Palmer and Scout at Their Home Dedication (more photos below)
Dedication Ceremony Welcomes a Family Home to Volusia Woods
On September 16, the community came out to support our newest Habitat homeowners, Palmer and Scout. A rainy evening drove the crowd inside but couldn’t dampen spirits. Family friend Bill Deluca offered a beautiful blessing for this new home. Habitat St. Johns’s Chief Executive Officer Malinda Everson welcomed everyone and discussed what finally have a stable home of their own means to this couple.
St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners shared his support of Habitat’s role in providing affordable housing for our workforce–Palmer is a substitute teacher and Scout is a carpenter. Next Joshua Gibson, Community Relations Manager for Publix Super Markets, delivered his remarks and a Publix gift card to help Scout and Palmer stock their pantry. The ceremony concluded with Scout offering his thanks to Habitat St. Johns and the community, a ribbon cutting, and a reception featuring refreshments supplied by Publix.
In attendance were most of the Habitat St. Johns staff, Habitat St. Johns Board of Directors member Ed Dwyer, long-time devoted volunteer Mike Abramczyk, St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline, County Commissioner-elect Martin Pyszczymuka, and several homeowners from the Volusia Woods neighborhood.
“Home dedications and closings are my favorite part of this work,” states Habitat St. Johns Chief Executive Officer Malinda Everson, “because they are the moments when everything comes together. We are not just handing over the keys to a house. We are celebrating a family’s beginning of a new chapter filled with stability, opportunity, and a place they can truly call their own.”
Thank you to Publix Super Market Charities for sponsoring this home! This is the third home Publix Charities has sponsored in Volusia Woods, and Publix Charities has been a Habitat St. Johns donor for over 25 years!
Palmer and Scout’s story
Palmer and Scout both grew up in families that moved around a lot, so they don’t have sentimental memories of a childhood home. Palmer moved to this area from Knoxville to attend Flagler College, and Scout came here from Wyoming to work with his dad. When they got together two years ago, they started dreaming of a home that would provide stability.
“Renting here is expensive,” Palmer shares, “And you depend on your landlord to fix things. When something breaks, they always take their sweet time to fix it. It’s annoying.”
“Owning a home will definitely give us more responsibility, but Scout works in cabinetry and he’s really handy. He likes looking at the structure and he’s excited about how these homes are built. They’re so nice—affordable, and also well made.”
Their path to homeownership began when a friend who is a realtor invited them to an open house. Palmer admits that buying a home “can be overwhelming, but people interested in a Habitat home should still try. It’s worth it in the end! Everyone’s been very helpful. If we ever had a question or felt confused, the staff provided answers and guidance.
“We’re young,” Palmer continues, “but we decided to buy a home now rather than wait. We did this on our own. Once we made a decision to do it, I’m proud of us for going through with it. I learned a lot during the homebuyer education course about managing finances. It made me more aware and I learned how to ask the right questions. This [homebuying] process really helped me be more confident in myself. I know now I can do hard things. I feel accomplished! We are able to say we bought a house—we didn’t ask our families for help; we did it on our own.”
For Palmer and Scout, homeownership means more than having a place to live. It means creating the stability they’ve never had and building a future of their own.
They hope to start a family one day. Working for St. Johns County school district, Palmer knows there are good schools in the area. But for now, they have four cats and they foster cats as well. “One of our bedrooms will be a guest room, and one will be my craft room and the cat room.” Will the cats get into the craft supplies? “Yes, probably, but that’s OK!”
Palmer says they’re most looking forward to building a life in their new home—decorating it the way they want, “making the home ours. We won’t have to deal with landlords. Home is somewhere you can relax and feel safe. There’s no pressure, no expectations. You can just be yourself and have a place that’s just yours.
“Working with Habitat adds another level of value—the home dedication, the volunteers planting flowers for us—you don’t get that with another home. You’re not just signing papers. This home was a group effort, and we’re very grateful to the supporters for helping us make our home a special place.”
Neither Palmer nor Scout have family in the area, but one of their Volusia Woods neighbors is someone they were already friends with. They have a lot of friends in the area, their jobs are here, and they want to put down roots in this community. Scout enjoys surfing, so they’re happy to be close to the beach.
And as they look ahead to the life they’re building in their new home, Palmer has one message for the people who helped make it possible.
To our donors and volunteers, Palmer says “we’re very grateful People who dedicated their time to build our home—we’re very thankful for everyone involved in the process. I don’t think we would be here without you.”
