HABITAT FOR HUMANITY GILA REGION New Mexico PO Box 5025 Silver City, New Mexico 88062 505-538-9540 Email

The eleventh project for Habitat for Humanity - Gila Region was dedicated Saturday, September 27th with a ceremony at the 864 Hester Street home. The build, designated The House the Churches Built and dedicated to the memory of Al Mitchell, will be the home of the Linda Williams Family. More than ninety people were present at the dedication/brunch.

Special effort was made to involve area churches in helping Habitat build homes for families who might otherwise never be able to afford their own home. Volunteers from many churches worked many hours to prove the old adage " that many hands make light work". In addition to volunteers from many congregations, significant contributions were made by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Foundation, The Presbyterian Church of Edna, Texas, and Immanuel Lutheran Church, First Presbyterian Church, First United Methodist Church and Valley Community Church all of Silver City.

Al and Shirley Mitchell were instrumental in initiating the Gila Region affiliate in 1989 and have continued their involvement with Habitat for Humanity, International and Gila Region. When Al died in February, it was decided to dedicate this build to his memory. We were blessed that Shirley was able to participate in the groundbreaking and Shirley and her children, Al's mother Dorothy (who celebrated her 95th. birthday that day) and long time friends from Tucson, could attend the dedication.

New homeowner, Linda Williams, has met all the criteria for the home. This included earning personal "sweat equity" and enlisting friends and family for more than 500 hours working on the build. Linda and her sons, Zack and Eli are looking forward to the adventure of their first home of their own.

Build Habitat for Humanity houses out of litter? You bet your boots you can, if the litter is aluminum. Habitat has long collected aluminum to reduce litter and sold it to use the proceeds to build homes. HfH - Gila Region has long realized benefits from the sale of aluminum. We thank the organizations and individuals who now and in the past have saved their cans for Habitat.

With the price of aluminum at fifty cents per pound, this means of raising funds becomes especially valuable. As an added incentive, we plan to enter a contest in which the top award is $50,000. The final determination is weighted 60% based on pounds per capita collected and 40% on the publicity efforts. We will register for the 2004 year.

Is this a good deal or what? We sell the cans. We use the money to build Habitat houses. Four times a year we will report the number of pounds collected and the value received. At the end of the year we also submit a detailed report of our publicity campaign. When we win that $50,000 prize, we'll have funds to build another house.

So when you haul aluminum to the recycle trailers, please make sure to tell the attendant it's for Habitat. Get a receipt with the number of pounds and the amount earned and turn this in to the HfH-Gila Region office. Easy!

Now, please, don't everyone volunteer at once to spearhead this effort. But we are looking for a few good volunteers. (Are there any other kind?) This is a fun effort that benefits not only Habitat but the entire community as well. "Every litter bit hurts" so let's "Pitch in" for Habitat.

A check for $10,000 has been received from SHOP. The Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program assists Habitat affiliates with purchasing land and providing infrastructure such as water, sewer and electricity. This check is a reimbursement for expenditures associated with our recent construction.

The program is funded by a grant from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and is administered by Habitat For Humanity International. Twenty five percent of this payment is a loan from HFHI to cover administrative expenses of the program. It is repaid over a four-year period.

Board Director Rees Madsen has the job of obtaining and tracking funds to assure they are properly used.

HfH-Gila Region recently received a generous donation from the estate of a former area resident, Marian McClennan. Her substantial gift will greatly facilitate the construction of the next Habitat House. Family members said Marian was a woman who did a lot of good for a lot of people and did it quietly.

Mrs. McClennan, a long-time resident of Gila, died May 26, 2002. She is survived by her sister Audrey Stroup of Elizabethtown, Pa., and daughter, Laurie, of Georgia. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gilbert McClennan. Mrs. McClennan was born Sept. 27, 1926, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. A chemist, outdoors woman and active volunteer, she was introduced to this area while participating in educational archeological expeditions around Cliff. As a result, she purchased land in Gila and moved to New Mexico from Michigan in 1984.

Mrs. McClennan was known for her volunteer work in the Grant County area. The senior center at Gila is named the McClennan House in recognition of her contributions toward that project. She was a supporter of many other community organizations as well, including Habitat for Humanity. Her generosity will not be forgotten.

Eleven houses and one outhouse? That's what Habitat for Humanity - Gila Region now claims. There was concern that the cost of renting a chemical toilet was passed on to the homeowner with nothing to show for the expenditure and there has been the dilemma of finding storage for Affiliate owned tools between jobs. Volunteers and Board Members decided to build an old fashioned outhouse and put it on wheels to reduce costs to the homeowner and to provide storage on site and between builds.

Jeff Glenn used his considerable skills as a welder to build the trailer and frame for the house. The owner of the historic Moon Ranch, Charley Judd, donated an old building to the Affiliate if we would remove it from the property. A couple of trips to the ranch resulted in a good supply of beautifully weathered wood. Two or three week-ends of efforts by some of our Board Members produced an "outhouse" that garnered First Place for Creativity when it was pulled through town in the Fourth of July Parade by an antique John Deere tractor.

After the parade the celebrity was towed to the current building site and attached to the sewer clean-out and hooked up to a water supply. All the amenities, including a laundry type sink, are available. Shelves are being built for storage of tools and materials and a job-box will be attached to the rear of the trailer for additional storage. Expenses incurred in the construction of the "Rolling Throne" will be amortized over several builds and it should serve for many years as it is built like a steel framed outhouse.

In Habitat, we are convinced that when there is a need, God provides. So we were not surprised when some of our veteran Directors felt the need for some time off from the Board, that we had able and willing replacements waiting in the wings. Curtis Barentine, Betty Conner, Georgiana and Walt Meyer and Nancy Oliver have been added to the Board, bringing unique experiences and fresh outlooks. Directors are assigned to "classes" so their terms are staggered. This is to assure there will always be experienced Board members as new Directors come on board. Directors are elected to three year terms and may succeed themselves one time.

Board policy requires nine or more Directors who reside within a thirty mile radius of Silver City. Directors are expected to demonstrate an active involvement with Affiliate activities, should provide financial support and be in complete agreement with the purposes of the Corporation. Persons holding a Habitat no-interest loan or living in a building owned by Habitat are not eligible for the Board.

We express our sincere gratitude to Jolane Culhane, Barbara and Carl Scholl and Ron Wolhart for their valuable and dedicated service. When time permits, perhaps they will be able to rejoin the Habitat Team.

The Habitat for Humanity Board generally meets the fourth Tuesday of each month from noon to 1 p.m.Our meetings are open to the public and we welcome visitors. Meeting sites vary, so call the office to check on location: 538-9540. You can also ask to be on our e-mail or phone contact list for notification of upcoming meetings.

Please take this invitation to check us out.

We have received Habitat bumper stickers in two versions. Show your support for Habitat for Humanity and help us get our message out where it will be seen. These are tastefully done and shouldn't offend anyone. Stop by the office and ask Sheryl for your free sticker. Remember office hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday.