August Volunteer of the Month

Meet Robert Nielsen

Robert Nielsen has been out to our La Fortuna, Renton site nearly every day for the last two months to provide pro bono electrical work. He heard about the volunteer opportunity through his electrical apprenticeship and was excited that he was able to help people while also working on his electrical trainee hours. As a life-long resident of King County, Robert is glad he has had the opportunity to help the people of his community in such a practical way. Thank you Robert for everything you do for Habitat and the community!

Interview with Robert Nielsen

What aspects of volunteering with Habitat have you enjoyed the most?

- I really enjoyed reading the brief bio of each family who would own the home. It was encouraging to know who would live where I was working.

What, if any, skills have you gained?

  - I gained skills relating specifically to residential wiring which I have not learned in my commercial wiring apprenticeship.

Any other ways you would be interested in getting involved?

  - I would like to shop at a Habitat store when possible. In the future, I would like to bring my family to volunteer for a day.

What about Habitat’s mission is attractive to you?

  - I like that Habitat provides affordable housing for hard-working people.

What other interests/hobbies etc. do you have?

  - I enjoy hiking and camping with my beautiful wife and one year old son.



2012 Habitat for Humanity EKC Golf Tournament Results

The 2012 Habitat for Humanity of East King County Golf Tournament was a great success and a lot of fun for those who who participated. We are excited to announce that we met our fundraising goal of $20,000 to benefit Habitat's affordable housing program. THANK YOU!

Congratulations to all of the tournament prize winners!

1st place

Adrian Newell

Erik Heggelund

Casey Granston

Cory Balph

(For the second year in a row!)

2nd place

Allan Kuipers

David Frasch

Gerry Horn

Pat Domine
 

KP and Long Drive
Closest to Pin Hole #6 - Bob Moore

Closest to Pin Hole #16 - Michael Nahaku

Long Drive Hole #18 Womens - Carry Young

Long Drive Hole #18 Mens - John Maijoffer

Putting Contest Winner

Warren Huckaby

  

Special thanks to Co- Chairs of the event, Donovan Douvia and Jim Na along with the Golf Tournament committee members, for planning this event. Thank you to our presenting sponsor, Sterling Bank, along with all of our other generous sponsors (listed below) for your contributions. We couldn't do our work without you!

We appreciate your support for our mission of providing affordable housing to hard working, low-income families in our community.

Construction Update- La Fortuna - July

 

July 6, 2012

 

LF 5 -
HTI Polymer sent out a couple of people to paint the units and managed to paint all of the paint we had on hand and finished 5 units and the ceilings on the 6th, plus 1st coated the walls. We are continuing to paint the bathrooms, laundries and kitchen ourselves. Exterior paint finished up on the upper floors in front and scaffolding was removed. Exterior paint was worked on at ground level in front and 1st coat is 90%.    

• Laminate flooring completed (except transitions) in #5 and started in #6. Sheet vinyl complete in #1, 4, 5, & 6. Underlayment finished in all units.
• Millwork and doors scheduled for 3 units to be delivered Tuesday and the other 3 units on the 12th.
• Trusses delivered on Thursday and we started on the lower roofs, completing unit "a", 80% on "b" and 60% in "c" (slider door roofs).
• Waiting on 1 more bid before selecting a sub - contractor to set the upper roof trusses. They should start next week.  

Wetlands - Weeded and mowed entire mitigation area.

  

Work next week will include; roof framing, exterior painting, interior painting, laminate flooring, vinyl flooring, interior doors, millwork, and maybe electrical trim (if we can find a journeyman).

July 13, 2012

LF5 -

• Units 4,5,& 6 have all vinyl floors complete and masked. 4 & 5 have the laminate flooring complete and masked. #6 has the 3rd floor complete and the main floor 90%.
• All 3 units have doors and millwork started (LF5 (2)). All units have electrical trim started and #1 is nearly complete.
• We had a volunteer journeyman come this week and work with John to get us rolling. He is planning to come back, but is expecting to be working soon, so might only be available on Saturdays in the future. Hoping for more electrician next week.

