On June 28, 2003, the Remodelors Council of Greater Columbia, a council of the Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia, joined with the Lexington Business Development Club to repair playground equipment at a local children’s shelter.

      The shelter, which provides care for dozens of children in need, is a state of the art facility with live-in volunteers taking care of the children.  The facility has a playground for the kids, part of which was built 20 years ago and was in disrepair from weather and use.  A call for help landed on the ears of the Lexington Business Development Council (BDC), who decided they would repair the playground.

      Although the BDC has talented members in many different fields, they did not possess the know-how or equipment to repair the damaged structure.  Club member Mark Bostic of Square One Designs relayed the project to the Remodelors Council, of which he is also a member.  The Community Service Committee and Executive Committee of the council reviewed the project and decided to get involved.

Special thanks to those who volunteered their time and labor on this project: Johnny Del Priore, Del Priore Construction Co., Inc., Ron Rust, Top Hat Sweepers, Scott and Becky Heron, Creative Tile, Chuck Grimsley, Grimsley Builders, Pete Williams, A-Therm Remodelors, Bob Wilkes, KB Kitchen & Bath Concepts, Kevin Bush, B & W Construction, Mark Bostic, Square One Plans, and the Lexington Business Development Club Members.

      Charitable organization Home Works of South Carolina held its annual “Christmas in April” One Day Home Repair Blitz on April 26, 2003.   Over 800 volunteers joined to repair and improve the homes of 24 residents in the Greater Columbia area.  Most of the volunteers for this and all Home Works projects are teenagers interested in helping their community and neighbors. 

      This project also enjoyed the support of soldiers from Fort Jackson, student athletes from Team Gamecocks, and remodeling professionals from the Remodelors Council of Greater Columbia.  The Remodelors Council worked in conjunction with Home Works Director Hank Chardos for months leading up to the project in order to assess the work needed on the homes, materials needed for repair and scheduling remodelers to work on six of the homes.  Remodelors were assigned to homes that had the most extensive needs including door replacement, roofing projects, siding and more.  Remodelors worked with the many teenagers on each project and helped direct the work on each of the six sites.

       Special thanks to the Remodelors Council and Home Builders Association members who helped on April 26: Mark Bostic, Square One Plans; Kevin Bush, B & W Construction; Johnny Del Priore, Del Priore Construction; Chuck Grimsley, Grimsley Builders; Chris  Harden, National Aluminum and Vinyl Siding; Tom Mayfield, TOMA Construction; Albert Porth, Clyde Nettles Roofing & Painting, Inc.; Ed Schuler, J.E. Schuler Painting & Remodeling; Billy Shumaker, Carolina Refacers; Jon Sovde, Lifetime Builders, LLC; Pete Williams, A-Therm Remodelors; and, Tuck Williams, Quality Custom Homes of S.C.

See pictures from this event!

      Six members of the Remodelors Council of Greater Columbia (RCGC) recently helped in a national Habitat for Humanity project in Atlanta, Georgia. 

      Each year the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) holds it’s International Builders Show somewhere in the United States.  In 2001 and 2002, the country’s largest trade show was held in Atlanta, Georgia.  The show boasts nearly a million square feet of exhibit space and hundreds of seminars on housing, business and more.  This year Cahners Business Information and Habitat for Humanity International added another special event to the long list of activities.  The magazine publisher and the world-wide housing group put together a building project that would involve volunteers from around the country and that would produce five Habitat Houses in just four days.

      One of the five groups on the project was the National Remodelors Council.  Local chapters can be found all around the nation, including Columbia, South Carolina where we have the ninth largest local Remodelors Council in the country.  When word of this Habitat project got to member Tony Thompson, CGR of Remodeling Services Unlimited, he thought that he and some fellow members should help out.  After a couple of calls a group of six members from the local council made arrangements to go to Atlanta and build a house.

      The group consisted of Thompson, Vic Greenway of Custom Counter, Chris Harden of National Aluminum & Vinyl Siding, Kevin Bush of B & W Construction, Tim McLellan of The McLellan Company, and Pete Williams, CGR of A-Therm Remodelors.  They arrived in Atlanta on Super Bowl Sunday and began construction the next morning.  Folks from Habitat had already laid out the flooring system and a volunteer group of remodelers from another council had started putting up exterior walls.  With little direction, the crew from Columbia jumped in and started putting the house together.

      Four days were budgeted for the five-house project and most were finished just in time.  The remodelers were out to demonstrate their abilities and they did so by finishing in just two days.  In the cold weather that swept through the Southeast that week, the Remodelors Council house soon became the main storage facility for the project, volunteer check-in, and a good place to get coffee and doughnuts for the crews of the remaining four houses.

      After construction, the houses were partially disassembled and transported to the home site in Georgia.  Once there, each house was reassembled and completed by Habitat for Humanity. “Any time you do something to give back to the community, it gives you a good feeling,” Thompson said. “It’s not every day that you get to do something as grand as building a house. Even donating a meal gives you a good feeling.”

Columbia, SC – The Remodelors Council of Greater Columbia, a council of the Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia, will provide assistance during the Chapin and Columbia area summer work session by local charity Home Works.  The work session will focus on seven homes in the greater Chapin and Columbia areas and work take place from Sunday, June 16 through Sunday, June 24.

