Where there's smoke, there's Richard

By Chris Johnson
Director of Communications

Birthdays are a big deal here at the Fuller Center for Housing. There are cakes and cards and flyovers by fighter jets. They gave me a real beatdown here last month for trying to slip my birthday under the radar with no one knowing about it. I was used to my last employer, where I’d say, “Hey, it’s my birthday!” and they’d say, “And?”

Today is Richard Aguirre’s birthday. Richard is our go-to guy for graphic and artistic needs. You’ve seen his work – on our new brochure, the newsletter many of you will get in the mail soon, the Bicycle Adventure team’s trailer, etc. Since I work closely with Richard, I got the cake … AND the candles. So I went all out and forked out the $1.29 for the candles that keep relighting after you try to blow them out.

Boy, talk about some funny stuff! Once we figured out how to use our fire extinguishers, water hoses and oxygen masks, we all had a good laugh. OK, by “we all” I mean me, but still the $1.29 was well worth it to see the expression on Richard’s face: “Huh?”

The point of today’s blog is, well, pointless. What we do through the Fuller Center is very, very serious business. Poverty housing has a ripple effect of problems for families and neighbors. We aim to eliminate poverty housing. We can do that with a frown, a grimace or a grin. I prefer to do it with a grin. Even if it makes some folks grimace. Or go “huh?”

Besides, there’s a sense of excitement around here. As folks out there learn about the Fuller Center’s work, they want to support and be a part of it. We’re seeing it more and more these days. And those fun folks on the Bicycle Adventure are helping to draw some of that support to us.

So, there is good reason for us all to smile. Our mission is growing, as is awareness and support. All of which ultimately leads to giving children around the world a reason to smile as they lay their heads to sleep inside a simple, decent home.

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