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MISSOURI GROUP REMODELS HOME FOR SEVERELY
INJURED VETERAN -- "The family was so
appreciative of
the work we did. It was a good experience for
everybody."
Helping hand ... Mike Moore cuts a
deck railing baluster while helping renovate the Lowry City, Mo.,
house of Sgt. George Bellis. |
Story here...
http://www.kccommunitynews.
com/articles/2007/10/04/overland_park_su
n/business/a-all-biz-area.veteran.txt
Story below:
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Area remodelers help disabled Iraq veteran
BY: Chris Rodgers
Staff Writer
Several Johnson County remodelers joined other members of the Kansas
City National Association of Home Remodeling Industry Sept. 15-16 to
renovate the house of Sgt. George Bellis, a Missouri National Guard
member severely injured in Iraq.
Bellis and his wife, Tricia, and three children live in Lowry City, Mo.
Johnson County volunteers include: Mike Moore, Construction Plus,
Shawnee; Hank Bednar, Bednar Interiors Inc., Shawnee; Gary Freeman,
HISCO Design/Build, Merriam; Rusty Davidson, Rusty's Dandy Painting,
Prairie Village; and Jimmy Thompson, Sundance Windows, Doors & Siding,
Edgerton.
Improvements included converting the garage into living space, upgrading
the kitchen, improving two bathrooms, replacing the deck and patio door,
replacing windows, and upgrading electrical service.
Bellis suffered severe concussions and head injuries during his
deployment in 2003-04. Upon his return home, Tricia quit her job to care
for George and their three children.
Hank Bednar helped with several tasks, including the garage conversion.
"They called it the 'man cave,'" Bednar said. "That's where (Bellis)
would go out to sit, to kind of collect his thoughts. Because of his
disabilities he gets overwhelmed. Noises and things like that bother
him.
"Before, there was just a table and chair, and a bunch of his trophy
deer heads."
The volunteers finished out the walls and ceiling, carpeted the room,
installed windows and doors, remounted the trophy deer, and furnished
the space.
"They put a fireplace in the corner," Bednar said. "Above that they had
a flat-screen TV. It really gave it a high-end, finished look."
Bednar said he has participated in other NARI service projects and also
helps with Christmas in October.
"Our soldiers, they sacrifice for us, and their families sacrifice so
much. ... They are very brave, heroic people to do what they do.
"Everybody had an excellent experience with it. The family was so
appreciative of the work we did. ... It was a good experience for
everybody."
Mike Moore helped build a deck on the back of the Bellises' 1911
farmhouse.
"It was an opportunity to give back to the people who give me the
freedom to be in business for myself," Moore said.
Moore said he had not done a NARI project before but "absolutely" would
again.
"A year and a half ago I went to South Africa with three other guys and
we built an orphanage for Oceans of Mercy. So this was not my first
altruistic trip but my first with NARI.
"I think the NARI group is a great bunch of people. This project points
out they are trying to make a difference in the way that the
construction industry and trades are both viewed and do business."
"Operation Soldier Assist" is a community service project of Kansas City
NARI in cooperation with the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the
Association of the United States Army
"It is our intent, and that of KCAUSA, that this project serves as a
model for bringing communities and organizations together to help those
who have served and sacrificed for our country," Scott Balentine, Kansas
City NARI president, said in a press release.
"The thing about the NARI group of contractors, they don't cut corners,"
Bednar said. "They go the extra mile for their clients and for projects
like this. Everybody who went down there gave 110 percent."
More than 100 companies and organizations donated $170,915 worth of
goods, services and labor to the project.
In addition to building materials and labor, other contributions include
appliances from Nebraska Furniture Mart; a computer from Micro Center;
and furniture from Home Gallery.
Moore and Bednar said the family appreciated the work.
"At the very end, (Tricia) pretty much broke down and cried," Bednar
said.
Kansas City NARI is a professional nonprofit trade association
representing more than 290 remodeling experts.
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Larry Scott --
