CHANGE LIVES Blog | Austin Habitat for Humanity Blog

Austin Habitat would like to welcome Mildred Davis, Dan Doman, Chris Elliott, Dr. George Gau, Everett Plante, Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, and Brian Sharples to the Board!!!

Mildred Davis is a Habitat homeowner. One of eight children, Mildred was born in Natchitoches, LA. Her father was a mechanic and her mother a housewife.  In 1967 she moved to McKinney, Texas to participate in the McKinney Job Corps and complete her high school education.  While there, she advanced in positions of responsibility and became a Corps Leader.  Today, Mildred has four sons and one daughter, fourteen grandchildren and one great-grandchild on the way.  She has worked for the City of Austin for fourteen years. When Mildred applied to Austin Habitat for Humanity’s homeownership program, she shared a small, one-bedroom apartment with her teenage daughter, Leslie. Mildred has continued to advocate for Austin Habitat in the public as well as in the media since moving into her home in Austin’s Colony.

Dan Doman joined Austin Ventures in 2009 as the Director of Business Development for the venture capital practice.  In this role, he will work closely with the investment partners to source proprietary deal flow.  Most recently, Dan was an associate at Austin-based venture capital firm G-1 Capital.  Dan spent his business school summer internship in a consulting role with Bazaarvoice, an AV portfolio company.  Prior to business school, he worked as an analyst at a fixed-income hedge fund in Chicago and as a product manager in an Illinois-based consumer durable goods manufacturer. Dan received his MBA from Boston College and his BA in Economics at Northwestern.

Chris Elliott returned to Graves Dougherty on June 1, 2007, having spent the past fifteen years in a civil litigation practice that he founded with two partners. While engaging in this practice, he tried numerous cases to jury verdict and handled multiple appeals. Chris attended Austin College, and earned his B.A. in Political Science and Economics in 1984. He earned his J.D. in 1990 from the Baylor University School of Law, where he was a member of Order of the Barristers, Phi Delta Phi, and Baylor Mock Trial Team. Chris is a member of the Austin Bar Association; State Bar of Texas; Texas Trial Lawyers Association (Director, 1999-05); The American Association for Justice (formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America ); Million Dollar Advocates Forum; Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation; Fellow of the Austin Young Lawyers Association Foundation; Capital Area Trial Lawyers Association (President, 2001-02); American Constitution Society; American Board of Trial Advocates.

Dr. George Gau served as Dean  of the McCombs School of Business from 2002 to 2008.  During his successful six-year term, the school increased the size and stature of the faculty, saw the full-time MBA program project a more robust national and international reputation, opened a highly sought-after MBA program in Houston,  cultivated new and strengthened existing relationships with corporate partners and industry players, and increased the rigor of the undergraduate program, among many other accomplishments, most notably, the new AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center.  His research and teaching interests include real estate finance and investment and real estate equity and mortgage markets. He received his B.S. , M.S., and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.

Everett Plante joined Silicon Laboratories in March 2008.  He provided a proven track record of driving information technology (IT) vision, strategy and implementation to achieve business and compliance objectives globally. Prior to joining Silicon Labs, Mr. Plante was the Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Harcourt Assessment.  Prior to that, Mr. Plante held a number of increasingly responsible positions in technology management.  He began his career at Sysco Corporation as a programmer/analyst and rose to director of systems and development and information services.

Representative Eddie Rodriguez was first elected in 2002,  and currently serves on the Public Safety and the Technology, Economic Development and Workforce committees. Eddie was born in McAllen, Texas, leaving home to be the first in his family to attend college. He received his B.A. in Government from the University of Texas in 1995 and received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 2008. Eddie’s legislative focus is on regional transportation, affordable housing, health and human services, and the promotion of renewable and sustainable energy as part of a statewide approach to improving environmental quality and creating economic development opportunities for Texas.

