Those who know her adore her and aspire to live with her kindness and grace. After 10 and a half years serving Loudon County Habitat for Humanity, Sandi Byrd has decided to retire — leaving behind a legacy of resilience, hard work and a heart for this community.
Amidst her retirement, though, she isn’t completely hanging up her hard hat just yet.
With every person she meets, Sandi greets them with a smile and a warm, comforting presence … something that has undoubtedly attributed to her accumulated 48 years of success working with nonprofit organizations.
She began her tenureship with Habitat for Humanity in the 1990s, working for Habitat International. The “mothership” as Loudon County Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Tony Gibbons endearingly refers to it.
When she first started working with the organization, she was tasked with starting a Plan Giving Program for people to add Habitat to their wills or trusts. After a short three years, she was promoted to a senior vice president and was one of three running the office while Habitat Co-Founder Millard Fuller traveled the world — spreading his mission.
The mid-1990s was a huge growth period for Habitat, according to Sandi. While Habitat affiliates were “going crazy” all over the country, her staff helped create partnerships with brands like Whirlpool, who donates a refrigerator and stove for every Habitat home that is built in the United States, or DOW, who donates insulation for the homes.
“We tried to get national contracts where we could funnel things to our affiliates,” Sandi said. “We helped them get started. We helped educate. We had conferences and workshops, and we went out and met with them and, you know, that kind of thing.
“Millard Fuller, the founder, just wanted as many affiliates as he could possibly get, and he didn’t want them to have to go through a lot of red tape,” she said. “He just wanted them to get out there and start building houses.”
In one of her first attempts at retiring, Sandi and her husband moved to Maryville from South Georgia in 2009 to be near the mountains. Looking to do something a bit different and live a slower life, she worked at Tremont for five years — educating children and tourists on the Great Smoky Mountains.
She found that she missed the mission of Habitat, having worked for a few other organizations over the years, and luckily for her — and Loudon County — she saw a listing that the local organization was looking for someone to do development work.
“I thought, ‘You know, I would love to do it on the level of the affiliate work, where I can really work with the homeowners’,” Sandi said. “It was kind of upper level when I was at International. I never really (was able) to deal much with homeowners except when we did special bills.”
In January of 2014, she began her journey in Loudon County. She and her husband moved to Tellico Village — and since moved elsewhere.
THE HIGHLIGHT AND LEARNING REEL
Being involved with Habitat for the better part of her life, Sandi has seen growth all around.
With the firm foundation that Shauna Oden, the first full-time executive director of Loudon County Habitat for Humanity, laid for the organization until her retirement in 2017, Sandi said the growth has been “terrific.”
“When Tony came … he started really getting out in the community (and) mixing with corporations and companies in the area,” she said. “We’d never done that. We were mainly an individual donor up to that point, and so I think I’ve really loved seeing the growth that we’ve had in the last five years … and the government people, both county and city, are beginning to count on us to help provide low-income housing because there’s a real shortage of it in this county.
“I guess the highlight is just seeing that growth and seeing the number of families that we’ve been able to serve grow over the past (few years),” Sandi continued.
When she started out with nonprofits, Sandi said they used to refer to them as “charities.” At the time, everyone called them so and donations were looked upon as a one-sided transaction.
It wasn’t until a conversation with Fuller that she realized that fundraising and donations can be a mutually beneficial partnership.
“The first few years I did it, you know, everybody called them charities,” she said. “We worked for charities. It was always trying to get something for your clients or the people you served or some disease you’re trying to get research money (for).
“But Millard Fuller taught me that a partnership … and that’s what you do, you partner with individuals, with companies, with foundations, with community organizations,” she said. “You partner with them to do something. And that it’s only a good partnership if it’s good for both sides.”
Before this, she thought that a business, or person, should just donate because they want the organization to do better. One of the big lessons of her career was learning that it’s okay for it to be good for the donor, too.
The perspective shift helped build partnerships with hundreds of people and organizations over the last few decades.
