AGA TOPICS Newsletter

AGA New Orleans Habitat for Humanity Trip: One of the Best Vacations I Ever Had

By Jeffrey S. Hart, CGFM, CFE, AGA National President

View images from AGA's Habitat for Humanity experience

When I visit our AGA chapters around the country, I always hope I might bring an inspirational AGA message to the members. Instead, I have been the one inspired—inspired by the dedication of our members and what they do for AGA and our profession day in and day out.

That commitment was shown many times over during my visit to New Orleans two weeks ago with a group of AGA volunteers as a national community service project. AGA members, their families and friends joined me for a day, a weekend or the whole week to build a house with Habitat for Humanity, or volunteer in one of several other roles in Habitat partner programs—all in support of victims of Hurricane Katrina as they put their lives back together.

What did we do exactly? We did everything from installing floor joists, siding, sofits and fascia (exterior trim), interior molding, kitchen and bath cabinets, doors and door hardware, and address numbers. We painted and scraped. Two volunteers spent a day playing with and reading to elementary school students whose parents are stressed and overworked as they recover from Katrina.

Each AGA volunteer was responsible for paying for their own travel, meals and lodging. However, AGA National and some chapters arranged for discounted and in some cases subsidized airfare. New Orleans Chapter members also arranged for comfortable lodging at the University of New Orleans at a cost of only $13 a night, and Gary Millet, CGFM, delivered catered meals at the Habitat work site each and every day.

We also had plenty of time to go to a ballgame, check out the casino, and visit some of the best restaurants and music haunts in the city fabled for its food and music. And of course, no trip to New Orleans would be complete without visiting storied Bourbon Street. I think I speak for all of us when I say one of the highlights of the trip was the big “crawfish boil” that Past National President Clyde McShan, CGFM, and his lovely wife Debbie threw at their home for everybody that contributed. 

For me, it was of the best vacations I have ever had. It was so uplifting to be working with my own hands, alongside like-minded people, knowing that we were making a difference with every hour we spent there. I think it was a perfect example of getting back a lot more than you gave. Of course the New Orleans Chapter members added immensely to the whole experience by ensuring we had comfortable accommodations, making sure we were well fed (to say the least—I gained a full five pounds), and had plenty of fun things to do each day after work!

I also was fortunate to spend some time talking with Nat Franklin, the owner of the yellow house we spent most of the week building. Nat is a single dad, and his daughter, Zariah is 5 and his son, Nat, Jr., is 22. He works several jobs. He is an intermittent insurance adjuster working as an independent contractor for various insurance companies as needed, and a part-time musician playing the congo drums in a local band, which usually performs at least a couple times each month. Habitat’s “Musicians’ Village” where we did most of our work, partially funded by the likes of Harry Connick Jr. and Wynston Marsalis, tries to make the Musicians’ Village homes available to musicians like Nat.  

I asked him if he had attended college (thinking I might be able to recruit him into government financial management :-), and he said he had started college some time back, but found that music was his passion and something he hoped to make a living doing, so he left school to pursue his career as a musician. Each summer, he also works as a lifeguard at one of the city's swimming pools. He became homeless after Katrina, when the roof of the apartment building he was living in was damaged from the storm. He and his children moved in with a friend where they continue to live today.

Nat said he has completed about 300 of the minimum 350 hours of labor Habitat homeowners are required to spend building Habitat houses. These hours include those donated by his friends and family. He said the experience of working with Habitat has changed his life and his perspective by interacting with volunteers like us who have come from all over the country to help people like him and his family. He said it has taught him that this is the way the world is supposed to work—just people helping people, and he plans to continue to give back himself.

I hope that with this trip, we not only had an immediate impact on the individuals who will live in the houses we worked on, but we also laid the groundwork for what I hope will be one or more additional AGA trips to help the citizens of New Orleans rebuild their fair city. Perhaps it’s the least we can do for the city that will host our 2009 PDC. I also hope that other AGA members, their family and friends will join us when we return. Nat said Habitat has told him that he should be able to move into his house in the next few weeks, and he asked that we all come by to see him and his completed house when we come back.

