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Henry Middlebrook, one of the newest members of the Board of
Rapidan Habitat for Humanity (RHFH), has been named “Volunteer
of the Quarter”.
Recently, another Board member, Melissa Murphy (MM) sat
down with Mr. Middlebrook (HM) to discuss his involvement
with RHFH.
MM : Henry, did you have any idea how much work would
be involved when you learned that you had been selected as a Habitat
home recipient?
 HM :
I had heard about the sweat equity piece of Habitat but at
first I didn’t know how it worked. John Henry then called me and
explained that every recipient family was required to put in 300
hours of sweat equity. I explained to John that I was skilled in
putting in roads and that I’d be happy to put the road in
to Verdiersville Manor. I also told him that I could enlist friends
to help me and that we could clear two lots. John said that it
was a great idea—not only would I be helping myself in doing
my sweat equity in this way, I’d also be lending a helping
hand to other future residents of Verdiersville Manor.
MM : I understand that you had quite a crew of friends
and family who came to help work on your house. Rapidan Habitat
frequently has trouble gathering up enough volunteers to work on
projects but you were able to get tons of help. How did you go
about getting people to agree to pitch in?
HM : Well, a lot of my wife’s family is in the
construction business so they were an obvious choice. No one
has a lot of free time on their hands, but when we explained
that we were asking them to help build a home for our family,
they were eager to help. They had seen us renting for so many
years, and they were excited that we had found an opportunity
to get a home of our own. They came in droves and worked really
hard. On the biggest push of the build, we went from block walls
on Saturday to a complete roof over our heads by Sunday.
MM : What’s been the most surprising part about
your experience with Habitat?
HM : All of it has been a surprise of the nicest kind.
I guess I was most surprised when we first found out that we
had been chosen to receive a Habitat house. I found out when
John Henry called me on the phone and congratulated me. From
there, it only took a few months until we were actually building
the house so you could say that another surprising part was that
it only took a few months until we were actually building the
house so you could say that another surprising part was that
it all happened so quickly.
MM: Now that you are on the RHFH board, what would you
like to accomplish as a Board member?
HM : Above all, I want to work to help other families
the way RHFH has helped my family.
MM : What advice would you give to Habitat home recipients
who are just starting the process of building their homes?
HM : Do as much of the work yourself as you can…it
makes it all the more worthwhile in the end and it makes you
even more aware that it is completely, 100% your house if you
have a large hand in getting it constructed. You are also giving
a thank-you back to the Board and showing you that you are deserving
of a house if you can enlist help and help the Board and the
whole of RHFH as they are helping you.
MM : How is your life different now that you have a Habitat
home?
HM : I look forward to coming home and relaxing every
evening. It is such a different feeling from renting. My relatives
and I spend a lot of time thinking about how we can make this
house even better. I like thinking about the landscaping I am
planning to do in the Spring. You just don’t feel the same
pull to improve a house that is not your own.
MM : What have you learned through the experience of building
your own home?
HM : It was a lot more work than I anticipated, even
though I have worked on a lot of homes before. When it’s
your own place you are aware of every step it takes to get a
home completed.
MM : How has this experience affected your friends and
family who helped with the building of your home?
HM : I think they are proud and pleased that they could
help. A few of my relatives are looking forward to me returning
the favor and helping them with work on their house. I have a
cousin who did the heating and a/c work on my house and I am
going to do the drywall on his house. It’s great to have the chance to give back to
friends and family who helped make our house a reality. This has
been an experience that none of my friends and family will forget—I
think it may make us closer for the rest of our lives.
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