Drury Design is proud to share that our designer, Terry Kenney is donating her time to design a kitchen for Homes for Our Troops (HFOT). This nonprofit is dedicated to building specially designed homes adapted to the needs of our injured veterans. Homes provided by the organization are given at no cost to the veterans. Founded in 2004, HFOT is committed to helping those who have selflessly given to our country and have returned home with serious disabilities and injuries since September 11, 2001.

"I first heard about this project on a local radio station that I listen to every morning on my way to work," explains Terry. "They were asking for volunteers since the framing was getting underway, and they were looking for carpenters who had time to spare. I really wanted to get involved with the project. I wanted to find a way to give back to the guys who are fighting for our freedom, and paying for it with theirs!  But I figured since they were so far along in the project, they didn’t need a kitchen/bath designer - it was probably too late."

An opportunity to get involved

A few weeks later, Terry received a call while she was staffing the studio from Paul Vespia, the coordinator for the project. Medallion Cabinetry is donating the cabinetry for the kitchen and the baths and HFOT was looking for help with the design and order placement for the cabinetry. Terry was thrilled to discover she could be a part of the project after all and also volunteered to help coordinate the finishes and granite selections for the kitchen and the baths.

"I feel very lucky to have recieved Paul's phone call out of the blue and feel incredibly lucky to be able to give back in a very small way. I hope this house gives Frank and his young wife the opportunity to enjoy all the freedoms for which he fought!"

A new home for a hero

Frank is Army SPC Frank Pierson and his new home is being built in Plainfield, IL. Frank Pierson was only four months into his first deployment when he was left a double amputee after his vehicle came under attack in Baghdad, Iraq March 2008. While returning to the rest of his company, SPC Pierson saw a flash of light on the road and felt an intense rumbling as an electrically fired projectile (EFP) tore through the vehicle he was driving. Immediate first aid measures were taken to stabilize SPC Pierson who suffered leg amputations above and below the knee as well as additional injuries. Transported to a local hospital, he was later airlifted to Landstuhl, Germany and finally to Walter Reed where he spent 19 months enduring surgeries and therapies while recuperating. SPC Pierson and his wife, Arielle Carroll-Pierson were married less than a year at the time of his injuries. They have been building their new life together with a grateful attitude, thankful for each day together. Frank looks to the future with hopes to assist local military families. He would like to help make their lives a little easier while they cope with the ups and downs of living with the unknowns of deployments. One day, this Chicago Black Hawks fan would like to attend school and study automotive specialty electronics and upholstery.

"It is our duty and our honor to assist severely injured Servicemen and Servicewomen and their immediate families by raising donations of money, building materials and professional labor and to coordinate the process of building a home that provides maximum freedom of movement and the ability to live more independently. To date, we have completed 56 homes across the country and we are currently working on 46 others in various stages." Paul Vespia, Assistant Construction Manager, Homes for Our Troops