Pulte Builds For A Cause: Orlando Habitat for Humanity Builder’s Blitz

Ian Hewitt (left) and Max Perlman (right) with happy new Habitat for Humanity homeowner Rodreca Mack

From the moment the starting horn sounded Monday morning, until they finished on Thursday, Pulte's North Florida team in Orlando was a blur of activity, joining forces with three other builders earlier this month for the friendly competition called Builder's Blitz, sponsored by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Orlando and Osceola County. With the goal of building four new homes in five days, the four teams literally hit the ground running, and all crossed the finish line in plenty of time to present keys to four first-time homeowners at a Saturday dedication ceremony.

To give you a sense of their dedication to the cause, Pulte's entire house was framed, rough plumbing/HVAC/electrical installed and insulation started -- all in one morning! Not to brag, but the Pulte team wrapped up their build on Thursday, one day early. As always, Pulte could not have pulled it off without the help of our trade partners, many of whom donated labor and materials.

The Pulte home - just one of what will be a community of 34 Habitat houses -- is now proudly owned by Rodreca Mack, a single mother of four, whose family was sharing a small, substandard apartment in an unsafe neighborhood before learning about the Habitat program. She was motivated to apply for a Habitat home by her children, who desperately wanted a home of their own. As with all Habitat homeowners, Rodreca was required to be an active participant in the home building process, which included completing courses on personal finance, mortgages and home maintenance, as well as putting in hours of 'sweat equity' by working on Habitat building projects.

Under the leadership of Jon Pierce, Vice President of Construction Operations, the Pulte team that spearheaded the project and managed the build on-site included Randy Cohen, Bill Smart, Matt Thomas and Tom Stonebraker. Representing Pulte at the Saturday dedication ceremony were Max Perlman and Ian Hewitt.