At the recent Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association Installation and Awards Program, HomeAid Atlanta honored our builder of the year, James MacDowell of Unique Homes and Renovations. This prestigious award is presented annually to a devoted builder advocate of HomeAid who is knowledgeable and passionate about our mission and has given generously of their time and talents during the previous year.

James has actively participated in HomeAid Cares projects for many years, and this past September, he acted as the builder leader for a large care day at The Drake House, a short-term crisis housing and support center for homeless women and children in the North Fulton area. This position required him to not only lead 40 volunteers, but also to also identify the projects that needed to be done and gather the necessary materials.

Due to his leadership, we were able to complete many important projects for The Drake House that most volunteer groups would not have had the skills to complete.  Volunteers rebuilt a shed overhang, replaced fascia board on the office building, hung shelving for the women’s “career” clothes, replaced an attic door, made a door into a “French” door, painted building railings, built pantry shelving, renovated the playhouse to like-new, replaced a warped attic door, replaced a desk top, hung wall fans, fixed sidewalk, removed an old ceiling fan and fixed the hole in the ceiling, cleaned and readied an apartment for a new family and repaired children’s bicycles.

James, founder is Unique Homes and Renovations, has built thousands of homes in the Atlanta area over the past 30 years. He was one of the first builders to be licensed by the state of Georgia, and has been featured on shows such as House Hunters and Extreme Makeover Home Edition. He has also been involved with Habitat for Humanity.

Congratulations again to James MacDowell for this honor, and we thank him for his time and dedication.

For more information on HomeAid Atlanta and how you can get involved, visit our website.