Celebrating 1000 Deconstructions

Celebrating 1000 Deconstructions

I want to share three remarkable numbers with you: 1000, 30,000, and 5,000,000. 

1000: the number of Deconstruction Projects the Decon Team officially completed. CBS58 was on hand Wednesday to capture the milestone project. Watch the coverage here.

30,000+: the number of hours our dedicated Deconstruction volunteers have given to the program. 

5,000,000+: the staggering amount of dollars in priced product the Deconstruction Team has salvaged from local homes and businesses, then brought to Milwaukee Habitat’s ReStores. 

These three numbers tell one big story: what the Deconstruction Team has accomplished since the first project in late 2012. This is an astonishing achievement and is all the more impressive when considering that the Deconstruction Team was founded by a volunteer team led by Ken & Cindy Gear. These ambitious individuals, starting largely on their own, were equipped with a vision of a better world and the capacities to enact that vision. It is worth taking time to reflect on the scale of their accomplishment.  

We could consider the number of noteworthy projects–many of which have received media attention (here’s some coverage we’ve received: Komatsu, The Bradley Center, the Lake Drive Mansion, a residential home in Whitefish Bay). For good measure, the Decon Team gets press when they aren’t doing major projects too–see here and here and here. Milwaukee Habitat’s Deconstruction Team was also recognized by Habitat for Humanity International in recognition of ReStores’ impact across the world.

We should also consider the impact: hundreds of thousands of pounds of product saved from an early fate in a landfill. The ReStore customers who lovingly furnish their homes and businesses with repurposed items. And of course the families who have become first-time Homeowners through the dollars raised by the Decon team.

But real consideration today is due to the individuals who have comprised the Deconstruction Team past and present. 

The loudest of kudos justly belongs to the volunteers: Ken and Cindy Gear, and to Fred Bentz, Wally Bartelt, Ken & Marti Berg, Andy Blackburn, Pete Boesen, Ken Brodzik, Bob & Maryellen Cahill, Bobb & Jane Cherney, Patti Conley, Scot Drath, Shane Driscoll, Paul Drobot, Paul Favret, Scott Fleming, Tom Gavinski, Leo George, Dave Gladczak, Jeanne Godfrey, Randy Hegg, Margie Hood, John Ingold, Ron Johnson, Don Kerber, Skip Kerwin, Jack Kopac, Mark Kopetsky, CJ Kraft, Tom Krause, Dave Loderhose, Steve Mamerow, Greg Mann, Darlene Maternowski, Anne Mattson, Theo Mesu, Paggy Morsch, Mike Nelson, Paul Oman, Collin Opay, Joe Pieroni, Alan Piller, Judith Price, Tam Reddie, Mike Rodrigues, Glen Schmidt, Max Schmniege, Konrad Schuettpelz, Ed Stein, Julie & Ken Stier, Allen Stubler, James Szyjakowski, Bill Willkomm, David Wolff, Bob Zastrow, and Gerald Ziegler. 

We also would like to recognize the Milwaukee Habitat staff members who have worked to make the Deconstruction Team a success: Jake Weiler, Mark Ruminski, Cole Starr, Jodee Benavides, Kelli Shaw, Courtney Maye, Richard Brost, Katie Krebsbach, Carey Burdine, our ReStore Drivers and all of the support staff who have contributed to Deconstruction. 

These achievements belong to all of these individuals, and to everyone not mentioned here who played their own role in the success of the Deconstruction Team. As Milwaukee Habitat looks back on 40 years of impact in this community, we’re proud to recognize our Deconstruction Team for their efforts to advance our mission.

Here’s to the next 1000 Deconstructions–and to countless more stories of success and impact.