Friday, November 20, 2009
Veteran receives home makeover
Have you heard?
JoAnne Poindexter
'Have you heard?'
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Mary Mellott stands 4 feet 10 inches tall and barely meets the minimum weight requirements for the U.S. Marines, in which she served nine years during the 1960s.
Mellott joined the military at age 19 and fulfilled a dream. But because of her size, she subsisted on the notion that "dynamite comes in small packages." That idea also carried her through 20 years in the U.S. Army Reserve and 11 years as a civilian technician at the Army Reserve Center in Salem.
But even the tough and outgoing Mellott, who was a staff sergeant when she was discharged from the Marines, found herself humbled and surprised after becoming the first recipient of a home makeover by the newly organized nonprofit group Operation Vet Appreciation.
It was a chance meeting in her chiropractor's office that led to Mellott being selected to have her Northwest Roanoke home renovated.
The chiropractor introduced Mellott to Tim Hogan, a partner in Roanoke Valley Homes, who was seeking a veteran to be honored by Operation Vet Appreciation.
Hogan related Melott's military history to a friend and real estate agent, William Whitworth, who organized Operation Vet Appreciation "to show our appreciation for our veterans and their services."
The veterans group is Whitworth's second attempt to benefit Roanoke Valley residents. His goal is to bring the community together to make over the home of a veteran annually.
In September, Whitworth said he prayed, asking God to give him a task that would benefit others. He organized a charitable yard sale in Vinton, and 15 households donated a portion of their profits to several nonprofit organizations.
Whitworth said he's amazed at the way Operation Vet Appreciation has snowballed. In less than eight weeks, he said, more than 30 Roanoke-area businesses and their employees have donated labor and building materials to provide Mellott with a new roof, landscaping, house cleaning, a new flagpole and bathroom renovations -- including making adjustments for her height. He estimated labor and materials would have cost Mellott between $15,000 and $25,000.
Also 11 boys and eight adults from Boy Scout Troop 2, which meets at Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church in Roanoke, spent roughly 130 hours on Halloween scraping and painting the outside of Mellott's log house, helping them meet some requirements for their merit badges.
As a result of the makeover, Mellott entertained a couple of neighbors and friends who are veterans and members of Operation Vet Appreciation during a short ceremony at her home on Veterans Day.
Mellott, 69, said she's honored and very appreciative of the renovations at her home. "I don't make a large amount from the military but of course I don't starve," she said.
And while she described herself as a conscientious, hard worker during a career that included recruiting female officers and paperwork, "I feel guilty mainly because of the fact that I think there's a whole lot more veterans who have done more than I."
