St. George Firemen were on hand to carry 'Sweet Lindsey' Smith over the threshold of her new home at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The home was built with help from Southern Utah Home Builders Assocation as its 2012 SUHBA Home Builders Care Project, the City of St. George, her grandfather and others. St. George, Utah, Oct. 25, 2012 | Photo by Chris Caldwell, St. George News
ST. GEORGE – After only three months of construction the Building A Home For Lindsey project reached completion and the ceremonial handing over of the keys and ribbon-cutting was held at Lindsey Smith’s new home yesterday.
The Southern Utah Home Builders Association 2012 Care Project, with the aid of the city of St. George, community and more than 140 SUHBA members and companies, built the 1,560-square-foot home to accommodate Smith, who is restricted to a wheelchair, unable to use her hands or legs since birth.
Smith, 21, is an art student at Dixie State College, and paints by holding a brush in her mouth. This and her other daily activities have all been accommodated for in the design of the new home. Motion sensors, electronic cabinets, lower counters and keypad entry systems have all been added to make daily living easier.
“For this to come to someone who is appreciative and so needful of this kind of thing is great,” St. George Mayor Dan McArthur said. “This gift of time, materials, energy, love and not expecting anything in return, to this community, you (Lindsey) have paid back all the generosity.”
Glen Martin, Smith’s grandfather, was also in attendance at the ceremony. He was the driving force behind the project. Martin has been saving for years to purchase a home with accommodations for Lindsey’s special needs until a struggle with bone cancer spurred him to approach the SUHBA for help on her behalf.
The mayor demonstrated the role Martin plays in the community and told of when he found the washed-out bridge downstream after the floods in 2000, found the plaques on either side of the rubble and after hours of work recovered them. He then brought them to the mayor to be replaced in the future.
“This is unbelievable,” Martin said.“I can’t thank these good people enough. They didn’t just build a house; they built a home of love, caring and compassion, and you can feel it in there.”
Smith, full of gratitude and emotion, was presented with a certificate and the keys to her new home, as well as a surprise threshold-crossing, fulfilling her wish to be carried into her new home by an attractive fireman.
Countless members of the community have pulled together to embrace Lindsey, and to give back to a girl who contributes so much to society, to the community and to the lives of all those who are fortunate enough to know her.
The SUHBA serves the community in construction-related projects for those in need. Often unobserved by the general public, these projects continue to improve the community through providing homes, scholarships, and public buildings.
To become involved with the Southern Utah Home Builders Association, or for information regarding their projects, call 435-674-1400.
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Glen Martin, grandfather, with Lindsey Smith, receive the keys to the House for Lindsey from St. George Mayor Dan McArthur. Ribbon-cutting ceremony, 2012 SUHBA Home Builders Care Project. St. George, Utah, Oct. 25, 2012 | Photo by Chris Caldwell, St. George News
Glen Martin, grandfather of Lindsey Smith. Ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Home for Lindsey, which he built with help from the 2012 SUHBA Home Builders Care Project, the City of St. George, her grandfather Glen Martin, and others. St. George, Utah, Oct. 25, 2012 | Photo by Chris Caldwell, St. George News
Lindsey Smith, more tears than words, at ribbon-cutting ceremony for her new home, built with with help from the 2012 SUHBA Home Builders Care Project, the City of St. George, her grandfather Glen Martin, and others. St. George, Utah, Oct. 25, 2012 | Photo by Chris Caldwell, St. George News
Lindsey Smith (center) with Southern Utah Home Builders Association members and her grandfather Glen Martin(at her left shoulder). Ribbon-cutting ceremony for her new home, 2012 SUHBA Home Builders Care Project. St. George, Utah, Oct. 25, 2012 | Photo by Chris Caldwell, St. George News
'Sweet Lindsey' as her grandfather Glen Martin calls her, gets a hug from him at ribbon-cutting ceremony for her new home, built with with help from the 2012 SUHBA Home Builders Care Project, the City of St. George, her grandfather, and others. St. George, Utah, Oct. 25, 2012 | Photo by Chris Caldwell, St. George News
St. George fireman carries 'Sweet Lindsey' Smith over threshold over her new home, built with help from the 2012 SUHBA Home Builders Care Project, the City of St. George, her grandfather Glen Martin, and others. Ribbon-cutting ceremony. St. George, Utah, Oct. 25, 2012 | Photo by Chris Caldwell, St. George News
Certificate of Occupancy on display as Lindsey Smith entertains in her new home, built with with help from the 2012 SUHBA Home Builders Care Project, the City of St. George, her grandfather Glen Martin, and others. Ribbon-cutting cermony. St. George, Utah, Oct. 25, 2012 | Photo by Chris Caldwell, St. George News
L to R: St. George Mayor Dan McArthur and Lindsey Smith at ribbon-cutting ceremony for her new home, built with with help from the 2012 SUHBA Home Builders Care Project, the City of St. George, her grandfather Glen Martin and others. St. George, Utah, Oct. 25, 2012 | Photo by Chris Caldwell, St. George News
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2012, all rights reserved.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Caldwell is a recent grad from Dixie State, with a degree in Mass Communication and Visual Technologies. He worked as a photographer and photo editor for the Dixie Sun, and can always be found behind a camera. Chris was born in California, then grew up in the St. George area. When he’s not shooting news, Chris is usually outdoors, longboarding, camping, hiking, or fishing; with a camera, of course.