In Honor of Courtland Smith…
A huge thank you to those who made it to Chapel Hill for a special weekend to celebrate the DKE-Habitat partnership and group construction project! 10 years ago this group of DKE Brothers raised over $125,000, and built a house and created a playground within the Orange County Habitat site in Chapel Hill to honor and forever remember our friend and Brother – Courtland Smith. While coronavirus concerns caused a few last-minute schedule changes, we had a great two days sharing memories of Habitat projects over the years and reuniting with the group that kicked off these efforts a decade ago.
One very cool moment to share for those who couldn’t join. On Saturday morning, we visited the Courtland Smith Playground and walked through the now fully developed Phoenix Place neighborhood to find the house DKE built for the Wei family in 2010. As we walked away, we ran into the youngest member, Eh Wei, who has grown from a 6-year old in a cast devouring cake at the house Dedication, into a mature and impressive high school wrestler.
| Eh Wei – Then and Now |
Jim did ask if he could teach him some moves, but was politely told no… After texting Eh a few pictures, we received this in response: “It was really nice meeting all of you and wish you all the best. All y’alls help has been an amazing contribution that’s really helped our family. Thank you for all your hard work!” The power of this partnership really hit home for me during our “chance” encounter with Eh. Although, with as many bright moments as we were fortunate to have in Chapel Hill during an otherwise cloudy week for the world, I have to believe there was nothing chance about it.
We missed everyone who couldn’t join this year, but we’d love to make this happen again in 2021 during more normal, and healthier, times!
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