Area Habitat’s man behind the scenes

By Bryan McKenzie

Published: November 22, 2008

Roll the words “Habitat for Humanity” around in your mind and you’ll likely see hammer-swinging volunteers sweating in the sun but not the folks working under fluorescent lights to make it all possible.

Ken Hankins, chief operating officer for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville, is one of those who make the hammers happen.

‘Someone with vision’

“You need someone with a vision to see what can be done and someone to look at the day-to-day issues, to make sure things like accounting controls are in place, to accomplish that vision,” Mr. Hankins said.

Mr. Hankins is in charge of keeping the Charlottesville charity charitable. He makes sure the Habitat Store keeps selling and receiving, the charity’s properties function and the business of being helpful remains solvent.

He makes sure that various projects, including the Habitat efforts in Fifeville and the development plans for the Sunrise Trailer Park, are on track with developers and government agencies, and he oversees the management of the Habitat-owned Southwood Mobile Home Park until that property is ready for development.

“We’re working with volunteers, corporations, private development companies and builders and government agencies, and that’s a lot to keep track of,” he said. “We’re not just building homes for people, we’re trying to build the kind of mixed-income communities where people want to live.”

Mr. Hankins is the man for the job. He spent more than 30 years in the corporate world, including stints with Clorox and other companies, as a supply-chain executive. He made sure purchases, deliveries and warehoused stock were where they needed to be when they were needed. After his last assignment in Belgium with Newell Rubbermaid, he and his wife searched for a city in which to retire, choosing Charlottesville.

It wasn’t an easy transition.

“When you’re in the corporate world and you get transferred, you have a social structure built-in because of your job,” he explained. “My wife, on the other hand, is the one who checked out the schools and the doctors and had to make all of the social contacts. This time it was my turn.”

On his own, Mr. Hankins investigated various social gatherings. Six years ago, at an Optimist Club meeting, he met Habitat board members Kathie and Reg Wood. He volunteered to serve on the committee that researched and developed the Habitat Store and later joined the board of directors.

Many ways to help

In January 2007, he took over the job of getting things done. He wouldn’t mind a little help, either.

“Habitat has a lot of different areas where people can use their expertise, not just with hammers,” Mr. Hankins said. “We rely on paid staff and volunteers working together to be successful and, so far, it’s working.”