play with one another\u2026we all just look out for each other\u2019s kids and pets.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a really wonderful place where you feel like you could go to any one of your neighbors and say, \u2018hey I need a cup of sugar\u2014what do you have?\u2019\u201d, said Sarah.<\/p>\n Sarah feels the same way about the churches in the area, which she says have been there for her and the greater community. She currently attends High Point Church in Altoona, along with her cousins.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have some really wonderful churches here. There have been a few that I\u2019ve attended, and the outreach [programs] that they have to help people in need are amazing,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve always just felt very safe in this community, and very welcomed.\u201d<\/p>\n From a 30,000-foot view, Sarah Kavalier\u2019s story is one of seeking a community to call home, then finding it and giving back to it. Where? Friendly Altoona, Iowa.<\/p>\n Thanks for reading this #PeopleofAltoona feature!<\/p>\n Just minutes from Des Moines, Altoona is home to amenities that everyone can enjoy\u2014from major entertainment attractions and shopping destinations to beautiful metro parks\u2014as well as good schools, cozy neighborhoods, fun community events, and a thriving economy.<\/p>\n Want to learn more? You can meet the Altoona business owner<\/strong><\/a> who prefers to work on a small canvas, learn about a family that\u2019s dedicated<\/strong><\/a> to our town, or discover more about life in Altoona.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As Director of Professional Development at Coldwell Banker Mid-America, Sarah Kavalier is in the business of helping people find a home. But even outside of work, Sarah continues to help people find their spot in Altoona.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3532,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-people-of-altoona"],"yoast_head":"\nTraveling Far and Wide<\/h2>\n
Finding Home\u2014Moved to Altoona in 2006<\/h2>\n
Helping People Find a Home\u2014Working in Real Estate<\/h2>\n
Making Altoona Residents Feel at Home\u2014Community Leadership<\/h2>\n
Home is Where the Loving Community is<\/h2>\n
Explore Altoona<\/h2>\n