Brian Sharples co-founded HomeAway with Carl Shepherd in February 2005. He is the former president and chief executive officer of IntelliQuest Information group, a supplier of marketing data and research to Fortune 500 technology companies.  The company was the fastest-growing market research firm in the nation during his tenure.  He also completed two successful public offerings and the subsequent sale of the company. Sharples is an angel investor through his company, Moose Pond, and has participated in the successful launch of numerous ventures. He earned a bachelor’s degree in math and economics from Colby College and a master’s degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

We are so excited to work with this passionate and talented group!!! Thank you for your commitment to providing leadership for our organization!

This past weekend was a busy one for Austin Habitat, and a great start to the 2010 build season and our 25^th anniversary year!!!

 On Saturday at 8 AM, we raised the walls of Austin Habitat’s FIRST-EVER Baptist Build. Highland Park Baptist, University Baptist, Church of the Savior, Manchaca Baptist, First Baptist, the Sanctuary, and Little Mt Zion have partnered together to give a home to Sylvia Rodriguez, her 15 year old daughter, Amy, and her 6 year old son, Luis. The Rodriguez home will be at 7403 Thanna’s Way, and it is the first we are building in our Meadowlake subdivision near I-35 and William Cannon, in vibrant southeast Austin.

The emotional wall-raising ceremony started off with a rendition of “This is the Day that the Lord has Made,” led by President and CEO Michael Willard. Then, Sylvia said a few words about how excited she was to own her own home, as well as how thankful she was to her generous church sponsors. Next, Rev. Marcus McFaul from Highland Park Baptist led the assembled group of pastors and church volunteers in a prayer for Sylvia and her family and Austin Habitat. The members of the steering committee then raised and secured the first wall of the home alongside Sylvia and her mother, who has been alongside her for many months helping her complete her sweat equity hours.

 At 10 AM, we dedicated two beautiful new homes at 7419 and 7423 Thanna’s Way. These homes went to the Coronadao and Valencia families. They were made possible by partnerships with both Reytex and the city of Austin. After the dedication ceremonies, both families opened their homes to their families, friends, and Austin Habitat staff and volunteers. Delicious fajitas were served!! 

At 3 PM, we moved to the Devonshire neighborhood in northeast Austin to dedicate the Pride Build house. For the third year in a row, the Austin Pride Build brought together the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community to build a home for a family in need. The Austin Pride Build is in honor of Bettie Naylor, who has more than three decades of social activism under her belt and is one of the nation’s most highly regarded gay rights lobbyists.

The home went to single mother Kimberly Fabian, whose grandparents, mother, sisters, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, and cousins all gathered together to see her dream of home ownership come true. Kimberly was filled with emotion that her young son Elijah, a very smart 4 year old on scholarship at a Montessori school, will have his own home to grow and learn in. Steve Dobie, Pride Build regular volunteer who this year earned his red “site leader” hat, gave Elijah a toy Home depot tool belt and hard hat as a gift. He said if anything goes wrong in the house now, Elijah can fix it!!

 This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we also had a three day blitz build on the Exit Realty house at 2417 Towbridge Circle in our Devonshire development. A portion of every transaction fee collected by EXIT Realty Corp. International is applied to its charitable fund and to-date, more than $1.68 million has been pledged to Habitat for Humanity in both Canada and the U.S.  The home being built in Austin for the Santana family  is Exit Realty’s TWELTH corporately sponsored Habitat for Humanity home. Many of the company’s executives flew to Austin to volunteer on the project, and the company’s founder even joined us from Canada!!

It was a very busy weekend, and we would like to thank all of the volunteers who came out to help build or support our partner families at wall raising and dedication ceremonies! Next weekend, we raise the walls on the home sponsored by Distressed Property Institute!!

There is nothing like celebrating the holidays at home with family and friends. The fireplace is aglow, the red stockings are hung, the poinsettias are on display. Melodic carols are sung, and the smell of fresh-baked cookies wafts through the air.

But for families like the Santiagos, being home for the holidays has meant spending time in substandard, overcrowded conditions. Currently, the family of four lives in a one bedroom, bug-infested apartment, so small that these hard-working parents sleep on their living room floor.

