Kevin's Legacy
Chad Horne and Dave Nader, co-founders of Windward Homes, chose the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Suncoast Chapter as the company's charitable beneficiary six years ago for indisputably rational reasons.
For example, the pair found that they could target their donations specifically to research rather than to administrative costs.
But within months of deciding to build and sell a Dream Home to benefit the organization, Windward's commitment to the cause transformed from one of the head to one of the heart.
In August 2000, Horne's 10-year-old stepson Kevin LaPlante was diagnosed with leukemia—a disease that strikes more than 9,000 children under the age of 15 every year. Of those who are diagnosed, nearly 1,600 will die from the disease.
At that moment, the desire to help find a cure became painfully personal, passionate and urgent for Horne and many of Windward's employees who knew and loved the charismatic and creative youngster, who loved to draw and create his own cartoon characters.
Even the company's subcontractors and materials suppliers became committed to raising money for the cause.
"Kevin's illness was a tipping point," says Horne. "It catalyzed people into action—and the action has been enormous."
By next year, Windward—with the help of its employees and trade partners-will have raised more than $1 million for leukemia research.
When the company built its first Dream Home, many subcontractors worked for free, while many suppliers donated materials. Even the workers who cleaned the home after construction volunteered their time.
"Basically, everybody wanted to help with my son—and that was their way to help," says Horne.
The home was completed in 2001 and netted $202,000 when it was sold. A second home was planned for 2002, but Kevin relapsed and died that August.
"That year, we actually didn't undertake one," Horne says. "We just couldn't get one going."
But the company rebounded the following year when Newland Communities donated a $50,000 lot at Fishhawk Ranch. That home sold in 2004, raising $226,000. A third home, built in Sarasota" target="_blank">Manatee County's Parkside community, raised $246,000 this summer. Home number four is in the planning stages.
Kevin's illness opened Horne's eyes to just how prevalent cancer is.
"An interesting thing happened during this process," says Horne. "I found it amazing how many people's lives cancer has touched. Many of our trade contractors' lives had been affected, right up to and including our mailbox supplier, who had leukemia in 1990. Our framer still has leukemia and is living with it."
The zeal to raise money for leukemia has permeated Windward's corporate culture, says Sharon Donofrio, the company's director of marketing. Many employees even keep pictures of Kevin on their desks.
"It's amazing to me when I see the spirit of these people in our office," Donofrio says. "They're always asking when the next dream home is going to be built, and saying they want to contribute."
While the homes have been Windward's biggest fund raisers, the company has also raised a significant sum through luncheons, garage sales and raffles. Windward even produced its own cookbook: If Clem Could Cook, a compilation of recipes from company employees illustrated with drawings of Clem Calzone, a character created by Kevin.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light the Night Walk is another popular fund-raiser at the company. Participants collect pledges for the evening walk, then march through neighborhoods carrying battery-lit balloons.
It's an emotional event, say participants, because cancer survivors' balloons are white while others' are colored. This year's event, held in October, was in Fishhawk Ranch.
"Lots of people get really choked up during the event," says Horne. "You've got the survivors there with you, and you know who they are because they have a different colored balloon from you. To me, it's an extraordinarily personal event. It's amazing to see how many cancer survivors are out there—people who are living proof of the value of research."
Windward gives half the money it raises to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, earmarked specifically for research, and the other half to The Children's Cancer Research Group at Tampa's St. Joseph's Children's Hospital.
Through Windward's efforts, St. Joseph's was able to staff and fund a two-year study seeking ways of "silencing" genes thought to cause childhood cancer. The study also has the potential to help advance treatment for various adult cancers.
Windward Homes' donations also bought a gene array machine, which helps St. Josephs' researchers look for genetic patterns that might be markers for cancer.
"There are no fund-raising costs, no administrative costs; nobody pays for water or electricity," says Dr. Cameron Tebbi, who is heading the project for St. Joseph's. "When a dollar comes in, a dollar goes to research."
Tebbi, who treated Kevin near the end of his life, understands Horne's passion.
"Kevin was definitely an inspiration," he says. "He was the type who would say, even as sick as he was, 'Don't give up.'"
Kevin's parents, also, have become an inspiration, says Tebbi.
"They're doing everything any human being could do to fight this disease," Tebbi adds, including adopting Kevin's motto: "Never give up."
Despite Kevin's death, Horne is optimistic about the prospects for other children who are stricken.
"Our message is always one of hope," Horne says. "We can only hope that the researchers will find a cure before these blood-related cancers kill someone else."
What would Kevin think about it all?
Horne muses: "Sometimes we think Kevin looks down from heaven and says, 'You are doing the right thing,' then just smiles."
HOW TO HELP
What: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Suncoast Chapter
Where: 13907 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Suite 101, Tampa, FL 33618
Phone: (813) 963-6461
Executive Director: Kathy Whitney
About the Organization: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, based in White Plains, N.Y., is dedicated to finding cures for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and to improving the quality of life for patients and their families. Through the help of donors, the society has invested $411 million in research since 1949.
How to Help: For volunteer opportunities and donation options, log on to
www.leukemia-lymphoma.org.
IT STARTED OVER LUNCH
Windward Homes was born over a Crabby Bills grouper sandwich almost 11 years ago.
Chad Horne and Dave Nader, then senior operating officers at Arthur Rutenberg Homes, were eating lunch when they started talking about opening their own company.
"It took a few months, but we figured out that was the right thing for us to do," says Horne. "We were pretty confident in our ability to build good homes, and we were pretty sure the market would reward us over the long haul."
And so it has. Windward Homes, which builds homes for first-time and move-up buyers in more than 20 communities in the region, built about 700 homes last year and expects to build more than 900 this year.
Horne and Nader anticipate passing the 1,000-home mark in 2006, which would place the company among the region's top five busiest builders.
"We got there from nothing," says Horne. "It's been a great 10 years, and we have a lot of good customers to thank for that. Our customers are actually at the top of our organizational chart."
Horne also gives a lot of credit to his employees. "There is no 'I' in 'team,' and we have a whole company full of employees who never use the world 'I.' It's always 'we' and 'us' and it's always about our customers."
In late 2003, K. Hovnanian, a large national builder, bought Windward Homes. But little about the company has changed since the purchase, says Horne.
"You could say that they bought us or we joined them," he adds.
Most importantly, K. Hovnanian has been supportive of Windward's commitment to raising money for leukemia research as well. "They're behind us 100 percent, and are very happy with what we do," Horne notes.
For more information about Windward Homes, log on to the company's web site at www.khov.com.