     Members of the Remodelors Council will assist in work on the inside and outside of the homes including tasks such as plumbing, stair repair, flooring, decking, painting and roofing.  Volunteers from the group will be working with area teenagers who also volunteer their time for this worthwhile effort.  The Remodelors Council of Greater Columbia was founded in 1986 by members of the HBA of Greater Columbia.  The mission of this group is to further the image of the remodeling industry in the Greater Columbia area through education of members and the public and by participating in community service activities such as this project.  Past projects have included building wheelchair ramps for those in need but who could not afford a ramp on their own, renovation of The Caring House and projects with local and national Habitat for Humanity events.

     “This project falls right in line with what our Council believes in.  Not only do we have the opportunity to use our skills to help our fellow community members, but we also get the chance to work with area youths.  Home Works is a great local group and we are very happy to help out,” said Steve Hinson, Chairman of the Remodelors Council.

     In addition to the time and skills volunteered by Remodelors Council members, the HBA Charitable Foundation will donate $2,000 to Home Works this year.  The Charitable Foundation has made donations to the group for many years to help those in need.

Remodelors Council of Greater Columbia teams with Palmetto SeniorCare and Lowe’s Heroes to build wheelchair ramps for elderly citizens

        The Remodelors Council of Greater Columbia (RCGC) will be working with Palmetto SeniorCare and Columbia area Lowe's stores to build wheelchair ramps for elderly citizens in need.  Top representatives from the Remodelors Council, Lowe's and Palmetto SeniorCare pictured with the ramp recipient.  Click to enlarge

         The first of these ramps was constructed on Friday, May 11.  Remodelors Council Treasurer Chris Harden of National Aluminum and Vinyl Siding was the lead remodeler on the site, with help from new council member Terry Leonard of Archadeck of Columbia and volunteers from Lowe’s stores, Palmetto SeniorCare and the Remodelors Council.    

Volunteers and the recipient with the new ramp.  

Click to enlarge

         The second ramp was built in late May.  Lead remodeler on this job was Council Secretary Tim McLellan of the McLellan Company.  Volunteers had a big task ahead of them with this ramp.  Seeing how the recipient had to get out of the house with out a ramp was motivation to keep the team working throughout the day until the project was done.

  click on pictures to enlarge    

Here we see how the recipient used to leave her home.  Cynthia Young with Palmetto SeniorCare on the news (center) and Tim McLellan working on the ramp (right).

         The third and fourth ramps were completed around July 3 by volunteers from the Council and Lowe's and by Council member-at-large Tony Thompson, CGR from Remodeling Services Unlimited.  Tony stepped up and volunteered his time on both ramps and got them done in record time!

         The Remodelors Council of Greater Columbia is a professional trade group of professional remodelers and associate companies. The Council is affiliated with the Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia (HBAGC), the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and the National Remodelors Council. The Remodelors Council will provide professional expertise in the construction of wheelchair ramps for elderly citizens of Columbia and surrounding areas. This project falls in line with National Home Remodeling Month (May) as well with the Council's standing effort to help the community.

          Palmetto SeniorCare, part of Palmetto Heath Alliance, provides care to elderly citizens in Columbia by transporting them from home to a hospital to receive medication and care. Palmetto SeniorCare is working to identify patients that are in need of a wheelchair ramp in order to facilitate the care-giving process.

      Like many in the association, HBA member John Hinks of The Hinks Company, Inc. is involved not only in the day-to-day operations of his company, but also in other clubs and organizations in South Carolina. 

      One of the groups of which he is a part is Carolina Sunshine for Children, an organization that grants the wishes children with debilitating diseases or crippling ailments.  Throughout the year the group receives information on children from doctors and other caregivers around the state on the condition and wishes of many children.

      Early this year, one such application came to the attention of John that he knew he had the ability to grant with the help of the Remodelors Council of Greater Columbia.  The request was that for a Columbia boy named Kevin Taylor.  Kevin is a six-year-old who suffers Cerebral Palsy and developmental delay.  He lives his life in a wheelchair in a rented home with his mother and siblings.  Although Kevin can’t communicate through speech, his emotions are easily interpreted through his beaming smiles or glaring frowns.  One thing that always makes Kevin smile is looking out the window and seeing the birds in his backyard. And so Kevin’s mother interpreted that his wish was to be able to see the backyard creatures more easily and to be able to be with them other than looking through a window.

      Through his involvement in the HBA for many years, Hinks knew that the Remodelors Council often participated in community service projects and thought that they may be able to help young Kevin.  John called his friend and past council chairman Monte Lemmon of Monteray Construction Co. to get the ball rolling on this project.  Lemmon then presented the project to the Council’s Executive Committee and construction quickly began on a screened porch on the back of Kevin’s house.  Monteray Construction began the project by creating an exterior door leading ultimately to the new porch.  Next, Council member Chris Harden of National Aluminum and Vinyl Siding began construction of the porch with volunteers Clyde Holley and Laura Woody-Bush from Lowe’s. 

      Construction involved movement of an electrical service and some other features of the home in addition to the basic construction tasks of a screen porch. Upon moving the electrical service, it was found that the house was drastically under-powered.  Since the porch was coming up under budget, Harden had his electrician raise the service to current standards.  Construction lasted a full week.  This included the addition of the exterior door, electrical upgrade and movement and the building of the structure.  Lowe’s stores helped out further by donating some finishing touches to the project: two bird feeders and a bird bath to draw birds for Kevin to watch, and a ceiling fan to help make the porch more comfortable in the summer months.

      And with that, Kevin’s wish was granted.  Now, with only the effort of opening a door, Kevin’s mother can easily position his wheelchair next to the screen looking over their back yard.  Thanks to the bird feeders, there is seldom a dull moment in the yard.