By: Jessica Montez
Last month Jeff Wick, the Record’s editor, expressed his point of view for the upcoming first
annual Fayette County Habitat for Humanity Skydiving Fundraiser that will take place on April
17 at the Fayette County Fairgrounds so we decided to get some more point of views from the
other jumpers.
The other jumpers include:
Mel Burgess
Julie Couch
Kenny Couch
Joe Johnson
Georgina Hudspeth
Melanie Ramirez
Ben Sustr
Craig Moreau
Marissa Meier
Devan Taylor
Dennis Tousek
Michael Schlabach
Mel Burgess, Fayette County Habitat for Humanity’s Vice President, said, “Habitat For Humanity
is a great service organization. I truly believe in our mission of ‘Not a handout but a hand up’.
We help those who may not be able to get a conventional home loan but dream of
homeownership. This event is a fundraiser for our next project, which is going to be huge. All of
us skydiving is raising a minimum of $750 each to further our mission, so let's make some more families’ dreams come true.” Burgess added, “I decided to jump because I believe the work we do matters and If I can raise some funds to further that goal, I'm all for it. And I've always thought skydiving was cool and this is the first time I'm planning to jump out of a perfectly good airplane!”
Craig Moreau, Fayette County’s Emergency Management Coordinator, said, “This fundraising
event brings attention to a great cause and this is not just another standard, mundane
fundraiser. I’m hoping to greatly exceed the donation amount. I’m close to $1,000 already and I
have received a couple of pledges.” Moreau said he has never done anything like this but is
always up for an adventure especially if it will help the community. If our Emergency
Management Coordinator will jump out of a plane for a good cause why wouldn’t you!
Joe Johnson, who works at Farmer’s Lumber, said, “I very excited to jump, and nervous
because I have a healthy fear of heights. However, I’ve always wanted to skydive, and now I
have the opportunity to dive and raise funds for a great cause, and my charity of choice.”
Johnson added, “Sponsoring me would be a great way of saying ‘I support a better community’.
Some people don’t have the time to personally commit to bettering our community and so they
donate money, others don’t have the money and commit their time. Donating to me fulfills both,
your money and my time.”
Marissa Meier, Fayette County Habitat for Humanity’s Board Secretary, said, “I thought this fundraising event was seriously out there and you’d have to be crazy to do it...and then I said I would do it!. I am excited and equally scared, the only thing I did similar to this was bungee jumped when I was 18, too young and dumb to be scared then. Now it forces you to take a personal inventory and gives you the opportunity to reflect on the meaningful things in your life.”
Kenny Couch, Fayette County Habitat for Humanity’s Executive Director and the creator of this
exciting event, said, “I’m absolutely terrified but didn’t feel it was right to ask others to participate
if I wasn’t willing to do so myself. I think I could be officially described as a ‘begrudging
participant’. I plan to be one of the first jumpers, so if you wake up to a high-pitched scream on
April 17 I apologize ahead of time!”
Couch would also like the community to know that while this is a fun event, he does hope it
gives participants a chance to look upon our community from a different perspective. “Habitat is
a parachute for many struggling families across the country. Our organization is able to use
decent, affordable housing as a catalyst for improvement in the lives of the families we serve
and the communities they live in. Our partner families find better health, more financial freedom,
independence, stability, and security that far too many families in our community simply cannot
achieve without a helping hand. The need for safe, decent housing is immense, and the lasting
impact it can have on the families we serve is undeniable.” Couch said.
Twenty jumpers are the goal and as of now five spots are still available and the final two spots
will be raffled off. One will be raffled off at Hank’s Express and a second spot will be raffled at
The UPS Store. Each chance is $10 and each spot will have 100 tickets. Donations can be made to anyone skydiving or directly to Fayette County Habitat For Humanity. Also, the person who raises the most money will be given a $100 gift card to Hank’s Express and all participants will be given a skydiving shirt.
Everything you will ever want is on the other side of fear so now is your chance to stand, or in
this case jump, at the chance to be on the other side of fear so contact Habitat by emailing them
at info@fayettecountyhabitat.org and join or sponsor your other fellow Fayette County residents
and go ahead and JUMP!