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\u201cThat was certainly a great honor,\u201d said Slade, who is far right and next to Susan in the above photo. \u201cWe were not seeking it or expecting it, but we are very appreciative of it. Susan has been a great help, especially the last two years. It was about two years ago when HFHMCA decided to start a Habitat Restore, which is a Habitat-branded facility where we accept donations of building materials and household goods then turn around and sell them to raise funds to operate the ministry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe committed to doing that and Susan has been a really big part of making that work. She advertises donated items on Craig\u2019s list, she takes other items to other resale stores around town. That\u2019s where she fits into Habitat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where Slade fits in with Habitat is just about everywhere. He\u2019s most comfortable with a hammer and nails \u2013 \u201cBeing an engineer, I like to build stuff,\u201d he said \u2013 but he has worked equally as hard as a Board member. He is finishing a two-year stint as President of the HFHMCA Board of Directors that coincided with the first worldwide pandemic in a century.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has led us through what has been the hardest years this affiliate has faced, for which we are eternally grateful,\u201d said Merrill McKewen, HFHMCA\u2019s Executive Director. \u201cBut when you get Slade, you also get Susan. Together, they make quite a team. They have worked on sites and in our warehouse. The selection committee felt strongly that we would not have a Restore without the tireless work of the Exleys.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey embody what the Elise Winter Founders Award is all about \u2013 visionary leadership, dedicated commitment, and \u2018Love in Action.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Elise Winter founded HFHMCA 35 years ago. When she died in July of this year, McKewen praised her, saying she \u201cbreathed life into Habitat\u2019s ministry,\u201d and pointed out that \u201cmore than 2,500 adults and children in the Mississippi capital area wake up every morning in a Habitat home. Her involvement with Habitat has also afforded thousands of Mississippians the opportunity to give back to their communities and to their fellow citizens through one of the nation\u2019s most effective not-for-profit organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Count Slade and Susan among those who have given back and helped HFHMCA build more than 650 homes since its founding.<\/p>\n
Congratulations to Slade and Susan!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Slade Exley, PE, retired from Neel-Schaffer over eight years ago, but in many ways he is still a part of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,45,37,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-accolades","category-community","category-giving-back","category-people"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n