TVA Habitat for Humanity Home Dedicated
June 20, 2003
After three months of hard work, TVA, representatives from the UT football team, Knoxville Habitat for Humanity, and the Greater Knoxville Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Commission helped Mary Brown dedicate her newly constructed home Saturday, June 21.
TVA broke ground on the house on January 18 in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. TVA chose to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King and honor his commitment to service and racial and economic equality by building a Habitat for Humanity house for a Knoxville family in the city’s Empowerment Zone.
Construction on the house at 2521 Parkview Avenue began on April 12. TVA employee and retiree volunteers donated their personal time every Saturday to help Brown, a single mother of two, build the three-bedroom home. UT football players, members of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, and members of the community also participated.
“The TVA Board believes that committing TVA personally and concretely to this house and the Brown family is an appropriate way to honor Dr. King’s dream,” said TVA’s Senior Vice President of Employee Relations and Diversity, Peyton T Hairston Jr., who participated in the dedication ceremony. “TVA employees, retirees, the UT football team and members of the community followed through on this commitment to make Mary Brown’s dream come true.”
TVA donated $20,000 in funds or in-kind services for the projects, entitled “Building on the Dream: A House as One.” TVA celebrated its 70th anniversary in May. This project is a demonstration of TVA’s commitment to seven decades of service.
“I worked for three years to become eligible for a Habitat home,” said Brown. “It’s hard to believe that the house is built and I’m finally moving into my first home. I’m so grateful to Knoxville Habitat for Humanity and TVA for all they’ve done to help me and my daughters.”
To put the final touches on the home site, Greg Ellenburg of Ellenburg Landscaping donated shrubbery for the front of the home, as well as a shade tree and mulch. TVA and Habitat volunteers will handle the landscaping.
The home is also certified through the energy right® program, a partnership between TVA and its distributors that promotes energy efficiency in home building. By meeting the energy-efficiency specifications, Brown will save money on her monthly power bills.
TVA is the nation’s largest public power producer and is completely self-financed. TVA provides power to large industries and 158 power distributors that serve 8.3 million consumers in seven southeastern states.
Media Contact:
Chris Handly, Knoxville (865-632-2561) or TVA News Bureau, Knoxville (865-632-6000)
