Fast Forward! County's Fifth Habitat House Is a Week Ahead of Schedule

May 22, 2004 Teams of employee volunteers from Jackson EMC and Progress Energy have surpassed their construction schedule, getting the county's fifth Habitat for Humanity house ready for sheet rock installation a week ahead of schedule on what had already been planned as an accelerated build.

"We have had an excellent turnout of volunteers and they have a very strong construction skills," said Stan Beeco, Jackson County Habitat board member and the projects' volunteer construction supervisor. "Everyone has worked well together and gotten things done much faster than we had anticipated."

A team of Progress Energy employees from Raleigh, N.C., joined Jackson EMC employee volunteers at the site Monday morning, May 17, to begin work on a site where grading and foundation for the house had already been completed. By the end of the day, framing was completed and plywood and roof joists had been installed. By quitting time on Thursday, May 20, siding was installed, windows and doors hung, electrical work roughed in, ductwork hooked up and insulation installed. A team of Jackson EMC residential marketing staff members sealed and caulked the house to qualify it as a Right Choice energy-efficient home.

"In addition to our Progress Energy and Jackson EMC volunteers, we need to thank Huber Manufactured Wood for the donation of plywood for the house, and Holder Construction for installing and finishing the sheetrock for us," said Beeco.

Plans had called for the house to be built over a three-week period and ready for dedication on June 12, but indications are it will be sooner than that. The house is being built on Highway 15A, between Jefferson and Commerce, on land donated last year by Mrs. Marjorie Butler. Jackson County Habitat for Humanity is currently raising funds to purchase land and construct additional houses.

Progress Energy, Jackson EMC's strategic power supply partner and supplier to 12 other Georgia EMCs, looked forward to an opportunity to become involved in the communities served by the cooperative. The company, headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., is a Fortune 250 diversified energy company with more than 24,000 megawatts of gene ration capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues. For more information about Progress Energy, visit the company's Web site at www.progress-energy.com.

Jackson EMC, a not-for-profit electric cooperative, serves nearly 178,000 members in portions of 10 Northeast Georgia counties. For more information about Jackson EMC, visit the cooperative's Web site at www.jacksonemc.com.

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