Former Memphis Habitat Board President
Named Habitat Tennessee’s Leadership Volunteer of the Year
Bill Stemmler, vice president and branch manager
at Iberia Bank, was recently named
Leadership Volunteer of the Year at Habitat for
Humanity of Tennessee’s 2014 State Impact Awards.
(From l to r): Dwayne Spencer, executive director of
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis; Colleen Dudley, executive director of
Habitat for Humanity of Tennessee; and Bill Stemmler, vice president and branch manager, Iberia Bank
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis
nominated Stemmler, a former board president, in recognition of his six years
of board service. He joined Memphis Habitat’s board in 2008 and became president
in 2010, serving an unprecedented three years in that role. During his time as
president, Memphis Habitat completed its first-ever planned development Trinity Park;
relocated its headquarters and opened its successful ReStore; accessed its first federal
funding through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program; and expanded its
mission with Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, which conducts critical
home repairs in the Uptown neighborhood.
“Bill has provided guidance and
support through some of the most exciting years in our affiliate’s history, and
I can’t overstate his impact on the organization. In his time on the board,
Bill has seen a true sea change in the way we do business, and through it all,
he has been a constant – a constant supporter, a constant advocate and, most
importantly, a constant leader,” said Dwayne Spencer, executive director of
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis. “I can think of no better way to honor
his service than for Habitat Tennessee to name him Leadership Volunteer of the
Year.”
The Habitat Tennessee State Impact
Awards recognize individuals and groups that have significantly impacted the
lives of residents and communities and made tremendous strides in supporting
Habitat for Humanity’s quest to end poverty housing. Nominations for the State
Impact Awards were reviewed by a five-person selection committee made up of
at-large Habitat Tennessee board members. Selection committee members included
Ted R. Fellman, senior vice president for Raymond James; Trish Holiday, M.A.,
SPHR, assistant commissioner and chief learning officer for the Tennessee Department
of Human Resources; Sen. Jim Tracy; Mayor Jo Matherne of Brownsville; and Steve
Ruckart, founder of RAI Advisors.
Awards were issued in 12 categories
during Habitat Tennessee’s annual State Affiliate Conference in Murfreesboro July 23. Habitat
for Humanity of Greater Memphis also took home the 2014 Favorite ReStore Award.
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis
is dedicated to eliminating poverty housing in the Memphis area by creating sustainable, affordable
homeownership opportunities for families in need and providing critical home
repairs to low-income homeowners. Since its founding in 1983, Memphis
Habitat has built more than 430 homes in the Memphis area, completed 70-plus
critical repair projects in Uptown and funded the construction of 64 homes
abroad. Habitat houses are built with volunteer labor and sold to partner families, at no profit and with no interest
charged. Partner families make a down payment, attend a multi-week homebuyer
education course and invest hundreds of hours of “sweat equity” into the
construction of their homes and other Habitat homes.