by Sherry Conway Appel

On a beautiful fall day in Lake Charles, La., Erica Williams and her sons opened the door to their new house ? a house framed out one year ago by municipal officials who had volunteered their time during the Congress of Cities in Charlotte; a house completed during the past 10 months by other volunteers through NLC?s partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

In September 2005, Hurricane Rita swept through the Gulf Coast community of Lake Charles, wiping out 8,000 homes and displacing thousands of families. In the aftermath of this storm and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of city officials reached out to the Gulf Coast.

During the Charlotte meeting, hundreds more came out in cold and dreary weather to an open warehouse and went to work, completing the framing of three houses before they hung up their hammers and hard hats. 

Marc Mouton, councilman from Lafayette, La, was an active participant on the Charlotte build.

?Given all the classes, seminars and programs on the NLC conference agenda, I really wondered how many people would show up,? Mouton said. ?But it was terrific ? people just wanted to do something. During those three days, I often heard the refrain, ?This could have been my town?? We had officials from Oregon, from California, Georgia, Michigan, all over, who came together in the spirit of community to help.?

Last month, Mouton represented NLC at the Williams? dedication and presented the family with a garden rock inscribed to them.

?I was honored to represent so many of my colleagues. The Habitat partnership with NLC shows a facet of the organization we don?t often realize ? that NLC represents the strong sense of community and dedication we officials share. This house really does symbolize everything good about community and public service,? Mouton added.

Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach also attended the dedication.

?The hurricane was really devastating to us, especially to those who could least afford to deal with losing everything. That?s why this dedication was so special to me. I know how many different volunteers had a hand in helping us build it and how much they cared about our community,? Roach said.

The Williams family pitched in as well, part of the Habitat philosophy.  Although the boys were too young to physically work on the house, their contributions were to get As on their report cards. On dedication day, Erica?s sons Rodney and Enrico proudly held the keys to their new home.

?They were so excited about the house,? Mouton said, ?particularly since they said they now get their own rooms!?

NLC will conduct another Habitat build on Friday, Dec. 8, during the Congress of Cities in Reno. Information about the build and the sign-up sheet will be available beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at the Habitat for Humanity Registration Counter in the lobby of the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.