By Kathy Lefler/Communications and Marketing Manager
Meet Don, who may be our longest-serving and oldest volunteer. More important, though is that Don’s devotion to Wichita Habitat inspires everyone he meets!
Much of what Don does happens behind the scenes so I was happy to run into him one afternoon at our construction site. Don has been a construction volunteer, has served on committees, and also creates items for the silent auction at our signature event. He’s been serving with Wichita Habitat almost since the day we began in 1986.
The day I saw Don he was dropping off more rosettes for the homes under construction in the Rock the Block neighborhood. The carved rosettes serve as corner pieces on the doors inside our homes. They are used instead of making the more complicated mitered cuts. “A lot of volunteers are not used to making miter cuts,” Don said of why he came up with the idea of making rosettes.
“Don makes our lives easy with these,” said Dana Korkki, our general contractor. They also add an attractive, distinctive feature to our affordable homes.
An average Wichita Habitat three-bedroom home has 40 rosettes. So, if Don has been doing this for about 30 years, and some homes have more than three bedrooms and we’ve built more than 200 homes – we’re talking thousands of rosettes!
Don holds a special place in the hearts of Habitat’s staff. He prepared a delicious chicken noodle lunch for us to enjoy during a staff retreat a few years ago. We always look forward to seeing him, being amazed by his latest creation, and most of all appreciating him!
As Dana says, “Don inspires us on a regular basis.”
Here’s what a rosette look likes in one of our homes. 
Don made this adorable rocking horse for the silent auction at our 2018 signature event. 
Check out the cute tables he made for us in 2019.