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RECOGNIZING OUR LOYAL VOLUNTEERS: Monthly Awards - Current

It takes hundreds of volunteers to make our Habitat affiliate successful.   We are fortunate to be located in an area with a lot of retired folks who want to spend part of their time helping others!   We have a lot of younger volunteers who are not yet in " The Grey Hair Brigade", but many of our most dedicated volunteers are the retired men and women who live in this area, and we appreciate each and every one of them, young and old! Each month the Habitat board and staff present a special award to a dedicated volunteer who has given "above and beyond" what is expected of our volunteers.  These awards have been presented monthly for several years, and this page features the most recent award winners with a little information about each of these special people:

JULY 2010: VERA VANHOUTEN

Have you ever heard of donut seeds?  How about a belly button brush or a finger pincushion?  Habitat is lucky to have a talented crafter named Vera VanHouten who constantly surprises customers with her creative, unique crafts.  For over five years Vera has worked from her own home, using her own supplies, inventing clever creations to bring to Habitat to sell in the Home Store.  She has certainly earned our Volunteer Of The Month Award! Vera and her husband Don moved to Fairfield Glade 14 years ago after living in New Jersey and New York.  They started volunteering at Habitat because Don was in the building trade for 50 years and wanted to help build Habitat homes.  Now Vera volunteers mostly from home making her unique crafts, and stopping in the store frequently to check her inventory of available items.   She also volunteers with Helping Hands Ministry and the Foundation Fighting Blindness.  Vera says she volunteers because, "Being retired is difficult after being busy all my life.  I enjoy creating, so I donate to worthy causes such as Habitat". Vera fashions beautiful dishcloths, coasters and baby gifts as well as cat and dog toys, dish soap aprons, Christmas ornaments, birthstone angels, earrings and novelty gifts.  She even takes customer requests to make certain colors of designs of items.  Habitat is lucky to have such a clever and talented crafter. To see Vera's creations stop by the Habitat Home Store at 329 McLarty Lane in Crossville. You never know what she will think of next!

JUNE 2010: LLOYD MONDAY

If you see Lloyd Monday at Habitat, he will be doing anything from sanding furniture to crafting floral arrangements to unloading the truck, assisting customers, moving furniture, helping with donation pick-ups, organizing merchandise or cleaning items to sell in the store.  In other words, he helps out whenever and wherever help is needed. Lloyd’s wide-range of activities more than earned him our Volunteer Award for June! Lloyd was born in Crab Orchard, TN and moved to St. Petersburg, FL. He also worked in New York and Cape Cod.  His last job was Accounting Technician with the Tennessee Dept of Labor and Workforce Development. He says his favorite job was in the Hospitality Industry waiting tables.  Lloyd says, "Volunteers, staff and our customers make Habitat a wonderful place to be.  I love finding out about my co-volunteers and staff and their families.  I enjoy the diversity of all our amazing volunteers, and JoLynn’s husband makes great cookies". In addition to helping at Habitat almost every day, Lloyd also volunteers with Hospice and Ronald McDonald Family Room in Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga. He commented, "I got interested in them as the hospital was able to save my grand niece Michele who was seriously injured in a car crash. I am happy to report she graduated from CCHS in 2010. Miracles do happen." Habitat’s mission to build homes is close to Lloyd’s heart. He said, “I would encourage anyone who has considered owning a home to apply at Habitat.  The application process is not hard.  The neighborhood is a great place to live and raise a family, or for me it would be a great place to have a big garden and grow lots of tomatoes".  He is considering applying for his own Habitat Home. As a talented crafter, he has an artistic eye for "junk" items loaded with potential.  He can take an old plant stand or wooden shelf that someone might throw away and transform it to a beautiful piece of artwork. He describes his work on an old crate that was being thrown away, "It had been on the dock area for weeks.  I am so glad I rescued it, as now it is a soft green and waiting to be part of someone’s household."   If you would like to join the Habitat family of volunteers, call 931-484-4565 or stop by the office/store at 329 McLarty Lane in Crossville.

