Habitat House Generates Warmth and Unexpected Exposure

There's never a bad time to give back, and it's understood that the vast majority of folks give to good causes because they want to, not because of anything that's in it for them. That was certainly the case when the IHLA Executive Committee agreed to participate with the rest of Indiana Agriculture and help build a Habitat for Humanity home this summer. It was also in the spirit of giving back that the association helped secure the materials for the spectacuar wooden bridge built on the state fairgrounds to commemorate the 100th anninversary of the Boy Scouts of America.

However, good usually begets good, and our efforts did not go unnoticed. The Habitat home generated great media publicity for all of the participating ag-related organizations, dating back to its June construction start, and then viewed by roughly a million fair-goers. The bridge garnered the same level of attention, both from media and punctuated by the following event:

The Executive Committee, and a half dozen other IHLA members were walking from the completion of their last "shift" on the Habitat house on August 18, sweaty and hungry. The wanted to see the finished Boy Scout bridge, and when they arrived, they were greeted by a lady with the BSA organization who proceeded to tell them all about the bridge, making a point to specifically thank all the great people who help build it. We stopped her mid-rave in talking about the hardwood association, letting her in on who we were. She sounded like she'd already told the story about half a million times, but with no less enthusiasm each time.

Later that day, the Executive held their monthly meeting, and it was suggested that IHLA try to build our own home with the Habitat for Humanity program next year, perhaps even adding some Premium Indiana Forest Products upgrades here and there.

I believe that everyone in that meeting felt the same good feelings I did after working alongside the eventual homeowner to complete the home for her and her five children. That was the spirit motivating the suggestion to build an "IHLA" Habitat house next year. Of course it is likely that exposure will follow if done at the fair - they are media-generating monsters for 17 days each year.

I believe our members would do it in the same spirit with or without the publicity of the fair, and in fact would do it even if no one was watching. But.......... the Super Bowl is only about 17 months away........