In a bi-partisan effort, members of the Florida House of Representatives joined forces to make the American dream come true for a Tallahassee family. The vision and leadership of Rep. Richard Corcoran (R-District 37), Rep. Daniel Davis (R-District 15) and Rep. Reggie Fullwood (D-District 13) started the ball rolling on a project that included members from both sides of the aisle of the Florida House of Representatives, the Florida Home Builders Association, the Building Industry Association, NEFBA, the Tallahassee, Lee and Metro Orlando builders associations and others to build a home in conjunction with Big Bend Habitat for Humanity. Jerry Linder of Vintage Homes, past NEFBA president and a senior officer of FHBA, was the builder.
With this powerful partnership of House members, building industry associations, the Habitat for Humanity organization, one of the area’s premier builders and scores of other volunteers, Davis and his House colleagues rotated shifts and worked non-stop to complete the project. Construction began March 15 and was ready for Tallahassee resident Cookie Ashby and her family to move in March 23.
“This was a hands-on project,” Davis said. “It was a great opportunity for House members to experience firsthand the great work that can be accomplished when builders and lawmakers join forces to attack the challenges of providing housing opportunities for deserving families in our communities. Working with Jerry brought back a lot of memories when Jerry was NEFBA president and working on similar projects. And, it set a new standard for cooperation among builders associations and Representatives from both parties, working side by side for a common goal.”
For Linder, completing the home in such a short time presented challenges of its own.
“As anyone who has built a house knows, completing one in fewer than 10 days is almost unheard of, and it demands a lot of planning, a dedicated work force and a good bit of luck,” Linder said. “Hoping for good weather was right at the top of the list. Fortunately, our Representatives were up to the hard work, and the builders performed at a very high level of efficiency and skill to pull this off. We are grateful to everyone who made this happen.”
Davis and Linder agreed this coalition of government, private enterprise, trades and social agencies was unique and very successful. They extend their gratitude to their builder and House colleagues, the Big Bend Habitat for Humanity organization and hundreds of volunteers working together to make the dream of homeownership come true for one Tallahassee family.