Thanks to all of the SMC Members who participated in the Back-to-School Supply Drive this August!  This was another very successful year and all of the school children at St. Lawrence Place are well-prepared for school thanks to your generosity!

SALES & MARKETING COUNCIL ADOPTS TWENTY-TWO FAMILIES

      For the third consecutive year members of the Sales and Marketing Council (SMC), a council of the Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia (HBA), have donated gifts and money for the families of St. Lawrence Place.  Council members, comprised of local real estate companies, marketing firms and home builders, have adopted 22 families for the holidays, and the presents piled up.

      The 22 families supplied Wish Lists to help with the shopping.  Wrapped gifts were collected at the HBA office and were delivered to St. Lawrence Place on Friday, December 16, 2005.

      St. Lawrence Place is a program of the Trinity Housing Corporation, providing thirty units of transitional housing for homeless families in Columbia.  The purpose of the transitional housing program is to provide a “breathing space” for families between emergency shelter and permanent housing.  During this period, they can regain stability, obtain employment or additional training, and develop life skills, which begin the long process back to independence.

      The Sales & Marketing Council of Columbia is a council of the Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia consisting of home builders, land developers, realtors and marketing professionals.  The council strives to educate its members to the practices of sales and marketing of new homes by providing education programs and a forum for home builders and new home sales agents to network.   

      For more information on St. Lawrence Place, please contact Margaret McFaddin at (803) 779-9067.  For more information on the Sales & Marketing Council of Columbia, please contact Heather McDonald at (803) 256-6238.

The staff over at St. Lawrence Place wanted me to express their sincere gratitude for all that the members of our Sales & Marketing Council do for their program. The staff and families feel truly blessed by the thoughtfulness of you all.

Thank You Volunteers: Sarah Burke, Judy Downing, Ron Stokes & Wesley Kennedy

Mattress Donation - Thank you to Todd Beckstrom, Beth Gardner and Libby Hunt who have donated mattress and box springs to St. Lawrence Place, an item that they are always in desperate need of.  If you are interested in donating a mattress/box spring please contact Heather McDonald at the HBA for additional information. 

Cleaning Supplies Drive - Thank you to the members who donated supplies at our June Quarterly Meeting and to those of you who donated $$$$ during Happy Dollar Time. We raised over $145.00 to go towards the purchase of supplies for St. Lawrence Place. Keep up the great work with our fundraising efforts!

Camp Bob - Our SMC Summer Project was a complete success! Thanks to the efforts of our dedicated SMC members, we raised over $2,800 to donate to St. Lawrence Place for the Camp Bob fundraiser. The money will go towards sending 12 of the children to the camp this summer. We could not have done it without the help from: Asset Realty, Beazer Homes, Centex Homes, Century 21 Bob Capes Realty-Chapin, Century 21 Bob Capes Realty-Northeast and Russell & Jeffcoat Realtors, Inc.     Thank You!

2003 Adopt-A-Family -  Members of the Sales & Marketing Council acted on their holiday spirit by adopting 11 families from St. Lawrence Place.  Families provided a "wish list" of items and SMC members filled the lists.  Thanks to participating members: Century 21 Bob Capes Realtors- Chapin, Century 21 Bob Capes Realtors- Northeast, Beazer Homes, The Mungo Co./Mungo Homes, SouthTrust Mortgage, Homeowners Mortgage, Columbia National Mortgage, ERA Wilder Realty, Centex Homes and the HBA Staff.

Left to Right:

Sarah Burke, Jan Hadder-Jones, Renee Baade,       Heather McDonald, Libby Hunt, Patti Leslie, Edmund and Caroline Monteith and Todd Beckstrom.