Cool weather doesn’t mean we’re cooling off! It’s autumn in the High Country…and a seasonal change means it’s time for a newsletter! Good things have been happening for us at Ashe Habitat. Since our last newsletter, we dedicated House 9, began our next construction project, and held a fundraiser dinner! We’re also celebrating the 2-year work anniversary of Construction Supervisor JB Byrch!
Dedication of House 9 – On September 24, 2023, Ashe Habitat board members, volunteers, and members of the community gathered along with the Burgess family for this special event. We hope the Burgesses enjoy settling into their beautiful, new Ashe County home and wish them many happy memories in it!
If you worked at the job site, provided lunch to our workers, volunteered at the ReStore, staffed a committee or a Board position, helped at an event, made a donation of cash or ReStore items, or any other task big or small, we sincerely thank you. Habitat is almost entirely volunteer-driven and we truly could not do this without every one of you!
A Place to Call Home – If you made it out to our dinner fundraiser, A Place to Call Home: A Night of Giving, thank you for supporting your local Habitat for Humanity. If you were able to make a donation as a result of that event, thank you once again!
What a fun evening! More importantly, we were able to present information about AHFH’s mission, accomplishments, needs, and goals and obtain subsequent pledges to help us carry out our mission in the coming years.
This event was made possible by multiple sponsors. Mr. Kent Zotter of Ridgeline Properties made a generous financial gift to help us organize and hold this fundraiser. Hidden Pastures Farm hosted us for the evening and Boondocks provided the yummy food. Thank you to our Ashe County business partners for helping us help others!
We’re celebrating a Habitat-i-versary! – If you’ve been to any Habitat event or worked at the house site or at the ReStore, you probably already know our Construction Supervisor, JB Byrch. You don’t often see JB in photos of the construction site, though, because he’s often the photographer! Here he is at our recent house dedication, handing off responsibility for…hammering things…to Mr. Burgess!
JB began working with Ashe Habitat for Humanity in Fall 2021. He has a formal education from Appalachian State University in Building Science and a career that has intertwined construction management, nonprofit organizations, and volunteer coordination. He and his wife live near Todd, where Rev. Laura Byrch is the Pastor of Blackburn’s Chapel, which has also volunteered with Ashe Habitat.
JB plays a critical role in planning and implementing our building projects, he is the on-site construction supervisor, and he is one of the folks who coordinate and manage volunteers. He’s he’s also an excellent teacher and just a really, really nice person. Thank you for all that you do, JB. We appreciate you!