RETIREMENT EXPECTATIONS VS. REALITY
Every few years, Sandi has supposedly “retired” only to take on another role within Habitat.
As she finally steps down from her official position as Director of Faith Relations, she’s excited to spend more time on her family … and volunteering at the ReStore.
“I’m really looking forward to spending more time with my family,” Sandi said. “I’ve got kids and grandkids and great-grandkids. And not that I haven’t spent a lot of time with them, but I’m looking forward to spending more time with my husband and maybe doing some traveling. We love to do day-trips, especially to the mountains.”
Even though her retirement has only been official for a short time now, she’s already promised to start volunteering at the ReStore in July a few days a week — which is perfect for those who already miss seeing her smiling face.
Sandi is also becoming a certified teacher for “Bridges Out of Poverty,” a workshop used to help people understand the different implications and reasonings to poverty. In May, she orchestrated three workshops and has since started the training herself. Once completed, she will be able to guide local affiliates through the “Bridges Out of Poverty” program.
Oddly enough, Sandi said one of the things she will miss from her previously typical day-to-day life is getting emails.
“I’ve got my phone and I still check it every morning like I’m going to have 20 e-mails, you know, people are going to want me to do something,” she said. “And I probably complained while I was working, but now I miss it because they’re not there.”
The “planning and being in the middle of the action” is what she is going to miss the most. Although she knows she’s left her positions in great hands, she said it’s the building on each year’s events to make it bigger and better than before that she already is thinking about.
“One fun thing I found out about Habitat is when you work with Habitat, you’re in a family,” Sandi said. “It’s not really so much a job as it is a calling.
“It’s a joy to work with the volunteers and the staff because everybody’s just (eager) to do the very best job they can and get as many families in the program as possible,” she said. “So I miss that part, I think, a lot.”
A HAPPY FARE-WELL
On Friday, May 31, 2024, nearly 50 people gathered at Southern Belle Events in Downtown Lenoir City to celebrate the legacy and life of Sandi with a “High Tea,” something she has come to be known for in the Habitat office — a cup of hot tea.
Friends and family sipped from fancy cups and enjoyed dainty snacks and desserts, and everyone glowed with love for Sandi and the impact she has had on everyone’s life.
“When I hired you back in 2014, I knew I was hiring a professional, but I didn’t know fully and didn’t fully understand the depths of your heart for Habitat for Humanity,” Oden said. “You’ve shown your love for the program and the families we serve throughout your tenure. When trying to tell or record the stories of the families, you’ve treated them with respect and understanding.
“You’ve proven to be a trustworthy adviser to our friends and a friend to all of our donors and volunteers,” she continued. “And even though technology is not your strong suit, or mine, you’ve tackled every challenge with humor and a willingness to learn new things. Thank you, Sandi. You’ve been a good friend and a cohort as we’ve advocated for affordable housing and wealth in the county. Millard would be proud of you (for) all the honors you’ve accomplished and God will reward you for your good work.”
From previous executive director to present, Gibbons also spoke highly of the work and life Sandi has created.
“There’s really not a lot I can say that would really do justice in truth. First of all, I want you to know how much I love you. You are absolutely incredible, and I’m going to miss you terribly,” he said. “It has been a true gift to be able to work with you, and I’m so grateful for it. And I think that I’m not unique in that respect.”
When Loudon County Habitat dedicates a house to a new family, the Tellico Village Quilters present them with a handmade quilt. In honor of Sandi’s retirement, they also gifted her one, signed by all the members of the guild.
Guests were allowed to send a note of love and appreciation to Sandi about the impact she’s made on their life which was compiled into a book. Each note spoke to the kindness and love she exudes every day, through her work with Habitat and the way she carries herself.
Loudon County Mayor Buddy Bradshaw also presented Sandi with a proclamation for her tremendous work with nonprofits and declared May 31 to be Sandi Byrd Day. Gibbons said she was also submitted to Habitat Tennessee for a Lifetime Achievement Award and the results of that submission will be known in July.
