By PAT NEWMAN
Staff Writer

More than 100 members of Peachtree City United Methodist Church turned out Saturday to build their second Habitat for Humanity house in Riverdale's Trinity Park. According to Joe Tuggle, who is known as the project's “Blitz Boss,” volunteers will complete the 1400 square foot house in just one week. “We were the first group to build a house in a one-week blitz last year for the Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity, and now we're the second ones to ever do it,” Tuggle said.

The 2,000 member Methodist congregation paid $45,000 to Habitat for the structure's materials and will provide the labor as well. “The money comes out of our annual budget,” Tuggle noted.

Tuggle said their partners in the construction project are members of the family approved by Habitat for Humanity to purchase the house. “They invest sweat equity and pay a mortgage to Habitat,” he explained. The new Habitat homeowners are also required to help build additional houses in their neighborhood. “The family we partnered last year will be helping us this weekend,” Tuggle noted. “It was fun for us to provide that family a house.”

“I got so much as a person working on this project,” Tuggle said. He recalled that one of the best things was working side by side with other church members; some of whom he knew, and others he got to know through the building blitz.

No special skills are necessary to be a Habitat volunteer. Workers can wield a hammer, make sure the water cooler is full, or snap pictures of the work in progress. “We have a lot of senior adults who volunteer and we have to try and slow them down,” Tuggle joked.

Keeping the volunteer crews fed and hydrated falls to a special group of volunteers who coordinated with Peachtree City and Fayetteville businesses to provide lunches and snacks throughout the week. Contributing food to the effort is Pizza Hut, Subway, Philly Cheese Steak, Chik-Fil-A, Du-Roc Cafe and BBQ, Schlotzky's Deli and Arby's.