Opening Doors Magazine Fall 2026 | A Letter from the Chairman

Fall ushers in one of my favorite times of the year – slow time on the back porch with a roaring fire and dinner on the grill while cheering on (or sometimes praying for) the Crimson Tide. As many of you know, football in the South is more than just a game; it is a lifestyle and culture. For better or for worse, we shape our weekends around the games being played and are deeply invested in the coaches and players. It’s not often that we get to carry on with the players as they move through life, and I am honored to have had that chance with my friend Gary Hollingsworth, former quarterback for the Tide and our general manager of Clayton Alabama. As this issue’s cover story, Gary shares how his time playing football helped him build resiliency and determination to prepare for the fight of his life in his recent cancer battle.

Within the pages of Opening Doors, we celebrate homeownership in all of its shapes and forms, including how Clayton is forging new housing frontiers with CrossMod® homes. This innovative concept blends the attainability of off-site construction with the aesthetics of site-built homes and creates more homeownership opportunities from rural areas to urban regions across America.

This edition features stories such as A Home With Heart about the Isaacks family, whose Pinterest dream of owning a Lulamae home turned into a reality and is now a viral sensation, Clayton Addison II team members doing good by building beds for children who do not have a place to lay their head and the trend towards warmer, natural wood cabinetry in kitchens and bathrooms. I know I will be trying out and enjoying the delicious tailgating recipes in this edition and may even take a fall-inspired road trip to some of the featured beloved all-American diners.

I hope you use this opportunity to sit back, relax and dive into these pages that not only celebrate homeownership, but give us a taste of the changing season, cooler weather and delicious fall foods we have to look forward to. Thank you for inviting our Clayton family into your home this fall.

Keith O. Holdbrooks

CEO and Executive Chairman of Clayton Home Building Group

Photo credit: Deb Heuer