Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
If you heard hammering downtown Warsaw Friday morning, what you were hearing was nearly 60 Lake City Bank employees helping to build a Habitat for Humanity of Kosciusko County home for a family of six in Mentone.
The “Panel Build” is the second one to be completed by the local Habitat for Humanity. The first one took place in summer 2024 with Wildman Business Group.
Habitat Director Ben Logan said, “This is probably our largest opportunity to engage the businesses that support us.”
He said other Habitats do Panel Builds as well and, “It’s where our Habitat team is pre-cutting, measuring and marking the lumber, and we bring it to that business’s parking lot. So we are in downtown Warsaw, right behind the Lake City Bank headquarters today, and as you can see, we lead their employees in assembling the walls that are going to go into the next Habitat home.”
In the end, the frame of the house was standing upright in the parking lot for the Lake City Bank volunteers and the homeowner to see. After the volunteers signed the walls, the frame was then disassembled into sections and shipped to site by Metzger Trucking, who donated their services.
“It’s usually a four-hour (event). We start at 8 and go until noon, just about, and, depending on the company, but both times it’s been two shifts of volunteers, so there will be 25 volunteers for two hours in the morning and then they switch and do another 25,” Logan said.
“At Lake City Bank, we believe in building strong communities, and supporting families and affordable housing is a critical component of that mission,” said David M. Findlay, chairman and chief executive officer of Lake City Bank, in a statement. “Partnering with Habitat for Humanity of Kosciusko County for this Panel Build was a unique opportunity for our team to come together right here on our downtown Warsaw campus and make a meaningful impact. We always enjoy rolling up our sleeves to work on Habitat for Humanity projects.”
Logan said Habitat for Humanity has had a long-standing relationship with Lake City Bank.
“Obviously, they’re the bank with the biggest footprint locally, and they’re really passionate about many causes, but affordable housing being one of them, so they have been great supporters and have been increasing their support over the years, and we’re just really grateful for that relationship,” he said.
Stacy Price, Lake City Bank vice president financial analyst, said they had 56 volunteers building Friday and another 12 helping her serve lunch.
“They are all working. They just came out for two hours to help build, and then they’ll go back to work,” she said.
Price stated Lake City Bank has been a sponsor of Habitat for the last four years. In the last three years, they participated in the Women Build specifically. Last year, the bank’s Property Management Team went out and helped set the house. For the Panel Build, she got someone from every department in downtown Warsaw.
“This was the biggest sponsorship to do a whole Panel Build, and all the volunteers and letting everyone come out and serving lunch. So it’s a big deal,” she said.
When she sent out the original email to bank employees explaining the Panel Build and what they were going to do, and asked for volunteers saying she would take the first 50, she got the first 50 to sign up in just six hours.
“I was really pleased with the outcome because we have about 300 employees in the downtown area, and so I invited all of them. I think I could have had more, but we only have so many spaces out here,” Price said.
Dennis Judy, Habitat construction manager, said the Panel Build is a big help for the home building process.
“Number one, it’s a public display of what’s going on. It gets, obviously, a lot of people involved. We’ll have almost 60 people involved in this today by the time we get done. And it’s exciting. The people work quick. What we’re looking at today, this house is 1,500 square feet and we’re going to have all the walls together and standing up in less than three to three-and-a-half hours total. It’s good for the public to see this, it gets exciting. I like the encouragement that it gives our partner families and seeing that this many people are willing to come out and work in the sprinkling rain today to help build a house for their family,” he said.
In the Panel Build, Judy said they’re doing what they’d normally do, but just in a faster pace.
What the Panel Build completed in less than four hours Friday normally could take up to week to complete, depending on how many volunteers show up on site at any given time.
After the frame was assembled and standing up in the Lake City Bank parking lot Friday, Judy brought out the homeowner, Tiffany Bach. She will live in the home in Mentone with her four kids and father, who is in a wheelchair. Groundbreaking for the home took place in May.
“You guys have done incredible work today, thank you so much,” Judy told the Lake City Bank employees. “If you would, grab a marker. As you take a tour of the house you just built, leave her a message - a prayer, a scripture, whatever you want to do. If you do that, it’ll be much appreciated.”
To learn how to get your business building with Habitat, visit kosciuskohabitat.org, call their office at 574-269-4104 or follow them on Facebook (@kosciuskohabitat).
“Just reach out. It does require, obviously, a charitable sponsorship to Habitat, so we can talk to (you) about what that looks like, but you can not find an easier way to engage your employees - again, on your own property,” Logan said.
Habitat plans to build three homes in 2025, which Logan said will be a new record for them.
