The officers in the above list, together with three at-large board members, constitute the affiliate's Executive Committee, which oversees operations.

Implementing the Board's policies and goals, and carrying out ongoing activities are an office staff, a roster of skilled "Site Supervisors", and a set of volunteer committees.

Office Staff

Barbara Inman, Executive Director
Barton Cobb, Development Director
Patti Hanks, Development Associate
Jamie Cataldo, Communications Director
Robert Reeves, Program Manager
Kevin Klucas, Volunteer Coordinator
Scot Montjoy, Construction Manager
Ken Rush, Project Manager
Ron Spoor, Land Development Manager
Candis DePalma, Improving Our Homes Coordinator
Dana Meek, Acting Store Manager
Bob Arnold, Accountant & Habitat ReStore
Margaret Sullivan, Secretary/Receptionist
Amy Meek, Compliance Officer
and our wonderful volunteers

Construction work is overseen by paid & volunteer field staff 

Volunteer Committees
each chaired by a Board member or volunteer, include the following

OUR HISTORY

Habitat for Humanity International was founded in 1976 by Millard Fuller along with his wife Linda, and is headquartered in Americus, Georgia. Its work in the United States is accomplished by affiliates. Habitat affiliates are independent, nonprofit [501(c)(3)] organizations that are organized by local citizens and operate with local boards and local volunteers. There are more than 1,300 U.S. affiliates spread among all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers provide most of the labor, and faithful individual and corporate donors provide the money and materials to build Habitat houses.

Habitat's mission is to eliminate poverty housing from the Earth. Habitat has taken  its vision of a world with no more shacks to 80 nations. To date, HFHI has completed more than 120,000 simple, decent, affordable houses around the globe.

Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County was born at a meeting of the St Petersburg Ministerial Association  in 1984.  The late Rev Bob Gemmer, a member of Habitat for Humanity, International (HFHI), was the sparkplug responsible for Habitat Pinellas being on the agenda of that meeting.  Reverend James Schwarzlose of the First Congregational Church of St Petersburg was named the first Executive Director (unpaid), and spoke at several churches to start the fire burning.  The articles of incorporation were submitted to HFHI, and the affiliate became officially recognized in 1985.

The first house was built for Jane Dunaway and her family, and dedicated on July 29, 1985.  Jane continues to enjoy her house to this day and she is an avid volunteer, never wavering from her personal ministry of helping others to realize dreams of home ownership.  Incidentally, Jane was required to put in 1,000 hours of sweat equity to get her house!  Tom Webster was the first project director and worked at considerable sacrifice to himself and his family.

The Board of Directors, the governing body, had several decisions to make.  It was decided to build only frame construction and to construct new houses, not rehab.  Stories are told of the Board taking collections at board meetings to pay for construction materials. 

Throughout the years, thousands have participated in this ministry.  We first branched out and built in Clearwater after initial construction in St Petersburg.  The first house sponsored by a church was in the Harbordale section of St Petersburg and was built by the First Presbyterian Church of St Petersburg.  Then came Safety Harbor, Dunedin, Largo, and most recently, Tarpon Springs. The Dunedin houses, all on Lyndhurst, came about from donations from Gladys Douglas Hackworth and the First Presbyterian Church of Dunedin.

The first “all congregation” built house was dedicated in St Petersburg with funds and labor provided by 6 churches and a temple.  An early corporate sponsor was Coldwell Banker, which provided funds and labor for a house, as did Nations Bank.  Today, many churches and corporations assist in this effort.  We have always been an ecumenical ministry needing assistance from all of God’s people, without regard to which faith they espouse.  We look to the future with an eye to the past to learn from those who gave strength upon which to build.

In February of 2003, HfHPC dedicated its 100th house in Pinellas County! The house, at 882 13th Avenue South, in St. Petersburg, was sponsored by Cox Target Media, producer of the familiar Valpak discount mailings.

OUR OUTREACH

In keeping with its Covenant with Habitat for Humanity International, HfHPC tithes its income to that organization to support the building of decent, affordable housing throughout the World. Some of HfHPC's volunteers, at their own expense, occasionally travel to distant lands to spend their working vacations helping the locals to build.

HfHPC has established a "sister affiliate" relationship with the HFH affiliate in the country of Belize, in Central America. Under the leadership of Advisory Board Member Norm Bungard, several of our volunteers have spent time there over the past several years helping the Belize volunteers build houses and develop their organization.

LEARN MORE

• At least once, visit the web site of Habitat for Humanity International, where you can learn about Habitat's history, mission, and volunteer opportunities around the world. And regularly revisit our site to see how we are fulfilling Habitat's principles and mission in Pinellas County. Bookmark us!
• If you or someone you know is in need of decent, affordable housing, refer them to this website or our office for more information about the process of applying for Habitat home ownership.
• Make a financial contribution to our mission of building decent, affordable housing for those in need in Pinellas County.
• Volunteer some of your time, effort, and skill to our work: as a construction worker, office assistant, or committee member, fund-raiser, contractor, or Board member. If you have the means, volunteer your company or organization as a working team or as a house sponsor!
   

Your Information Remains Confidential
Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County, Inc.  employs its best efforts to protect and honor the privacy of our online visitors and donors.  We will never share your personal information with third parties.  We will not sell, trade, or rent your personal information with anyone who may want to offer you their own product or services.  To that end, we maintain  control of our own mailing lists. Our mailings are never outsourced.  Additionally, we recognize that many donors choose to remain anonymous and always respect those wishes.