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PAUL SCHELLENBERGER
CONSTRUCTION VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR 2005 AWARD
Paul Schellenberger's service to this affiliate of Habitat for Humanity began in February 1997, and continues to the present date. His initial recorded assignment through Jan. '98 was to assist with mailing newsletters. In April, 1998, he started to use his considerable carpentry skills in the construction of Habitat houses, and by September, 2005, he had accumulated 2500 hours of volunteer time.
This past year, Paul's church agreed to undertake responsibility for the rehabilitation of 617 1/2 N. Fifth St. in Allentown. Paul has served as crew leader/site manager to a dedicated group of church members, help from our core construction crew when specialized skills are called for, and a smattering of assistance from recently registered neophyte volunteers. Paul has worked every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning plus many Tuesday and Thursday evenings. He has planned the craftsmanship of the renovation, supervised and instructed amateur craftsman, and spread a pleasant spirit throughout the duration of the project, even when things were not going so well. He loaned a van full of special tools and taught a volunteer how to use them. He photographed people as they tackled various projects. All this at 79 years of age.
Paul made it very enjoyable and made you feel that you were part of something special. He made everyone feel important in the tasks that we were performing and they all looked forward to going to the site. We could not have completed this task without his expert guidance, dedication, and knowledge. He was God sent and a real joy to work with.
All together, Paul has supervised approximately 85 individuals who have put in over 4000 hours of work on this house, with Paul contributing over 800 hours of his own time.
His dedication over this period of time has never faltered, even through two hospital stays with potentially dire outcomes, and he was back on the job sooner than anyone anticipated.
If anyone exemplifies an outstanding construction volunteer it is surely Paul Schellenberger.
CONGRATULATIONS!
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