• We could probably finish electrical trim in 4-5 days if we can keep the 1 electrician/ 2 trainee ratio required by law. 
• Work on the soffits and trim over the front and garage doors is progressing with the last of the Hardie panel installed and batts started.

LF7-

• The sub- contractors are framing the upper roof trusses and have 80% set and sheeting started.
• We had stopped working on the lower roofs because of the overhead hazards created by the work being done by the subs, but were able to work on the ADA unit roof (LF7 (2)) on Saturday with Dave Sanford and a volunteer donating hours to the family moving into the unit.
• They should finish this week and we will try to catch up so the roofers can be scheduled.   

Wetlands/ site work - On Wednesday we cleared out all of the weeds clogging the neighbor’s fences and mowed some more grassy areas.  

Saturday we performed maintenance on the plastic covering the dirt piles, cleaned the streets, and rearranged the fencing to combine the office trailer yard and LF7's fenced area. The fence panel leftover after the change allowed us to fence in the Boeing donation of OSB, which was also protected by a new carport tent.

Work next week will include; electrical trim, millwork, doors, laminate flooring, and caulking/paint prep in LF5 and roof framing, exterior fire rock, sheeting infill, and maybe starting the exterior Dow foam board in LF7.

July 20, 2012

Work this week will include; roof framing, exterior fire rock, exterior foam board, millwork, painting, and wetlands weeding.

 

LF5-  

 

• Cabinets are installed in the kitchens of #4 & 6 and the bathrooms of 5. All flooring is complete in all units (less carpeting). Most doors are in and millwork started in all units.  
• Exterior painting continues.  
• Electrical trim is progressing with 2 different journeyman electricians volunteering and a 5th year apprentice, who can work unsupervised.  

LF7-

• The roof framing continues with us framing the lower roofs and a sub- contractor working on the upper roofs.

July 27, 2012

LF5 -  

• Electrical trim is progressing well. All of the outlets, most of the switches, and some of the lighting are installed.
• We will have a journeyman on Saturdays and a 5th year apprentice who can work  un-supervised 5 days a week. 
• We got a little more exterior painting completed before the weather changed. 
• 90% of the millwork, most of the closet doors, and the entire pre- hung door are completed and paint prep (caulk and spackle) began in 3 units. 
• Cabinets were continued by AmeriCorps today and 1 kitchen was completed and the upper cabinets hung in a second unit.

LF7 -

• The sub- contractors returned and finished the roof sheeting.
• We will need to call them back to fix a few things before inspection.
• We continued working on the lower roofs and are down to the sheeting on the roof in the back and the entire roof over the front door of unit "e".
• All of the decks are framed and sub- floored and most of the side walls are built.
• We started the DOW foam insulation board, the fire room, and pick up framing throughout.

 

Wetlands/ site work -

 
A good portion of the wetlands was weeded on Friday. Angle parking stalls were painted in the street/ sidewalk and improved parking immediately. The site was cleaned up and the garbage loaded in the flatbed for a dump run.
 

Work next week will include; exterior painting, roof framing, decks walls, cabinets, interior paint prep, electrical trim, and maybe tile.

Construction Update: Renton La Fortuna - May

Women Build was a success! Today saw 53 volunteers sign in over the course of the day; there were also our 10 CVLs, 4 office AC, 5 staff, Dwight Martin, and former ACs Marla, Josh, Sarah and Asa. That is about 80 people at lunch...

LF5-

• Unit #1 sheetrock is hung, #2 is started and #3 not being worked on.
• Unit #4, 5, and 6 are taped and the PVA primer is started should be finished on Tuesday and texture afterwards.
• Exterior paint is continuing with second coats front and back. 

LF7-

• Exterior plywood infill, nailing, and straps are nearly ready for inspection.
• Stairwell center walls are all built.
• Unit "a" made some good progress under Dwight's lead and with Lutheran volunteers. Interior walls are built and most are stood.
• Unit "c" and "e" interior walls built, stood and tie plated.
• Unit "b" and "d" interior walls started.

