Contractors take to classes to teach building basics

CASEY RESSLER Frontiersman Valley Life editor

MAT-SU — The Mat-Su Home Builders Association is going into schools and teaching students what the building process is all about, thanks to a tree which wishes to become part of a house.

Jodi Booth, Don Rothermel and Tom Smith have been distributing color books and showing a short video to students in the district. The coloring books, "Homes of Our Own," is about a tree which dreams of becoming a home.

"We have seen about 500 kids already, and I still have 500 more coloring books to distribute," Booth said. "Last week we hit eight classrooms. We're trying to get to as many classrooms as we can."

Rothermel and Smith are builders, and they answer questions from students regarding the home-building process, from start to finish.

The coloring contest and video are part of Home Builders Care, a national program in which builders actively help the community.

Winners of the builders' coloring contest each receive a gift certificate to TRS Hobbies and More in the Cottonwood Creek Mall.

Last fall, local builders kicked off Home Builders Care by building a shed and raffling it, with the proceeds going to charity.

For more information about the coloring contest or about Home Builders Care, interested people may contact Booth at 373-2232.