Behind the Scenes: Unconditional Love That Builds Strength and Hope
On February 7, 2025, Habitat for Humanity Williamson-Maury (HFHWM) hosted its annual Friends of Habitat dinner, celebrating the impact of collaborative efforts in 2024. Our HFHWM staff honored 20 volunteers for their stewardship and unconditional love of service in their community and abroad.
Over an evening of delicious southern cuisine, donated by Bar-B-Cutie and Triple Crown Bakery, we engaged in insightful conversations and celebrated the talented volunteers who fueled our selfless acts of service.
Kim Randell, CEO of HFHWM, set the tone for the celebration by paying homage to Habitat for Humanity's Champion, the late President Jimmy Carter. President Carter believed in alleviating human suffering through social justice and basic human rights. President Carter and his wife Rosalynn served together as Habitat ambassadors for nearly 40 years.
HFHWM's President and Chief Operating Officer, Jennee Galland, shared our 2024 impact at Williamson-Maury. We had 488 volunteers who put in 3,314 dedicated hours and completed 19 Critical Repair projects. Through dedication and sweat equity, our volunteers helped 5 families purchase their first homes.
To commemorate the volunteers who poured their hearts, sweat, and happy tears into our mission, we presented 20 Volunteer Appreciation awards to the following individuals and sponsors:
Cohen Roger, Rising Star Award
John Krusac III, Most Volunteer Hours
Bill Camargo, Mentor Award
Kirby Baker, ReStore Award
Ryan & Talon, Youth Leaders
Steve Lewis and Brooke Barrett, Father-Daughter Dynamic Duo
Ted and Lisa Campbell, Above and Beyond
Saint Philip Church, Faith Sponsor
Publix Supermarket Charities, Corporate Sponsor
Amazon TES Unity, Rising Corporate Sponsor
Gray’s Mulching Heavy Lifting
Games Framing by Gerardo Gamez, Job Well Done
BEHR, Vendor of the Year Award
The Community Partner Award
Wayne Weaver of Community Housing Partnership received the 2025 Community Partner Award. In 2013, he developed a passion for HFH's vision and mission. Weaver contributed 8 years of extensive real estate knowledge to Williamson-Maury. He was instrumental in starting our Global Village program at the affiliate and has participated in 6 Global Village trips, including an HFHWM mission trip to Fiji to help build homes in countries with great housing needs.
In 2021, Weaver became the CEO role at Community Housing Partnership, another affordable housing nonprofit here in Franklin, TN, which provides much-needed reasonably priced rentals for our community.
With continued dedication to Global Village, Weaver also sponsors tables at one of our annual fundraisers- Hammers & High Heels and serves on the Franklin Hill Project.
Recognition of Service Award
HFHWM also recognized outgoing Board Chair, Kim Varga. Before joining the Habitat board in 2018, Varga was an executive at Schneider Electric, leading engineering and operational teams. After retiring, she devoted her time and skill to supporting Habitat's vision and our teams' mission as we navigated growth and transformation. Kim is a builder- of opportunities, teams, and bright futures for the families we serve. This summer, Kim will be rolling off the board after seven years of service. We are deeply grateful for her commitment to our mission and her ongoing support of the families we serve.
2024 was a year of shoring up our foundation while continuing to serve families in our community. We expect to build bigger and better in the coming year, diving headfirst into building on our developing neighborhoods in Columbia, TN.
Together, we can continue to make an everlasting impact on families through homeownership.