This Saturday, December 19th, at 3 PM, Austin Habitat dedicated six new homes in the Devonshire neighborhood in time for the holidays. One of these homes went to Lorenzo and Hilaria Santiago. The others went to the deserving families of Jade Sorrell, Christopher Estrada, Jessica Guerrero, Maria Reyes, and Samir and Hedieh Berenji. The families were ecstatic to be receiving the gift of home.

The homes were sponsored by University Federal Credit Union; Habitat Young Professionals and TruWest Credit Union; Wells Fargo; CISCO, TEK Systems and Dell; State Farm and KVUE; and area churches. Hundreds of corporate employees and church members worked side by side with future Austin Habitat homeowners in order to complete construction. 

For the ceremony, the Towbridge Circle cul-de-sac was blocked off, and a stage, chairs, and refreshment station were set up. Christmas decorations included wreaths, bows, garland, and even a Christmas tree! Directly behind the stage stood all of the site signs from the six homes being dedicated. Behind them was the Exit Realty home which volunteers had just raised the walls on that day. Looking around the cul-de-sac, Habitat homes in all stages of construction could be seen.

The ceremony appropriately began with live Christmas music as the families proceeded down the aisle to the front of the stage. The invocation was given by Rev. Dr. Carol Friesen, pastor of Westlake Presbyterian, which next year, will become our first single-church house sponsor!! Next, President Michael Willard recognized all of our sponsors with personalized plaques. Ben Bishop, construction director, followed him by a moving speech recognizing all of the volunteer crews whose labor made these homes possible. Then, Melissa Orren, family services manager, introduced all of families, who each said a few words of gratitude.

Finally came the closing traditions. First, the Capital Area Food Bank presented gift baskets to the families. The sponsors then handed over Bibles and keys and said a few words to the familes, and the families passed hammers on to the next families who will be building their homes. To conclude the ceremony, each family sawed in half a final 2 X 4.

Afterward, everyone was invited to enjoy cake, and there was even a house shaped cake donated by Sentelli’s Bakery! Then each family went to their new home, where they served food to their family, friends, sponsors, and volunteer crews.

The Dedication was also a celebration of the successful completion of our busiest fall to date. Over the past 4 months, Austin Habitat has collaborated with sponsors and volunteers from across Central Texas to begin construction on 11 new homes. This brings our total house starts for the year to 24, an incredible number in this economy!

Following the Dedication, Austin Habitat staff, site leaders, and regular volunteers retreated to La Palapa for a party celebrating all of this year’s accomplishments!!! Mexican food and karaoke made for a fun-filled night!!

Thank you to all of our families, volunteers, and donors who made this year possible! We look forward to seeing you all in 2010. We still have many families to help escape a life in poverty housing!

Today was Day 8 of the State Farm/KVUE home for the Holidays Blitz Build!!! Volunteers completed the baseboard, the exterior touch up painting, and the rough grading.

We also had a pre-Dedication celebration with the Santiago family and State Farm and KVUE representatives!!!

We will be putting the finishing touches on the house tomorrow. It will be dedicated as part of a six house dedication ceremony at 3 PM in Towbridge Circle!!!!

Today was Day 7 of the StateFarm/KVUE Home for the Holidays Blitz Build!! The auto underwriting department of State Farm came out to volunteer, and they did a fantastic job!!

The group finished painting and caulking the outside of the house. They completed the porch, as well as hung all the doors and light fixtures. They also installed all of the cabinets. The electrical has been completed, and the concrete is being poured today!

State Farm is working hard to have the house finished on time for the Six House Dedication on Saturday!!!

This past Sunday, about 300 people got in the holiday spirit with some joyful and soulful Christmas music. The choral concert benefitted the first-ever Baptist Build with Austin Habitat for Humanity.

Several Austin-area Baptist churches collaborated to put on “Room at the Inn: An Evening of Christmas  Choral Music.” The event was held at the beautiful Manchaca Baptist Church in Manchaca, Texas. The large, open sanctuary was the perfect place to gather, and it was beautifully decorated with holiday wreaths and Christmas lights.

