Community Involvement

2006

Builder Blitz

Habitat's "Builder Blitz" was a nationwide effort to join Habitat affilites with professional home builders to provide homes for those in need. During the week of June 5, 2006 more than 500 Habitat homes were constructed from start to finish in more than 160 communities throughout the United States. Two of the houses were built in Fond du Lac.

The HBA of Fond du Lac and Dodge Counties, Inc. participated in the "Builder Blitz", building two new homes for deserving families on West Division Street. The construction management of these two homes were headed by L&R Construction Services, LLc and Signature Homes by Adashun Jones, Inc. Without the coordination of sub-constractors and suppliers by these two construction firms, the "Builder Blitz" would not have been the success with both homes being completed before the deadline. Numerous (91 companies and over 200 volunteers) members of the Home Builders of Fond du Lac and Dodge Counties and non-HBA members donated many long hours and dollars worth of supplies and materials to make these two homes a reality. HBA's partnership with the Habitat for Humanity of Fond du Lac County was a gratifying success.

The Home Builders Association of Fond du Lac and Dodge Counties, Inc. recently held their annual awards ceremony at the Brownsville Community Club.

The awards are given to show appreciation for the members’ hard work over the course of the year.

The Leadership award, given to individuals who have consistently shown initiative over a tenure number of years, was earned by Dean Kranig (Kranig Excavating & Landscaping, Inc.). Dean has been the Home Show Chairperson for 2005 and 2006 and volunteers numerous hours for this event. He has served on the Home Show Committee, Clay Shoot Committee, Long Range Plan Committee, and Board of Directors and also started the Woodworking Competition for the Home Show.

The Cornerstone Award is given to an outstanding individual who never has to be asked to volunteer. This year’s recipient is Larry Johnson (Johnson Bros. Concrete Construction, Inc.). Larry served on the Board of Directors and was also President of the association in 1980 and 1981, co-chairperson of the Home Show Committee, co-chairperson of Parade of Homes and co-chairperson for the Golf Committee. Larry has been very generous at sponsoring association activities.

The Rookie of the Year award, which is given to an individual for outstanding work in their first year of membership, was given to 2 members this year; Chris Cohen (The Spectrum) and Lorelei Hasenhorl (Audio Plus). They both participated in many events and donated a great deal of their time to the HBA in their first twelve months.

The Golden Hammer Award was given to Computer Troubleshooters of Lomira, Blueprint Solutions, LTD and Schenck Business Solutions.

Homes of our Own

Homes of our Own is a program for grade school and middle school kids that teaches many different aspects of owning a home, from how trees become homes (Grades 2-4) to designing your own home (Grades 6-8).

This program has really taken off! The program started in 2003 at Waters School in Fond du Lac with 45 students. In 2004 it grew to 1551 students with 36 schools in Fond du Lac and Dodge Counties. Last year was the best yet with 1408 students at 31 schools throught Fond du Lac and Dodge Counties.

For more information on this exciting program and how your kids can become involved, please call us at (920) 922-9067. Our goal is to have total saturation of Fond du Lac and Dodge Counties by 2007.

During the week of April 25-28, thirty-one Fond du Lac and Dodge County schools and over 1400 students participated in the “Homes of our Own” program, sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Fond du Lac and Dodge Counties, Inc. and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

“Homes of Our Own” is a program that began as a trial run last April of 2003, with a presentation to the first and third graders at Waters School in Fond du Lac. The program was very well received by both the teachers and students, so it was decided to fully implement the program this year.

The program begins with a 10-minute video, telling the story of a tree whose fondest wish is to become a home. The two presenters then tell the students how their job relates to the building trade. There is a brief question and answer period following.

A great deal of time and effort has gone into making the program a success. Along with the 37 presenters, HBA past President and Chairperson George Hettenhaus has worked tirelessly to see this program come to fruition.

Because of the program’s success, “Homes of our Own” will continue next year. For information on how your school can become involved for the 2006-07 school year, please call 920-922-9067.

2005

Beacon House Remodeling Project

For those of you who don’t know what the Beacon House is: it is a home for women of all ages recovering from chemical dependency. The house (which is located in Fond du Lac) can hold up to twelve women (and their children) at a time, and the program lasts 90 days. The women must attend “group” every afternoon and “meditation” every morning. They are also responsible for keeping their room clean and sharing in chores and responsibilities. The house was built in 1890 and is absolutely beautiful. Nevertheless, older homes come with myriad problems, and the kitchen was in desperate need of renovation. Our members came through with flying colors!

Here is what the kitchen looked like before	And after!

The ladies couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. Mary Gerlach, Executive Director of the Beacon House, said that she'd recommend any of the subcontractors that worked on the kitchen. She was very impressed with their friendliness and willingness to help.

2003

Adams House Project

The handicapped ramp for the patrons of the Adams House, located in Galloway Village, is now complete!

We at the HBA feel that the Galloway House is a very special and important part of Fond du Lac's history, and we are very proud to have taken part in preserving this fine historial landmark.

Past Donations of either monetary, labor, and/or
materials by the Association and its members: