Habitat House 15 dedicated
Site supervisor John Addy handed over the house keys to Kathy Gibson, homeowner, at the Habitat for Humanity dedication ceremony for House 15.
WEST LAFAYETTE – On Saturday, Nov. 7, Kathy Gibson, along with her beloved dog of nine years Sadie, moved into her very first home in West Lafayette.
“I appreciate Habitat because this is the only way I’d own a house on my own,” Gibson said. “I’m starting a whole new chapter.”
The Habitat for Humanity house was House 15 for the organization and is located on Seventh Street Rear in West Lafayette.
“Enjoy it,” said John Addy who presented the keys to Gibson. “We’ve had a lot of help and I want to thank everyone who helped on this house. This was a rough one.”
It was also a poignant day for Addy as well as this house is the last of the Habitat houses he will supervise.
“I’m thankful you’re going to get a vacation, but I’m going to miss you,” said Brittleigh Smith, executive director of Habitat.
Addy has been with Habitat for three years and has built four houses and remodeled the first Habitat house while building Gibson’s house, which is one reason building Gibson’s house was a little rough. He said he plans to work on his own house during retirement and also looks forward to traveling.
“I enjoy building houses for people and I’ll miss that,” said Addy.
After the brief ceremony, Gibson expressed her gratitude for all the volunteers who had helped make her home possible.
“I appreciate every volunteer, especially the kids at the Career Center,” she said. “Last year’s class worked on the exterior and every time a wall would go up, they’d cheer. This year’s class worked on the interior, so I appreciate both classes. Tim and Candy have been right there for me. I really appreciate it and I couldn’t ask for a better sister-in-law.”
Gibson said she experienced a wide-variety of emotions during the ceremony.
“It’s exciting,” she said. “It’s nerve-wracking and stressful too. It’s the whole gauntlet of emotions.”
Before the end of the dedication ceremony, Smith expressed her well wishes for Gibson.
“Congratulations, Kathy,” she said. “I hope you have many wonderful memories here.”
beth@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: People & Places
