Paran Homes Donates Lot in Jackson County for Future Home of Injured Southern University Football Player; CEO Whit Marshall Calls on Fellow UGA Alumni to Help
Traditions of Braselton – a sprawling 1,140-acre master-planned neighborhood in Northeast Georgia – is founded on a shared vision of scenic beauty, Southern Hospitality and tight-knit community. It’s that shared vision that makes it the ideal location for former Southern University football player Devon Gales’ future home. During a game between the Southern University Jaguars and the Georgia Bulldogs on September 26, 2015, Gales sustained a traumatic spinal injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down. In the nearly three years since, Gales has been in rehabilitation at the renowned Shepherd Center – more than 500 miles away from his hometown of Baton Rouge. An outpouring of love and support from the Bulldawg Nation in the days, weeks and years following the tragic accident has most recently resulted in the donation of a home site in Traditions of Braselton from Paran Homes – a builder and the declarant of the community, whose Founder and CEO Whit Marshall is a former UGA linebacker.
Mike Elrod of Currahee Homes and his team will soon begin building a handicap-accessible home on the lot. On August 3, a group that included Marshall, Elrod, Jim Butterworth and John Parker of the Build for Devon Foundation, Dr. James Shepherd of the Shepherd Center, UGA Coach Bryant Gantt, WSB’s Ashley Frasca, neighbors from Traditions of Braselton and dozens of supporters gathered together with the Gale family to break ground on the site and welcome Devon “home.”
“In order to stay close to Shepherd Center, the Gale family – including Devon’s mother, Tish, and two younger siblings, Dalen and Teah – is currently renting a home in Lawrenceville, while Devon’s father Donny continues to hold down the fort in Baton Rouge where he works for UPS,” said Marshall. “A new home at Traditions of Braselton will pave the way for the whole family to be together again – a place where they will receive a warm welcome from their neighbors. I feel privileged to be part of the Build for Devon team. The Gale Family has faced a difficult challenge for the last few years and they deserve a break. We’ve got the lot, a terrific design-build team in place, and a vast network of subcontractors ready and willing to do what’s needed to complete this vision. To help fund this project, I’m calling on my fellow University of Georgia alumni to step forward and join me in providing this incredible young man and his family with a very special place to call home.”
There are two ways Georgians can help make a home for Devon Gales and his family at Traditions of Braselton a reality:
1) Through monetary contributions to the Devon Gales House Construction Fund.
2) By offering services or materials that will result in the design and construction of the Gales’ new family home.
Donations can be made online through the Build for Devon website at www.buildfordevon.com or by mail to:
UGAAA
1 Selig Circle
Butts-Mehre Hall
Rm. 402
Athens, GA 30603
Attn: Bryant Gantt.
Those interested in donating either materials or their design/construction services are encouraged to contact Traditions of Braselton at marketing@TraditionsofBraseltonRealty.com.
During the touching ground-breaking ceremony, Devon Gales thanked everyone in attendance for coming out to show their support for his family. “God put us here for a reason. With this house, I’ll have a lot more freedom. I’m grateful to have a place I can call home. I’d like to thank everyone here for building this house. This is a team… this is a family. I’d also like to thank my new neighbors for making us feel welcome.”