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known as Enos Park in Springfield, lll., once known as the jewel of the city. The neighborhood since has fallen into urban blight. "We've been doing this with minimal profit to the company, but it has been beneficial to the employees and helpers," says Kevin Knox, owner and sole proprietor. "We have taken magnificent homes that have been transformed into slum apartments and restored them to their former glory. We have included Victorian embellishments to scale inside and out, and we have provided skills to temporary laborers who have remained with us." For many years, K.J. Knox Contractor was the only company successfully doing this work. Today, Knox says, several groups are contributing to this difficult process. "What motivates me is the opportunity to share. I live alone. I graduated trade school taught by monks of The Order of St. Francis. I have been training young men dying trades most of my life so they can become craftsmen, as I was taught the skills and discipline with the emphasis on pride in workmanship," Knox says. "My contribution to the neighborhood revival effort is that I pay for the project and am reimbursed the cost only, with a very modest 5 percent of the project at the end. I carry all required licenses, fees, insurances. The homes are sold by the owners (Old Neighborhood Rehab Inc.) to buyers. We have worked off and on for 30 years. And now that I have grown old, I stay in the shop and fabricate house parts or whatever the men need for projects. I replicate missing stair parts and millwork from rough lumber, hand carve them, machine them or cast them with the required embellishments. The road less traveled is my chosen path to a full life." Before K.J. Knox Contractor has been restoring a dilapitated neighborhood for 30 years. Erick Fletcher MidAtlantic Contracting Woodbridge, Va. macontracting.com For years, a kiosk has stood on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, to welcome all U.S. military veterans and their families to the Mall and Vietnam Memorial. Military pins are sold from the kiosk to tourists, and the funds raised go to the Aleethia Foundation. This foundation uses the money to support the Friday Dinners for the wounded troops recovering at Walter Reed Army and Bethesda Naval Hospital. MidAtlantic Contracting built a kiosk on the National Mall to sell military pins. The original kiosk caught fire and was destroyed in 2010, so Erick Fletcher, owner and operator of MidAtlantic Contracting in Woodbridge, Va., coordinated with Dow Corp., Barron's Lumber, Solar World, EuroStone Craft, Roof Center, Laticrete and Delmarva Design to create a state-of-the-art kiosk powered by solar panels, which meet requirements of the National Park Service. "Erick's leadership both in his company and community set the example of paying it forward to our nation's heroes," says David Corbin, Fletcher's colleague. A commission ceremony for the kiosk was held in September 2012 on National POW/MIA Day as declared by President Barack Obama. Local TV, radio and international press coverage followed the event. The kiosk is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to meet troops and their loved ones at all times. "To those who have contributed to this structure go our most heartfelt thanks," Corbin continues. "We recognize the effor ts and support of Stephen Wagner, Delmarva Design, Dow Chemical Corp., The Roof Center, Azek Corp., Euro Stone Craft, Laticrete and SS&T; Cabinetry. We give special thanks to Barrons Lumber for all their support and assistance during the building of the new kiosk. Our most gracious appreciation goes to Solar World for a self-powered kiosk." Chris Stebnitz Stebnitz Builders Delavan, Wis. StebnitzBuilders.com Ste b ni t z B uil d e r s i n Delavan, Wis., has been an integral part of the Delavan area for three generations. "Helping neighbors has not only been a business thing, it has been a personal thing," says Chris Stebnitz. "My grandfather, father and uncles held the belief that giving back to your neighbors is the responsibility of a business. As I have continued to lead the business forward, I feel that history behind me, supporting my choices on the ways in which the business, and my family and I, choose to give back to our community, making it a better place than when we started." The challenges to a philanthropic venture for any business are the resources available. The most valuable of these resources is time, Stebnitz says. "Carving out the right amount of time from running a business and raising a family for being an effective addition to an organization's cause is the biggest hurdle I face. Allocating that time and/or funds to organizations that so desperately need it is not always fun. Saying 'No' is one of the toughest things I do. But, in order to be an effective partner in our community's future, knowing your limitations and sticking to them is essential," he says. The Stebnitz Builders team built a girl's playhouse to give back to its community. The effectiveness of Stebnitz Builders' involvement in its community has always been a source of personal and professional pride for its team. Recognition also is a benefit to the company as so many of the company's neighbors recognize the builder by what it has done in the community, rather than its projects or advertising. ForResidentialPros.com QR July 2013 25