A Salute to DIYers
All of us appreciate the practical side of DIY: saving money and
protecting the investment we’ve made in our homes. But for
most of us, DIY is also a way to provide a comfortable, safe and
enjoyable home for those we love. What’s more, we strive to set
an example of self-reliance and problem-solving for our children
and to be a person they can call on when things go wrong.
For some DIYers, that spirit of helping others has shaped their
entire life. They’ve served our country, their local communities,
their neighbors, and the needy, at home and abroad. In this article,
we’re doing something a little different and dedicating it
to those DIYers who serve. We honor and thank you all.
I hope you find them as inspiring as I do. They make
me proud to be a DIYer.
Ken Collier,
Editor in Chief
Bill McMurtrey
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Bill McMurtrey
Bill at work on a community service project.
Photo courtesy of Bill McMurtrey
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Flower box project
Bill and friends make flower boxes for widows and single moms.
Served with the U.S. Army in Korea
and is a former deputy sheriff with
the Wyandotte County (Kansas)
Sheriff’s Office.
Community service:
I run a
small army of volunteers called
Helping Hands for the Heartland
Community Church in Overland
Park, Kansas. We’re like a small-scale
“Extreme Makeover: Home
Edition.” We use money from private
donors to fix up the exteriors of
homes of people who are seriously
ill. And when the tornado hit Joplin,
Missouri, last year, I took a group of
37 volunteers there to help.
Why I serve:
I believe that if I help
you, and you help Joe, then Joe helps
Bob, and so on and so on, what a
better world we could have. Idealistic
maybe, but paying it forward is
the best way to repay for the good
things we each have in our own lives.
Why I’m a DIYer:
I get a lot of satisfaction
knowing I did a job myself
and I did it right (even if there was a
steep learning curve along the way).
Favorite DIY project:
For 20
years, I’ve made Mother’s Day
flower boxes for widows and single
moms. The first year I started out
doing eight for neighbor ladies.
Last year we made over 330. I get
the wood, flowers and dirt and get
10 to 12 buddies to help me cut, nail
and plant the boxes. Everyone
loves them.
Patrick Fiorito Jr.
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Patrick Fiorito Jr.
Flood rescue work
Photo courtesy of Patrick Fiorito Jr.
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Fighting fire
Patrick is a volunteer firefighter.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Fiorito Jr.
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Remodeling his home
Patrick reworked his entire house, from the ground up, and put on an addition.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Fiorito Jr.
Age 30. Has served as a volunteer
firefighter in Totowa, New Jersey,
for 10 years and as an officer to 32
active members on the fire
company.
Most inspiring experience:
Last September’s flooding was the
most devastating and inspiring situation
I have ever encountered.
With 12 other volunteer firefighters,
I worked nonstop for 10 days and
made more than 200 boat rescues
of people and their pets.
Why I serve:
The satisfaction I
get from helping someone in need
is an indescribable feeling. I’m a
member of an organization of
brothers and we selflessly help
ANYONE in need. I really just like
helping people.
Why I’m a DIYer:
I love learning
new things and building things.
Most of all, when a project is finished,
I can look at the end result
and know I built it to the best of
my ability and it was done
properly.
Favorite DIY project:
My
fiancée (and now wife) and I
bought a total fixer-upper. I had to
fix the house from the ground up—
everything from underpinning the
foundation, all new plumbing,
electric, building an additional
level with three bedrooms, 1-1/2
baths—everything. I turned a
house into a home. When I look at
what the house was to where it is
now, it’s an amazing feeling knowing
I built this for us.
Dominic Rigert
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Dominic Rigert
Full-time firefighter
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New front porch
Dominic's latest DIY project is this new front porch.
Photo courtesy of Dominic Rigert
Joined the Army after graduating
from high school and served as a
paratrooper with the 82nd
Airborne. Attended carpentry
school and worked as a framer
for six years. Has been a full-time
Minneapolis firefighter for 17
years.
Why I serve:
My drive to serve
my community is much the same
as it was to serve my country. I
grew up with a great love and
respect for this country, and it
was a great honor to serve as a
member of our armed forces. It
just seemed right to carry that
forward by serving the community
through the fire services.
