Wow, what a day!  We had a beautiful weather for our dedication.  Approximately one hundred people gathered as we dedicated the house at 378 Sky South Road to the glory of God and to the use of the Cox family.   With many extened family members sharing in the celebration, Dale and Misty were overwhelmed but beaming.  Through the tears, they thanked everyone for their new home.

 

We recognized Paul Bowen's many contributions to Habitat by dedicating this house in his honor.  Paul was accompanied by his wife, Glenna and other family members including his sister, Sally.  To cemmemorate the event, the Steering Team gave a porch swing to the family bearing a plaque enscribed: "Dedicated in Honor of Paul Bowen".  Paul was touched by this recognition.

 

While the celebration was fun, Dale and Misty were eager to conclude the program so that they could begin to move into their new home.  I think that they were unloading boxes as the last of the home tour participants were out of the house!  It is good to see their enthusiam for becoming homeowers for the first time.  We pray that they will enjoy their new home for years to come.

 

Oyee!

 

Thanks to many volunteers and contributors, the Cox family's house is complete.  While no house is perfect, in my opinion, you have built a well constructed house that the Cox family will make into a beautiful home.  I hope that each of you experienced fun and fulfillment from your participation in "Hands for Habitat - 2009" and that you will be inspired to work on a future Habitat build.

 

The house at 378 Sky South Road will be dedicated to the glory of God and the use of Dale, Misty, Tony, and Tabitha tomorrow at 2:00 PM.  Come and see the final product and celebrate with us!

 

Oyee!!!

 

Keith

Great progress!  The painting of the walls was finished over the weekend with the Cox family contributing many hours painting and cleaning.  Today the trim was painted in preparation of being installed tomorrow.  The floors have been readied for both the vinyl and the composite floors to get underway tomorrow morning.  The HVAC system was started up today and the electrical crew is nearing the finish line. 

 

We expect a large number of volunteers tomorrow and we hope to take advantage of some good weather and move the landscaping along.  The last of the vinyl siding will be underway in the AM.  In addition to the flooring and trim work going on indoors, we will tackle shelving in the closets, window blinds, and interior doors, if time permits.  Come out and see our progress!

We have been blessed with a great turn out of volunteers this week!  Work has progressed inspite of the rain.  We have completed the interior framing, windows, exterior doors, electrical and plumbing rough-in, porch railings, and insulation of the walls. With all that has been accomplished and with cooler weather and rain in the forecast, we have suspended work for Saturday.  We will resume building on Monday, October the 19th with the chief task being to get the vinyl siding.  See you on Monday!

Oyee!

Keith

 

 

With all of the great planning by Mark Mullins and Chuck Smith and hard work by many individuals, the preparation work for the blitz build in October is complete!  Specifically, the grading, foundation, block work, sub-floor, porches, and steps are in place.  Also, the door and window frames have been built in preparation of the walls being raised on October 9th. 

 

We have been blessed with good weather and many volunteers.  There are so many people to thank, that I will refrain from trying to call them by name for fear of missing some.  However, one "group" that I want to recognize is the Kingsport Habitat Regulars.  These men donate their time and speciallized skills on an ongoing basis to build Habitat houses.  Many of them are Eastman retirees who wanted to be part of "Hands for Habitat - 2009".  Having worked with them, I can tell you that they are expert craftsmen.  More importantly, they are Christians answering the call to help others.  We very much appreciate their help in getting our project underway. 

 

What is to be done between now and October 9th?  Recruit, recruit, recruit!  Please tell your friends what we are doing and invite them to join us.  Pass along the blog address so that they can learn more and sign-up online! 

After a huge rain yesterday that brought progress to a brief halt, construction resumed today.  Mark Mullins, our Site Supervisor, led the way as the crew enclosed the floor trusses with sheathing, and made preparations to build the porches.  Jerry Johnson, ably assisted (?), installed the air handling unit and connected the main ductwork in the crawlspace.  Tomorrow will see activity on the porches.  Chuck Smith says that he thinks that we will finish all of the pre-Blitz work by Monday or Tuesday! 

 

Thanks to all who worked and to Tanya Foremen who saw to it that the workers were fed.  Tanya, the chocolate chip cake was great!

We have been blessed with good weather and great volunteers!  We are way ahead of schedule.  The block work went fast!  The floor trusses were set today and the decking is underway.  Work will resume on Tuesday, September 8th.  With continued favorable weather and good volunteer turn out, we expect complete foundation drainage, assembly of the door and window frames, and erection of the porches by the end of next week. 

 

Those tasks will complete our preparations for the Blitz which begins on October 9th.  On the 9th, we plan to construct the exterior walls and set the roof trusses.  This will be dramatic event, so please sign up and come out to work with us. 

 

I was pleased to see that we recieved our first Eastman employee volunteers via our electronic sign-up form on this site today!  We hope that you find this tool easy to use.  Our big push for volunteers at CHPC will start in earnest before and after both worship services on September 13th.

 

Stay tuned for updates!

 

 

Sunday was wonderful.  The folks at CHPC had the opportunity to meet our Habitat Parters, Dale and Misty Cox and their children Tabitha and Tony.  Dale and Misty joined Larua Swanson, Executive Director of Holston Habitat for Humanity, Tanya Foreman, representing Eastman Chemical Company, and Reverend Tom Phillips of CHPC in signing the Covenant documents.  In the works for months, Sunday's event marks the formal start of our efforts to build a new home for the Cox family. 

 

It was at this event that we also made everyone aware that this house will be dedicated in honor of our friend, Paul Bowen.  Paul was a tireless worker and construction leader for Habitat.  While health has recently sidelined his construction efforts, Paul continues to support Habitat's housing ministry.  Paul could not attend Sunday, but Glenna was there to show support and take our well wishes back to Paul.  Please keep Paul and Glenna in your prayers.

 

Misty Cox has also requested prayer for her father, Sidney Callahan, who battles cancer.  Mr. Callahan has worked previously on Habitat builds in order to donate time toward the Cox family's "sweat equity".  Please keep him in your prayers.

 

The building site will be at 378 Sky South. We have a level lot and space to park!  The leadership team is in place and planning has started. Come join us in building a new home for the Cox family!