In 1988, Lew Kraus accepted a one-year position as Executive Director with Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity (AAHH). That one year commitment extended into 28 years of working to provide decent, affordable housing for families in our community. He will be retiring this spring.
The
organization is planning a number of events and initiatives to recognize and
honor Kraus, the first of which was announced at an event celebrating the
successful culmination of the organization’s $5M Building a Way Home campaign. To Kraus’ surprise, Board Member
Spencer Duin announced that the non-profit’s administrative building will be
named in his honor. “You probably don’t realize it, but you are sitting in the
Lewis J. Kraus Building,” he said to the audience. The signage will be
installed this year.
Joan
Cooper, long-time Family Services Director and Kraus’ wife, will retire as
well. Duin announced that the Family Services Suite in the administrative
building will be dedicated and named for Cooper’s own exceptional 26 years of
service with the affiliate.
The
organization has also decided that the most fitting way to honor the duo who
made lifelong careers of helping families in need of safe, decent housing is to
build a Habitat house in their name. The Kraus/Cooper Cottage will be built in
Habitat’s Hudson Hills neighborhood and will commence with a wall raising event
at 12noon on Friday, February 26th. Those who wish to give a gift to
thank Lew and Joan for their dedicated service and wish them well in retirement
are encouraged to donate to the Kraus/Cooper Cottage.
A
new Executive Director will be named in the coming months and Kraus and Cooper
will subsequently retire in March.
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