Source of Inspiration:
I was on duty during the I-35
Mississippi River bridge collapse,
and our crew was one of the first
responding crews to the scene. It
was a horrific scene, and nobody
had ever encountered anything
like it before. It was truly
amazing to see average people
setting aside their own fears
and pulling together to help one
another.
Why I’m a DIYer:
I get a lot of
DIY pleasure from using my
skills as a carpenter to help my
neighbors. A lot of them are
widows and widowers who can use my help from time to time.
Wayne Bell
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Wayne Bell
Business owner and former military police officer
Photo courtesy of Wayne Bell
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Guatemala service project
Log Home Care employee
Daniel Wells helped build a
mission school in Guatemala.
Photo courtesy of Wayne Bell
Served as a military police officer
with the Ohio Military Reserve and as
an auxiliary Trooper with the Ohio
State Highway Patrol for 15 years. He
is now the owner of Log Home Care
(loghomecareonline.com). He gives
each employee a week’s pay and
covers all travel expenses to donate
their services to a qualified charitable
cause they’re passionate about.
This year a worker traveled to
Guatemala and worked on building a
new school for a local mission.
Why helping our employees volunteer is so important:
It’s an excellent way to return something
to the community at large
while allowing our employees to
experience life in a different culture.
Exposure to other peoples’ lives
forces us to constantly reevaluate
our own. And the sense of pride and
accomplishment shared by the
people we help and our employees
as they serve is inspiring. There is
something inherent in human nature
that drives people to help others,
and when we can facilitate the
opportunity to make that happen, everyone wins.
Robert Gold
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Robert Gold
Served 21 years in the U.S. Marine Corps
Photo courtesy of Robert Gold
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Floor project
Project for Habitat for Humanity
Photo courtesy of Robert Gold
Served 21 years
in the U.S.
Marine Corps.
Served as a volunteer
firefighter
for many
years and currently
volunteers with the Boy
Scouts and Habitat for Humanity
in Pennsylvania. He is also a certified
electrician and plumber.
Why I serve:
To see the pride
and glow on the face of someone
less fortunate who couldn’t do
something, but then did it with
the proper help and guidance, is
all the reward I need. This is a
TRUE “Pay It Forward” situation.
Why I am a DIYer:
There is a
certain amount of pride and
self-esteem that comes when
someone asks who my contractor
was, and I get to
answer “ME.”
How being a DIYer affects my life:
It has
made me more confident and
helps me strive for bigger and
better challenges. It’s kind of
like being a Marine. The biggest
thing my drill instructor instilled
in me was that I don’t know
what my limits are, and every
day is a challenge to find my
limits and exceed them.
Favorite DIY project:
This would be the Habitat for
Humanity tile job I just did. I
didn’t want to do it. I tried to
convince them to hire a contractor.
But I
did it and
taught them
how to do it,
and the floor
turned out
beautiful.
Jeff Waterbury
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Jeff Waterbury
U.S. Air Force/Air Force Reservist for more than 26 years
Photo courtesy of Jeff Waterbury
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Porch and ramp-building crew
Celebrating the porch completion with an American flag.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Waterbury
Served in the U. S. Air Force/Air
Force Reserves for more than 26
years. Currently serving as a
Flight Chief in the Aircraft
Maintenance squadron with the
934th Airlift Wing.
Community service:
Fifteen
years ago, I started volunteering in
the youth program at St. Elizabeth’s
Church in Tecumseh, Michigan. Our
church supports the Christian
Social Service (CSS) center in
Morehead, Kentucky, and I take
groups of teens on weeklong mission
trips to work in the community
on building projects. We have 30
teens signed up for the mission trip
this year, with 12 of them going for a
second time.
Most inspiring experience:
In 2007, we replaced a porch and
built a wheelchair ramp for an
elderly couple living in a trailer. While
working on the project, the teens
found out he was a WWII vet. So
during one of our trips to Lowe’s,
they said we just had to get an
American flag to put on the porch.
To see an 82-year-old veteran saluting
the flag with tears in his eyes
was a sight that neither I nor any of
the teens on the trip will ever forget.
How being a DIYer affects my service:
By
combining my DIY knowledge,
my passion for young people
and my desire to help others, I
feel that I’m making this world a
better place, one project at a
time. Seeing the expressions on
the faces of the youth as they
complete projects and meet the
people they are helping is an
amazing experience.