MAY 2010: CHERYL SCRIMSHER

Cumberland County Habitat for Humanity honored Cheryl Scrimsher as May 2010 Volunteer of the Month.  Cheryl’s consistently cheerful manner and dedication to helping others make her stand out as an exceptional volunteer.  She has volunteered with Habitat for three years, and help out at other organizations as well. Cheryl and her husband Tracy moved to Lake Tansi from Columbus, Ohio.  She retired from the state of Ohio after over 31years, and enjoys her new home in Cumberland County.  Cheryl sas, "My favorite part of volunteering at Habitat is working in the store and meeting new people.  I like pricing in the back too, and working with the other volunteers.”  After three years of helping out, Cheryl plans to continue volunteering at Habitat.

APRIL 2010: ARLENE LOVITT

Cumberland County Habitat for Humanity is proud to honor Arlene Lovitt as April 2010 Volunteer of the Month.  Arlene is a regular volunteer who helps out once or twice a week in the Home Store.  She is responsible for keeping the toy department in great condition, and she does an excellent job of cleaning and stocking that area.  She is a quiet worker who is friendly to everyone and always works diligently.  In fact, when Arlene received her award, she was still in the back cleaning toys when everyone else was called to the kitchen where the honor is normally presented.  The other volunteers brought her plaque back to her in order to convince her to take a break! Arlene was raised in southeastern Nebraska where she worked at a bank part time during her last years of high schooland from that time on always had either part-time or full-time work.  She has had work experience in newspaper, county government, banking, general office, accounting and computers.  Her husband was transferred from Nebraska to Indiana, Illinois and then Tennessee.  Her last job was with K-Mart where she worked for 26 ½ years. Arlene said, "I was fortunate to have good versatile employment, so doing volunteer work gives me the opportunity to give back".  Arlene has made many friends at Habitat. She says, "Habitat is a great place to volunteer.  Their management team staff and volunteers are so kind and friendly.  It is a real joy".   And it is a real joy for us to have her as a volunteer also!

MARCH 2010: GEORGE PILAND

George Piland became the 92nd person to receive our Volunteer of the Month award.  George retired as a junior high principal in 1991 after 35 years in education.   He his wife Sarah have been married for 52 years and have three children and thirteen grandchildren.   They moved to Fairfield Glade in April, 1999 from Rantoul, IL.   They became members of the Fairfield Glade Methodist Church and as George tells it:   "One month after we arrived June Frazier, the Founder of Cumberland County Habitat for Humanity, discovered we had a pickup.   After that, for several years, my wife and I made furniture pick-ups for the old store on Genesis Road." After 11 years George still continues to work picking up donations but now he is assisting the drivers on the Habitat truck.   He says, "Volunteering for Habitat not only helps others, it helps the volunteer to meet and get to know some wonderful people". If you are looking for a way to fill your hours and make a difference contact JoLynn at 484-4565.

FEBRUARY 2010: BEN SMITH

Benjamin Smith, Cumberland County Habitat for Humanity&/339;s, volunteer of the month for February, was born in Tupelo, Mississippi.   He moved around quite a bit through his life, settling in Crossville seven years ago.   Ben is an artist who happens to also be a retired florist.  He loves to read and paint.   Some of his favorite authors are Stephen King and Dean Koontz and his medium of choice is acrylics with his focus on landscapes or abstracts.   For the past year and a half Ben has been volunteering in several different areas at Habitat and has settled in on cashiering and phone duty. “I like working around people, the friendly atmosphere and talking to new people” he says, so both positions fit him to a tee.   Volunteers like Ben truly believe in the Habitat mission of partnering with God and people from all walks of life to build houses so that there are decent communities in which people can live and grow into all that God intended.   Habitat offers a “Hand Up Not a Hand Out”.

JANUARY 2010: MARV HETRICK

It was great fun as Cumberland County Habitat for Humanity volunteers and staff gathered to surprise Marvin Hetrick by honoring him as their volunteer of the month for January 2010.   Marv is a very flexible volunteer.  One day you will find him having a good time standing behind the register in the Home Store and another day he'll be on the truck out picking up donations for resale in the Home Store. Marv and Trudy, his wifeof 45 years, moved to Fairfield Glade about three years ago.  They have two sons, one living in Portland, Oregon and the other in Jacksonville, Florida plus a total of 4 grandchildren. He earned a degree in business administration at the University of Pittsburgh and is retired from the International Paper Company where he had held the position of General Manager at their Hartford City, Indiana plant.   He lists his hobbies as golf and tennis and says the primary reason he and Trudy moved to Tennessee is that "It is a beautiful state with very nice people. Also, I love that country and bluegrass music”. If you would like to become a Habitat volunteer contact JoLynn at 484-4565.

