"Give Honor Where Honor is Due"

Saturday was a LONG awaited event for my husband - the culmination of more than two years of thought, planning, labor, agonizing decisions, long nights, sleepless nights and stress, along with some fun and enjoyment using the gifts he has been given (seeing the big picture, excellent taste, diligence, administration, decorating, organizing, etc.) It was the Open House and 50th Anniversary celebration for Dustin Construction held at their newly constructed building.

He was in charge of so much during the building phase. It started with purchasing the lot and continued all the way to the last drop of paint and the last picture hung... He was in charge of all the mill work - planning, drawing and overseeing every shelf and piece of beautiful woodwork that was installed. (He missed his call in life and should have been an architect!) He made final selections on all the finishes, and that was after managing the construction end of the project. He did the whole package!! Every last little sign and paint color has his signature on it...

During the process he always looked for ways to bless and surprise everyone. He bought everyone new furniture, and didn't take any items from the old kitchen - he bought all new dishes for everyone. He made sure the ladies had their requests filled in the ladies room - including a drawer for each one to place personal items. When he ordered the artwork, he told nobody about what he had ordered, and spent two weekends in a row preparing and hanging the artwork so that everyone else could come in on a Monday morning and have the "wow" factor, the "big reveal"... just to surprise and delight the employees.

Danny spent years working toward this day, and the last months were particularly intense. He had to make sure every aspect of the building was complete - inspections done, artwork hung, painting touched up, floor replacement, and every other minute detail down to making sure everyone had their desks cleared off and the cleaners arrived the night before to polish everything one last time. There was a scramble to get the carpenters in for last minute touches, the landscape crew in one last time to make sure that every blade of grass was the same length, (ok just kidding - they just spruced it all up), and last but not least, make sure he had a speech written to honor his father, the founder of the company.

Danny giving his speech to honor his father

The receptionist desk

Outside lobby

Inside Lobby

Intern Office where Matt worked this summer

Gallery of art in the reception area

Employee break room

Landscape design on the balcony (again, planned and executed by Danny)

One of the many pieces of artwork he painstakingly selected AND hung - he worked with an artist for months selecting custom artwork

Hallway leading to back offices

Centerpiece at reception

Danny presenting his Dad with an award

Ever seen mashed potatoes served in a martini glass before???

One part of Danny's new office

Lobby - once again, each piece chosen by my oh-so-talented husband

I know it sounds like I am "bragging" about my wonderful husband, but I am truly proud of him. Even though he received no acknowledgement or honor at the culmination of all his work, I want him to know that I am extremely proud of all that he accomplished, and it overwhelms me to think what all he has done to make this building and company possible. He is a humble man and looked for no praise, but I do believe that honor should be given where honor is due. And in this case, it is definitely appropriate to thank him for a huge success. I believe that at the end of his career, he will look back to this season and feel his contribution to the building is one of the most significant things he did as an employee of Dustin Construction. I know that often times our jobs feel "thankless" but we trust that God knows all that he faithfully did, and will one day be greatly rewarded. I love you honey and have never been more proud of you.