Brian Marvin
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Brian Marvin
Police detective
Photo courtesy of Brian Marvin
Served in the Army National Guard and
in the U.S. Army as a Military Police
Officer. Currently works as a detective
for the Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Police
Department, focusing on the investigation
and prosecution of cyber crimes,
Internet fraud and Internet predators.
Volunteer service:
I speak at high
schools, colleges and block club meetings
to educate citizens about financial
crimes, cyber bullying and Internet safety.
What inspires me:
When I help a
child who was the victim of a bully or
help the bullies themselves, I feel like
my time and knowledge are worth
something. Knowing that I have prevented
someone from becoming a
victim is validating.
Why I serve:
At one tough point in
my life, I was living in my car and I was
helped by some very kind people. I’m a
Christian man and believe my purpose
is to pay it forward.
Why I’m a DIYer:
It’s important to
me that I’m able to take care of my
family. Knowing how to build things
and fix them, and provide food and
clothing, ensures we will always have
what we need.
Favorite DIY project:
I always
wanted a wooden boat, so I decided to
build my own. I found some old johnboat
plans and set to work. The boat
floated and we even took it to New York
for a family vacation! It was a challenge
I waited years to take on, and I was very
pleased with the results!
Steven Markman
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Steven Markman
Aircraft restoration specialist
Photo courtesy of Steven Markman
Volunteers as an aircraft restoration
specialist at the National
Museum of the U.S. Air Force. He
is currently restoring the WWII
B-17 “Memphis Belle.”
Why I volunteer:
During
WWII, 10 men risked their lives on
every bombing mission that they
flew. This is a tribute to them. We
strive for absolute authenticity, to
make the Memphis Belle look precisely
as it looked when it completed
its 25th mission—every
rivet and screw, every wood item,
every dab of paint.
How being a DIYer affects my volunteer work:
I can’t
donate millions to charity or go off
and volunteer for a year in an
impoverished nation. Using my
skills is just my little part of saying
“thank you” and making the world
a better place.
Joe Stehling
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Joe Stehling
Search and rescue expert and volunteer
Photo courtesy of Joe Stehling
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Steel storage shed project
He and his family and neighbors built the entire shed, including electrical.
Joe Stehling
Spent 25 years in the Army Corps of
Engineers. Among many other volunteer
activities, he currently serves as
Chairman of the Hidden Lake subdivision
Firewise committee; Operations
Section Chief for the New Mexico
Search and Rescue Council; and Vice
President and Training Officer for the
Angel Fire Search and Rescue Team.
What inspires me to serve my community:
It all comes down to
the expressions of gratitude and relief
on the faces of families after we’ve
found a loved one on a search-and-rescue
mission.
Why I’m a DIYer:
I like to save
money, and I enjoy working with my
hands, especially on outdoor projects.
It keeps me in good physical shape
and gives me a sense of
accomplishment.
Favorite DIY project:
Constructing, wiring and insulating a
24 x 36-ft. steel storage shed with my
wife, son and a neighbor. We did all
the work ourselves with the exception
of the concrete floor, and it gave us a
tremendous sense of accomplishment,
especially since we were
against a weather timeline to get the
shed done before the snows came.
(We live at 10,100 feet elevation in the mountains of Northern New Mexico.)
Curt Lovins
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Curt Lovins
Firefighter and former Marine
Photo courtesy of Curt Lovins
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Curt using a jackhammer
Curt built an office addition on his home.
Photo courtesy of Curt Lovins
Served 20 years in
the Marines.
Currently a full-time
firefighter for
Henrico County, VA.
He volunteers with
his church, the local
YMCA, Habitat for
Humanity, neighbors, friends and
family.
One source of inspiration:
In the Marines, I worked on small
goodwill projects in West Africa. One
time we were moving heavy furniture
out of hospital rooms, and despite
being seriously ill, the patients
stepped in to help us. I suddenly
understood how helping others could
be a healing experience.
Why I’m a DIYer:
I grew up on a
farm in the Midwest and learned
to be pretty self-sufficient. I like
the sense of accomplishment that
goes along with doing it myself.
Favorite DIY project:
On our
first home, I took a covered rear
porch/patio and made it into an
office. I jackhammered the concrete
slab and did it all myself.
