Sisters Habitat for Humanity celebrates

Sisters Habitat Founder Hort Hammond (right) cuts the birthday cake, celebrating 10 years in Sisters. Habitat director Sharlene Weed looks on.

Habitat for Humanity celebrated its tenth anniversary in Sisters with a birthday party in the Village Green park last Saturday, June 16.

The celebration was highlighted by a tour of the 14 homes built by Habitat in Sisters during its first decade here, and was then concluded with a ceremony that thanked the community for making the building campaign possible.

Music by Gary Miller, Katie Boyce, Doug Cavanaugh, Rick Jones, and Mike Scherrer set the festive tone.

Joe Holder, president of Sisters Habitat for Humanity, presided over the event.

Teresa Slavkovsky, whose family was the first Habitat household in Sisters, noted "Ten years ago, mold grew on our walls because we had no insulation. Now, our walls are decorated with awards that my children have won.

"Our experience wouldn't have been the same without you -- you are changing lives one nail at a time."

Father Thomas Faucher from St. Edward the Martyr Catholic Church gave the inspirational talk and noted that Habitat is more than providing affordable housing to people in need.

Speaking from the Biblical passage in Ezekiel where God speaks life into dry bones, he noted that it is the spiritual component that breathes life into nails, wood, and sheetrock to make a house into a home.

Bob Sherman, the Building Committee Chair, then awarded plaques to several local businesses and individuals to express acknowledgment and appreciation for the help they have given Habitat for the past ten years.

Those honored were: Hoyt's Hardware and Building Supply, Lutton's Ace Hardware, R. L. Schaefer Construction, Central Oregon Roofing, Charles Fadeley, P. C., Fred Ast, Jr. and Associates, Sweeney Plumbing, Bob Reynolds Electric, The Nugget Newspaper, Jim Johnson Drywall, Sisters Real Estate, and Juan Duarte, Designer.

Mark Kershner provided musical entertainment, and free Subway sandwiches, chips, and lemonade were on hand.

Hort Hammond, the Sisters Habitat founder, made a dramatic appearance and concluded the activities by cutting the birthday cake.

Hammond had heart by-pass surgery the previous Monday, but he wasn't about to let that deter him from participating in the celebration.

"I was so excited about the celebration," Sharlene Weed, Executive Director of Sisters Habitat for Humanity commented. "We had great representation from our Habitat families, from the churches, and from the businesses and individuals that have been such a help to us.

"It really encompassed what makes Habitat."

Weed was stirred to the point that she choked back tears.

"It gives our board and volunteers a boost for the next 10 years. There is so much love and support here," she said. "The bus tour was a reminder that these are real people we're helping, and they are all so proud of their homes. We didn't want to impose on them, but they would have been offended if we hadn't stopped by."

Sisters Habitat has built 14 homes in Sisters with two more to be finished in a month. Habitat homes house 57 people. According to Weed, almost 1,500 different individuals have helped Habitat in the past 10 years.