History of West Texas Hero Homes
In 2010, during the opening session of the Texas Association of Builder’s Sunbelt Builders Show, members of the West Texas Home Builders Association were so moved by the presentation given by Operation Finally Home that they decided at that moment that they would build a home in Lubbock for a wounded veteran. The WTHBA was hesitant at first to approach their members about donations due to the fact that they were currently soliciting in-kind donations for the Extreme Makeover home that they were helping to build in Wellman, TX. The WTHBA started making phone calls to their members and in a matter of about a month they had most of the materials donated and the McDougal Company had donated a lot in the North Pointe Development. The home was showcased as part of the 2011 Parade of Homes and had such an outpouring of support from the Lubbock community that the WTHBA started their own 501c3 called West Texas Hero Homes, Inc. The mission of this new charity is to promote community welfare by providing homes for military families with special needs and for first responder families with special needs in the Lubbock community. West Texas Hero Homes has no paid staff, so every dollar donated goes into the homes.
The Parade of Homes was such a success in 2011 that West Texas Hero Homes was able to provide Marine Corporal Anthony Villarreal and his wife Jessica a mortgage-free home and begin working on providing another wounded veteran Army Specialist Louis Flores, his wife Olga and their son Gabriel a home of their own. West Texas Hero Homes, in conjunction with the West Texas Home Builders Association, constructed a second home as part of the 2012 WTHBA Parade of Homes on a lot donated by George & Linda McMahan in the Bacon Crest Development and presented it to Louis and his family mortgage free and completely furnished.
The total fair market value of these two homes exceeded $500,000. The majority of the costs associated with each project was from in-kind and cash donations. The construction of the home was led by volunteer builder members of the West Texas Home Builders Association.
West Texas Hero Homes announced their third project in December 2012. The recipient of this mortgage-free home was Army Sergeant Shawn Walton, wife Kristin and their three daughters. The lot for this project was donated by McGuire Builders and Lubbock Land Company in the Cooper Ridge subdivision. This home was on display during the WTHBA Fall Tour of Homes in September 2013.
Our fourth home recipient was announced in May of 2014 during a General Membership Meeting of the West Texas Home Builders Association. Kelsey Taylor is the Widow of Sergeant First Class Houston Taylor, who was killed in action in October 2011. Kelsey and her two children were presented a mortgage-free home in October 2014 on a lot donated by Ford Development in the Kelsey Park subdivision. Their new home was on display during the 2014 WTHBA Fall Tour of Homes.
Our fifth home recipient was announced in February 2015. Marine Corp Sergeant Christopher Montez was injured in a training accident in 2004 which left him a quadriplegic. His home was built on a lot donated by Robert Wood & Trey Strong in the FoxRidge subdivision. This home was given to Christopher mortgage free and was on display during the 2015 WTHBA Parade of Homes. Unfortunately, Christopher passed away in March of 2017. After his passing, his estate generously sold the home back to West Texas Hero Homes for a small amount in order for the home to be re-gifted to another deserving veteran or first responder in our area.
