Meet Joselyn Hamner, the Latest Homeowner of the 18 for 18 Project
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nick and Terry Saban, officials of Habitat for Humanity, and members of the local press all were gathered recently for a ceremonious ribbon cutting at the newest house on Pine Street in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
And the newest resident of the house on Pine Street sat quietly in the shadows as she held her two children, a five-year-old son and one-year-old daughter, one at a time and close by and near as cameras flashed and microphones heated under the West Alabama sun.
It was a celebratory day for Joselyn Hamner, but still, the new homeowner and mother to two modestly deferred to the efforts of the collective, for that’s what the project is by definition. When Alabama wins a national championship in football, that is.
It began with a community outreach initiative from Nick's Kids, founded by the Sabans, amid the aftermath of the April 27, 2011 tornado in Tuscaloosa when the Alabama coach and his wife pledged to build 13 homes upon the Crimson Tide capturing its 13th national crown.
And in January of 2021 that number reached 18.
And then Hamner got the call, the call saying she'd been selected as the new homeowner of the house on Pine Street.
"I didn’t know I was the one who was actually going to be sponsored. I didn’t know Nick was going to sponsor my house," Hamner said. "I wasn’t thinking it was me, but I knew that every championship they won they help with building a new home. And when I found out it was me, I cried. I cried."
This is one of two 'come to a head' moments, or the follow to 'plan of action,' of the collaborative project between future homeowner, Habitat for Humanity, Nick's Kids.
And the second entailed the action of said plan, the follow to the person and plot of land being sponsored and selected and soon being equal parts in the house being built; the second entailed the introduction and interaction of what grew into glowing smiles from everyone under the porch and under the September sun at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the house on Pine Street.
"Just hours after Alabama won the national championship game, Miss Terry was emailing our director saying, 'Alright, let’s do it,'" Habitat for Humanity staffer Barry Stow said. "She was already thinking about it at that point, and then it was just a matter of a few weeks and we were starting the foundation and it was off to the races."
Then the sweat, the hours, the drills, the nails, the staffers, the volunteers all got started along with Hamner, who put forth the obligatory "sweat equity" required of all sponsorships. Come on, though, that's the satisfaction of getting that 'new house smell' the first time. The fresh and lacquered wood, the sleek, stainless furniture (for now anyways, as all attest), you helped make it.
"In the sun, in the rain, I was out here helping build on the house. I can walk around and say, ‘Yeah, I did that. I put the knobs on these doors,'" Hamner said.
And Stow got the same sort of satisfaction, but from a different vantage point, one that appreciated the time and effort the new homeowner dedicated to ensure everything fell right in its place.
“It’s a very fulfilling job, and you’re helping somebody." he said. "She’s been here working. She’s been here working hard and she definitely deserves it.”
But Hamner's grin of gratitude was shared by everyone involved who was in attendance at the ceremony, everyone with Habitat for Humanity, everyone with Nick's Kids, the donors, the Sabans, all of the people involved in the latest project, in-part Joselyn Hamner's project on Pine Street.
Things had to change, after all, she knew, and dirt-in-your-fingernails work is often worth what's coming your way in life.
"I was looking at my kids thinking, ‘I got to get a better living environment for my kids,'" she said. "I was staying with my mother, but it was a small home, so it wasn’t enough space for me and my kids and I was overcrowding my mother."
Back to the whole equal parts thing, though, it was project supervisor Andrew Blake who's able to recall what's symbolic of the shared experiences of together building something worthwhile.
"You don’t need words for it. She actually drives past probably every day to look at it, and every time she does it’s in another stage, so I see that unfolding," Blake said. "It’s really something worth noticing and witnessing. And then the kids actually seeing the walls going up and seeing their rooms now, they can relate to what's put into it."
He's been there for it before, and that's what keeps him coming back now that Nick's Kids' "18 for 18" project aims to keep building, not that they dictate the terms of home 19.
For the newest house on Pine Street, meanwhile, in what's assumed to be customary décor, Hamner's young son has a room to himself now, but the aesthetics, whether it be the Crimson Tide bedspread or the Alabama-related photos hung on the wall, point to one, a few partial decorators and two, a mom who belongs in and to the community, particularly as an employee of the University's Environmental Sciences department.
So, let's just say the young family smiling in the September sun as microphones and cameras traded spots in their peripheries on their front porch won't be as excited if Alabama football claims hold to its 19th national title.
These close moments just aren't as common as we usually think, and nothing seems to be as sweet as what's unfolded.
"My son, he is running around, he is so excited, my little girl is so excited, I’m excited, because, just to have your own space, to be able to say ‘This is mine’ is really a blessing."