DECEMBER 2009: JOAN AZEVEDO

Veteran volunteer, Joan Azevedo was surprised to be named Habitat for Humanity’s December Volunteer of the Month.   Born in New York City and raised in Massachusetts, Joan and her husband Larry and retired to Florida 24 years ago to Florida to enjoy the sunshine but then changed their minds and moved to Fairfield Glade 17 years ago where they have enjoyed living ever since.   Between the two, they have 7 children and 10 grandchildren and spend the majority of their time traveling around the country visiting not only family but also the many nice spots our country has to offer.  Joan says that she never gave the award a thought as she only volunteered one or two afternoons a month, spent a lot of time traveling and her winters in Florida for the last 15 years. Joan stated, “Over the last 11 years, I have really seen Habitat grow to be very successful and met a lot of nice people along the way. Hopefully, I will be able to continue on idefinitely.” We hope so too!

NOVEMBER 2009: SANDY WEIR

Originally from a small town in Ontario, Canada Sandy ventured out on her own at age 18 and settled in London, Ontario where she worked for London Life Insurance Company.  A year later she met Howard who hailed from Detroit and a long distance courtship began, ending with their marriage in 1959.  They bought a home in Warren, Michigan where they raised their two children: A son, Doug and, a daughter, Brenna.   When the kids entered high school Sandy thought it was time to go back to school and get the diploma that she had never gotten as a teen.   She also decided at this time that she needed to become a United States Citizen, and in February of 1983 she passed the citizenship test.  In June of the same year she graduated from high school.  What pride her children must have felt. Howard and Sandy have lived in Fairfield Glade for 22 years and Sandy has been volunteering for Habitat since 2000.  She started out answering the phone, moved on to pricing and one day the cashier didn’t come in and she jumped at the chance to fill that position. She states "I really enjoy being with the customers, and all the friendly people I work with".  We are proud to have her as a volunteer and applaud the fine example her story is for our youth.

OCTOBER 2009: MARYLS LEE

Marlys Lee, a regular volunteer who answers the phones and helps in the office, was honored as Cumberland County Habitat for Humanity’s volunteer of the month for October 2009.   Despite ongoing health struggles, her positive attitude and willingness to help others has made her a valuable addition to our volunteer group for over a year.   She also writes the ‘Veteran’s Corner’ for the Elk’s newsletter and helps her mother prepare the angel tree each year.   From Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Marlys is a retired accountant who served as her church's Treasurer for five years.   In addition to her volunteer work, Marlys also enjoys reading and making flower arrangements in her spare time. The work Marlys does for Habitat is greatly appreciated.  Every Habitat volunteer makes a difference, whether they are building, driving the truck, answering phones or any other work. We thank Marlys for her time, talents and dedication to helping others.

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR 2009: BRIAN DEARMON

On September 28, 2009, Cumberland County Habitat for Humanity's annual volunteer appreciation dinner was made very special when Board member Larry Henson acknowledged all the many hours given to the Habitat by our many volunteers.  He gave special acknowledgment to the last 12 volunteers of the month and culminated in announcing the Habitat for Humanity Volunteer of the Year for 2009, Brian Dearmon. Brian began volunteering for Cumberland County Habitat for Humanity in August of 2008.  Whenever he is asked to help out he always says with a smile "sure hon".  Brian volunteers almost everyday that he isn’t helping his dad.  He gets to Habitat early in the morning and doesn’t leave until the truck is unloaded and furniture is properly displayed in the store.  He helps keep the store looking organized and neat. When he is working he’s very quiet and works without complaint or conflict, but everyone notices when he isn't there!  CONGRATULATIONS BRIAN!!

SEPTEMBER 2009: TRACY HARRISON

Tracy shows off her award plaque and fall theme cake, but stays in position as cashier in our Re-store.

AUGUST 2009: AL & MARY RUNFELDT

Al and Mary Runfeldt were surprised when Cumberland County Habitat for Humanity named them as Volunteers of the Month for August and presented them with a plaque, Habitat tee shirts and a delicious cake.

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