Meadows & Ohly Spends A Day Helping Those In Need

CHARLOTTE, NC - The Day of Service is always special because it gives each individual at Meadows & Ohly an opportunity to freely use their skills to benefit another individual or organization. This year, the Charlotte office had the privilege of helping someone who has a special place in their lives.

Jerry Bullard has worked as a painter for the Property Management department of Presbyterian Hospital since 1990. He has been a loyal friend to Harold Alford, building manager of Presbyterian Medical Tower, and has also become a loyal friend to the rest of the Meadows & Ohly employees. Jerry was asked to paint the suite that was to become the Meadows & Ohly main office when we acquired the five medical office buildings in North Carolina. He painted it not once but twice and smiled with every stroke. Painting was not a job to Jerry; it was his passion. I recall a conversation when he said he “loved to paint because you get immediate results and it brings so much pleasure to people. You can take something that looks old, worn or tattered, add a fresh coat of paint and it looks new again.”

Jerry was married for 60+ years, and he faithfully cared for his wife who was homebound with a debilitating disease for over 40 of those years. About five years ago, Jerry hung up his paint brush so he could devote all of his time to take care of his wife. On January 14, 2013, Jerry’s wife passed.

His priority for the last few years was his family, specifically his wife’s health. His house and all the maintenance and upkeep were secondary. In his words, “it didn’t matter.” As a result, Jerry’s house and yard were lacking the attention it needed, and this is where Meadows & Ohly came in. There were several items that needed repairing, replacing, and refreshing. Meadows & Ohly and some of our service provider/partners used the Day of Service to complete the following tasks on Jerry’s home: pressure wash the exterior; build a new deck; paint over 95% of the interior; install new carpet in the living room and family room; install window treatments in the living room, family room and master bedroom; replace the bedding in the master bedroom; paint the outside shutters; install flood lights; upgrade the HVAC system; purchase and install an attic fan; and perform general landscaping in the front and back yards. One thing we did that may have seemed unnecessary to an outsider, but had sentimental value to Jerry, was to roof and paint his daughter’s childhood playhouse. It was old and had not been played in for many years, but Jerry could not bear to tear it down. We took Jerry’s advice to heart about taking something old and making it new again.

The Meadows & Ohly family is driven to do what is best, not what is easiest. We worked hard on Jerry’s home, and we did it happily because of how much he has meant to us. It truly is a blessing to give back! Long term relationships like we have with Jerry Bullard is but one of the reasons Meadows & Ohly is a special place to work.