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Mercedes Homes Employees Are Everywhere Helping Out
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Mercedes Homes employees at the Relay for Life in Ft. Myers. | Two divisions of Mercedes Homes — the largest 100% employee-owned builder in the country — were honored by the National Housing Endowment, the philanthropic arm of NAHB, for their charitable work in Jacksonville and Ft. Myers, Fla.
The Jacksonville division was honored for building a home in an episode of ABC’s “Extreme Home Makeover,” for building a playground and picnic area for a rescue mission and for participating in several community charitable fundraisers.
The Ft. Myers division was honored for raising money for two charitable organizations in its community that provide support for families with children who are facing life-threatening diseases.
Both divisions of the company, which operates in Florida, Texas and the Carolinas, were awarded the 2006 Honorable Mention National Housing Endowment Builder Achievement Award for Outstanding Community Service — which includes a $1,000 donation to be directed to the charity of their choice. The award was presented to the company during the 2007 International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. earlier this year.
The two divisions have split the donation. Jacksonville is giving its half to Habitat for Humanity of St. Augustine/St. Johns County. The Ft. Myers division is giving its half to American Cancer Society of Lee County.
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Mercedes Homes employees at the Festival of Lights in Ft. Myers. | For “Extreme Home Makeover,” the Jacksonville employees built a home for Sadie Holmes, a single mother of five who runs a non-profit service that collects food, clothing and furniture for people in need in south Seminole County. They not only built her home during the episode, they also paid for her family’s utilities for an entire year.
“By far it was the most intricate and demanding project I’ve ever been involved with,” said Fred Malik, the Mercedes project manager. “Every individual on the site was cooperative and single-mindedly committed to a shared goal. I’ll never forget it.”
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A giving Mercedes Homes foursome at the charity tournament for the Ronald McDonald House. | Employees also helped build a playground and picnic tables for the Trinity Rescue Mission’s Women and Children’s Center in Jacksonville and donated all of the division’s model home furniture to the shelter.
Employees also participated in their area’s “Buddy Walk” to raise awareness for Down syndrome and their “Light the Night Walk” to raise awareness of leukemia and lymphoma. They raised a combined $3,500 in those events.
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Mercedes Homes employees in Jacksonville at the finished playground for the Trinity Rescue Mission’s Women and Children’s Center. | Ft. Meyers division employees raised money for their area’s Make a Wish Foundation chapter and Ronald McDonald House. They raised enough money for the Ronald McDonald house to build several new rooms for the facility.
“Mercedes Homes has a corporate culture that promotes community involvement and support, and children have a very special place in our hearts,” said Mel Temmel, president of Mercedes’ Ft. Meyers division. “We feel blessed to have been able to contribute to the wishes of two deserving recipients.”
Ft. Myers employees raised more than $4,000 for their Ronald McDonald House by collecting and selling soda can tabs to local scrap metal dealers.
“I loved seeing the faces of the people at the Ronald McDonald House when we dropped off the tabs,” said Pamela Baldger, marketing and advertising manager for the division.
They also held a charitable golf tournament for the home-away-from-home for families who have seriously ill children receiving treatment at local hospitals.
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Food baskets collected for and donated to the Trinity Rescue Mission by Jacksonville employees. |
“The National Housing Endowment is proud to honor the tremendous charity of Mercedes Homes,” said Gary Garczynski, endowment chairman and 1992 NAHB president. “For two separate divisions of their company to be recognized is testament to the great work and philanthropic spirit that Mercedes instills in its employees, and in turn, to their communities.”
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Jacksonville division employees working on the Trinity Rescue Mission’s Women and Children’s Center playground. | Twelve Others Honored With Builder Achievement Awards at IBS
 Twelve other builders were honored with gold, silver, bronze and honorable mention Builder Achievement awards during the presentation at the builders’ show.
For the complete list of the winners and a description of their projects, click here.
The awards were established through a grant to the endowment by Isaac Heimbinder, chairman of Potomac, Md.-based BuildTopia, a provider of Web-based construction management software for home builders.
For more information on this award, visit www.nahb.org.
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