The evening began with an invocation by Rev. Craig Taylor, pastor of Manchaca Baptist. Performances followed by Manchaca Baptist Worship Choir, University Baptist Choir, Highland Park Baptist Choir, First Baptist Church Austin Sanctuary Choir, and David Chapel Missionary Baptist Choir. In between each choral selection, the entire audience was invited to sing well known Christmas carols.

Next, Dr. Roger Paynter, pastor of First Baptist Church, made the call for the offering. He spoke about meeting Millard Fuller, and about the importance of the Habitat mission.

“What I love about Habitat is that it’s a tangible way to help people,” he said.

The Highland Park Bell Choir played the offertory. Then, all of the choirs combined to sing a mass anthem- “the First Noel.”

Dr. Larry Bethune of University Baptist ended the event with a Benediction. He spoke about all of the different groups of Baptists coming together in the name of Christ to make this house a reality.

All of the attendees were then invited to a time of fellowship and refreshments in the gym. The members of the different Baptist churches mixed and mingles while enjoying cookies and other snacks.

The concert raised a whopping $3,036!!! We are so pleased, and very grateful both to those who helped make the event happen, and those who made donations!

We will raise the walls on the Baptist home, which will be for Sylvia Rodriguez and her family, on January 16th of the New Year!!!

Today, a film crew from an Austin-based social media company, Demand Media, came out to film the action on a few Austin Habitat sites in Devonshire!! The crew was filming videos about how to lay sod for EHow.

EHow.com is the leading how-to resource on the Internet. Its mission is to offer real world solutions to everyday questions.   More than 50 million people visit eHow.com each month for tips on how to do just about anything.

The crew also wanted to promote Austin Habitat to the community, and they volunteered to film a few interviews. They spoke to President Michael Willard about advocating, Vice President of Development and Communications Michael Kellerman about donating, and former Americorps/AHFH construction staff Eliza Evans about volunteering.

We look forward to seeing their videos!

Yesterday, agents and agency execs came out from State Farm to volunteer! These volunteers finished the siding and painted it. Today, State Farm volunteers from Life Company and automobiles came out to site, despite the freezing cold, wet weather! They are installing the back staircase, putting up the awnings and shutters, and installing the porch rail.

The house is coming along beautifully!!

By Michael Willard, President and CEO

Saturday night, most of you probably found yourselves watching the University of Texas football team win their 13^th game of the season.  Boy, was that a close one! What an exciting finish to a great game.  It is rewarding to see the hard work of Mack Brown and his team pay off with winning the Big 12 Championship.  The team has been working toward this goal for months. 

During this record-setting football season, the Austin Habitat for Humanity team has also been working on putting together a winning season.  Our volunteers, donors, prospective homeowners and staff have piled up 12 successful house starts so far this season.  We are looking forward to the start of our 13^th house this fall in less than two weeks. 

Like Colt McCoy and the Longhorns, teamwork, focus and determination have been needed to bring us to this point. Ben Bishop and Jesse Porter have been busy planning the game day schedules for each Saturday. Sarah Joiner has been making sure that all of the volunteers (200+ most weekends) get to their locations and are able to work. Michael Kellerman and Julie Smith have been keeping the donors informed and up-to-date on the progress of their builds.  Finally, Robert Hernandez and the Family Services staff have been communicating with and training the Habitat Families to get them ready for the big changes in their lives.

Like every football game, where fumbles and interceptions happen, there have been challenges along the way; like when it rained all day for the start of the SAE and Ecumenical Builds, or when the cold and rain blew in for the start of the Home for the Holidays house.  These challenges required that the team pull together and dig a little deeper to complete the plays to get us to the end zone.

I’m excited to let you know that we are going to be able to dedicate six of these homes on December 19^th at 3:00pm in Devonshire.  This house dedication will not only celebrate the completion of our successful fall season, but will recognize the start of 24 homes and 22 repairs completed this year. 

Please plan to attend the wrap up of our successful year and join in the celebration of our homeowner families, community volunteers and donors.  Because winning 13 football games is great, but working together to eliminate poverty housing CHANGES LIVES.