It's the end of an era with the dissolution of the Home Builders Education Foundation (Home Bi-Ed Board). However, a new one is slated to begin as the program itself will transition entirely to the Cañon City School District.
The Home Bi-Ed Board was established in 1974 by several Fremont County residents and business owners, such as Bob Short of Short Lumbar Co., Darryl Biggerstaff and Bunny Ditmore of Fremont Bank, CCHS Design and Drafting instructor Mike Geesaman, and many others. It united to provide building opportunities for Cañon City High School students.
Bob and Paul Short of Short Lumbar Co. were the original masterminds of the project and brought the idea to the 1974 school board.
"They thought it was a need in the area [to train] carpentry students because the town was growing a bit, and we didn't have enough builders, contractors, or carpentry helpers," said Matt Micci, who served as the CCHS carpentry and woodworking instructor from 1982 until 2010. "They established the board and Bob and Paul gave the money for the first house interest-free."
Micci oversaw the construction of 29 Fremont County homes throughout his career and also worked with his students to build a shop for the Evangelical Free Church, the community center for the Brookside area, and two Habitat for Humanity homes.
Contractors, realtors, CCHS teachers, and many others worked together to bring the opportunity to construct entire homes in Cañon City to high school students the first home was built in the CCHS parking lot in 1975 and eventually transported to its current address at 1975 Del Rey Ave.
In the early years, Fremont Bank financed the purchase of both lots and materials for the homes until approximately 1982, when the program became profitable to turn over one year to another. Students were tasked with completing nearly all tasks in building the designated homes. From framing to project completion, they took responsibility for the majority of the building process.
However, students weren't relegated to the carpentry aspects of projects and were encouraged to shadow various industry professionals, such as electricians, plumbers, and HVAC professionals, if they so desired. The trades in general were open for students to both shadow or get some active experience.
"The big gain for the community is not just the housing...it's essentially that we have a ready-made workforce in the construction industry," said CCHS Principal Bill Summers. "There are many general contractors in the community, they'll tell you that they owe their companies, their careers to this program."
In addition to the hands-on work by carpentry students, Geesaman's Design and Drafting class regularly submitted housing plans, which were fine-tuned by members of the Home Bi Ed Board and were eventually accepted as the blueprints for given projects. It was as much a student coalition as community leaders.
"It was a huge plus for this area as far as the number of contractors, sub-contractors...job placement for young people," Micci said.
Longtime board member and president Bill Christensen estimates that at least 90 students who went through the program are still in the trades whether it be plumbers, electricians, framers, etc. He cited local names, such as Shane Sanders, Gary Cornella, Doug Snyder Jr., Jim Whitney, Scott Gaines, and many others who were a product of the successful program.
"It was a pride factor for those kids, we had a 30-year reunion where we invited anyone who worked on the program to come back. We had quite a few come back and they said, 'We take our kids by the houses and say, 'I built that house,'" Christensen said.
"I've even had homeowners call me and say, 'I thought you would like to hear that one of your former students dropped by with his wife and family to show them the house he built in high school,' that's kinda cool," Micci added.
The major difference for the program largely lies in who manages the finances moving forward.
"Essentially, what they're doing is handing over funding from their charitable organization to the school district so that the financial management will now be under the school's control," Summers said.
As the Home Bi-Ed Board is slated to dissolve by the end of June, they actively looked for assurances from the school district that the program would continue.
"It's in the best interest of the district, as well, to continue this program," Summers said. "The bottom line is it's good for the future of our community."
Moving forward, the current CCHS carpentry and woodworking teacher Andy Addington plans to form an advisory board to continue to guide both the program and his students.
"No one person should control this program," he said. "We don't want one person making the decisions so it's nice to have an advisory board from all different angles."
The advisory board is slated to be made of up 10 professionals from a variety of backgrounds whether it be the trades, school district employees, or real estate professionals -- either way, the program will continue.
A nearly 50-year legacy of Cañon City blue-collar and white-collar workers alike will continue, thanks to the dedication of teachers, students, and countless community members.
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