 

 

Wetlands-
 
We worked on weeding the mulch rings around the plantings today. Much more weeding , mowing and watering is in the future.
 
Work next week will include; wall framing, interior priming, exterior painting, and weeding.

Goodbye Tribute to our 2011-12 AmeriCorps Team

They came from far corners of the continent, tentatively started forming relationships at SERVES, and each grew in their roles to become one of the strongest AmeriCorps units Habitat for Humanity of East King County has known. They oversaw an amazing Women Build, provided incredible hospitality to our NCCC Silver 4 visitors, supported family members, selections, and home dedications, and created a great season of old and new volunteer appreciation events.

Our 2011-12 team volunteered additional time for outside organizations in the county, both as a team and on their own, became certified as disaster first responders, and created awesome art and t-shirts for our affiliate. Oh, and somehow in between all that, they managed to oversee and participate in the construction of 13 new units of housing and rehabilitation of a handful more.

In other words, you could say this year's AmeriCorps team got a few things done. That's not to say they didn't have any fun in the process. The team could teach a course in how to have a good time. While keeping on top of safety and responsibilities on site and in the office, The AmeriCorps team brightened the days of volunteers, staff, families, and each other, making for wonderful memories in the process.

Thank you 2011-12 AmeriCorps team for all that you have done for Habitat and for all that you do in the community as a whole. Your service and work will not be forgotten. We will miss you, but know that each of you have many more adventures ahead and look forward to seeing where they take you.

Summer Festivals: Visit our booth!

Community Festivals

We will have a coloring contest, "Build your dream house" for age groups (1-5) and (6-12) at our Habitat booth at the following community festivals. One winner will be selected from each festival to have their drawing featured on our donor and volunteer thank you cards.

Saturday, July 14-Redmond Derby Days

The Redmond Derby Days celebrate its 72nd anniversary in 2012! A summer tradition that came to life at the end of the Depression, it began as a drive to raise money for downtown holiday decorations and school athletic equipment. The Redmond Bicycle Derby was the outgrowth of a small town's community spirit and is now the nation's longest running bicycle race. It includes activities for young and old.



Friday, July 27- Renton River Days

The 27th Annual Renton River Days will be a multi-day family festival and celebration of community pride. It is a time to gather with family, friends, and neighbors and enjoy the amenities and activities which make Renton a great community in which to live, work, and play. Originating in 1986, this celebration joins residents, businesses, organizations, and Puget Sound region tourists together for a wonderful variety of events, special features for kids, arts and crafts, recreation, food, and stage entertainment. Liberty Park, in the heart of Renton, is the focal point for the festival. Cedar River Park is also host to many events in and around the Renton Community Center.

July Volunteer of the Month: HTI Polymer, Inc.

Greg and Eric from HTI Polymer worked for four days at our La Fortuna project, entirely painting the interiors of 6 units. Their donated labor allowed Habitat Construction staff to focus on other projects around the site and saved Habitat at least 2 weeks of work, and it looks beautiful!

Interview with Chris Campton, Preseident of HTI Polymer, Inc.-

How and why did your company initially get involved with Habitat for Humanity?
We were invited for a Breakfast by Ali Moayeri of Costco. After hearing the success stories of some of the Habitat residents, we were compelled to get involved. Habitat for Humanity is not about handouts,  it is about a hand up to hard working families that have been placed in some unfortunate circumstances, but are willing to work their way out of it with some assistance from the organization.

What aspects of volunteering with Habitat do you think you and your colleagues enjoyed the most? The results. Seeing hard working people get ahead.

Do you think that you and your company will continue to be involved with Habitat? We will always be available to assist in any way that we can.

What about Habitat’s mission is attractive to you? It is about working with hard working families to help them get ahead and provide the American dream for their families.

Thank you to the team at HTI Polymer, Inc. for all that you do for Habitat and the community.