Dedication Day: September 12

Today was a big day for Kent Tough.  It was his 41st birthday.  A year and a half ago, Kent was working toward his dream of owning and renovating a house in the Ruckle area of Grand Forms.  Kent was well underway with his renovations when his world turned into stinking muck.  The Grand Forks Flood of 2018 struck after a combination of spring thaw runoff and heavy rains caused the Kettle River and the Granby River to spill over their banks.  Striking hardest near the confluence of the two rivers, the flood devastated entire neighborhoods, including the one where Kent was starting to see the fruits of his labors.

Flood Video

Kent barely escaped the flood, at one point hanging onto a tree as the water tried to carry him downstream.  It took days for the waters to recede to the point where Kent and his neighbors could even assess the damage.  It was catastrophic, with not only the water damage, but contamination from industry and sewage.  Kent was faced with having to repair a home he had not even finished renovating.  As if that weren't enough, he had an accident with his ATV that required a long recuperation, leaving his house in limbo.  Fortunately one of the local response case workers heard of his plight, and contacted MDS to see if he would be a candidate for assistance.  In May, MDS crews began working on the restoration, and this week, the project was completed, just in time for Kent's birthday.

An MDS home dedication is an amazing event, usually very emotional and always inspirational.  Roman Heuft, the Project Director gave the group a background on the project, and related how Kent insisted in being involved in the restoration to the greatest extent possible, including being the one to do a lot of the dirty work like crawling in the attic running electrical wires.  Several others also spoke of various aspects of the work, including Rachel, the case worker who helped bring MDS into the picture.  Kent's mom also came from Alberta to help celebrate the dedication and his birthday.  Kent was presented with a quilt, a wall hanging, a Bible,  a copy of the MDS history "The Hammer Rings Hope", and finally the key to his restored house.  There were lots of tears as people related anecdotes from the past year, and offered Kent their best wishes for his future in his home, now looking like he had envisioned.


MDS Crew Leader Robert helped fabricate this custom live-edge counter



Crew member Derek clowns around at the front window


Kent did the tile work in the bathroom



Roman making his remarks







Kent (r) with his mom and brother


Kent did some really nice rounded corner work with the drywall.  It was inspired by Greek island architecture


It was an amazing event on an amazing day.  This is what MDS is all about.

Comments

  1. JudySeptember 14, 2019 at 3:01 PM

    This is very inspiring. Thank you for giving all the details!

    ReplyDelete

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