This entire effort started after I spoke at a joint meeting of the New Orleans and Baton Rouge Chapters in late March.

While visiting New Orleans, I got a first-hand view of the devastation that remains and how many people remain homeless or living in FEMA trailers 18 months after Katrina. I was shocked and moved by what I saw, especially in East New Orleans and the Ninth Ward. I saw mile after mile of severely damaged (and in many cases, destroyed) homes, apartment complexes, hospitals, schools, shopping centers, restaurants and gas stations. It was hard to believe that so many places remained uninhabitable, out of business and boarded up after almost a year and a half. I couldn’t count the number of FEMA trailers parked in front yards and in makeshift trailer parks all over the city. Jullin Renthrope, CGFM, an AGA Past National President, just moved back into his rebuilt home the weekend before my visit.

In spite of the fact that many of our members in New Orleans are still rebuilding their homes and their lives, 60 of them came out to see me at the March AGA dinner meeting. Were they depressed because of all they had been through and all they had left to do? Not in the least. They were smiling, enthusiastic and grateful that I had come to see them. Yes, I was inspired.

Soon afterward, I was sharing what I saw in New Orleans with Regional Vice President Karl Boettcher, CGFM, at our sectional leadership meeting in Lexington, KY. Karl said, “Jeff, Isn’t there something AGA could do to help?” I said, “Sure there is,” and the project was born.

One of the first AGA members to volunteer was Pam Lincoln, CGFM. When she first heard about the project, she said, “As a New Orleans Chapter member, I am greatly moved by your president's message to the AGA family about your experience at the March chapter meeting...not to mention the financial support to our chapter in December 2005. From my perspective, the AGA leadership and chapters have reached out to the New Orleans Chapter in ways one could not imagine and provided us with the strength to stay focused. Much appreciation for your inspiring message and looking forward to working with you and fellow AGA members the week of June 3rd. I am even more proud today to be associated with AGA than I've been in my many years of chapter membership and leadership.”

In the end, nine people volunteered from around the country including Past National President Charles Harrison, CGFM, and his lovely wife Janice from Nashville; Raul Fierros of San Bernadino, CA; Regional Vice President Karl Boettcher, CGFM, Delores Kendrick-Foster, and Mack Foster, CGFM, all of Washington, D.C.; Randall Mahaffey of Dallas, TX; and George Zepernick and myself of Denver. 

Members of the New Orleans chapter also joined us at the work site including Past National President Clyde McShan, CGFM, Regional Vice President Peggy Javery, CGFM, Pam Lincoln, CGFM, Knica Lloyd, Faye Martin, Gary Millet, CGFM, Lila Thompson and Marcie Tureaud. Other volunteers from the USDA National Finance Center included Deidre Charlot and Lisa Stafford.   

Many New Orleans officers and chapter members made significant contributions to planning and implementing this project including Past National President Jullin Renthrope, CGFM, Regional Vice President Peggy Javery, CGFM, Chapter President Jill Byrd, CGFM, Brenda Amato, CGFM, Marcia Curole, CGFM, Amanda Green, CGFM, Jim Julian, CGFM, Faye Martin, Pam Lincoln, CGFM, Knica Lloyd, Gary Millet, CGFM, Godwin Ndukwe, Lila Thompson, Marcie Tureaud, Fay Wilson and Warren Wilson, CGFM.

The New Orleans Chapter was fortunate to obtain sponsors and wishes to thank them for their outstanding contributions:  New Orleans Chapter members including Clyde McShan for hosting a seafood dinner event, Baton Rouge Chapter, Binder's Bakery, Ralph and Kacoo's, Ralph Brennan's Group, Mother's Restaurant, Harrah's Casino and Jack Dempsey’s Restaurant.

I want to sincerely thank everyone who contributed to this project in any way.  We could not have done it without the support of each and every one of you!

I hope this gives you a sense of how this project came to be, what we did, how we did it, what it meant to people of New Orleans and how much we all got out of the experience. 

Community service is an important part of what AGA is all about. The tentative work dates for next year’s trip are April 28-May 1, 2008. I hope you will pencil in those dates on your calendar and join us for all the fun!