KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

The Highland Rim Habitat for Humanity (HRHFH) started off 2026 with both a check donation of $10,000 from Publix Charities and a change in leadership.

Back in January, HRHFH gathered at Publix in Tullahoma to accept the $10,000 donation, where it will go to the organization’s mission.

“We have been partnering with a Publix for several years in applying and receiving funding,” Community Affairs Coordinator Terrie Quick said. “Along with local employees coming to projected new home build site lending helping hands, this year’s larger amount of money is greatly appreciated on many levels. We are excited to see how God pulls people together to build a home, provide hope and enrich communities.”

This donation was accepted by the newest members of HRHFH and its board. According to Paul Whalen, who now serves as the president of the Highland Rim chapter, there was a changeover in the structure of the board of directors in the summer and fall of 2025 due to potential conflicts of interest.

“We had a lot of people with relations on the board, which created perceived conflicts of interest,” Whalen said. “The board had to be diversified, and as a result of that, a couple people left the board.”

Whalen himself was just a volunteer through his church, Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Decherd, who helped to organize a team to come in and build with Habitat. After he heard that the organization was not going to build a home due to the board restructure, he decided to join the board in November. By December, the board decided to elect him as the new president.

Now serving as president, Whalen outlined what he wanted to see with HRHFH, with some of his near-term goals include modernizing the organization.

“We have updated all of our bylaws, the chartering documents and we have rejuvenated our conflict-of-interest management plan,” Whalen said.

The modernization of HRHFH is just a small step into Whalen’s main goal of getting the organization back into the groove of not just building a new home every year, but to also be doing more renovations and rehabilitation of homes, like helping people that need handicap ramps or repairs, and renovations for those who can’t afford to get it done on their own.

“We’re going to hopefully get that going here early in the spring to start doing some of that renovation work while we’re securing the funding at a level that will support the building of a new home, which we already have a lot for on Maple Avenue,” Whalen said. “I want to get that build going this fall.”

In the meantime, since the board restructure and addition of new members, Whalen said he has been receiving support and feedback, as well as talking to different businesses and individuals. that have prior experience with Habitat for Humanity, as a way to bring knowledge and skills together so they can better network into the community and diversify the donor base of both volunteers and funds. This also includes working with other nonprofit organizations, like Sleep in Heavenly Peace which provides beds for children.

“We are actively trying to reconnect into the community in a bigger way than we ever had before, and we really want to get involvement from as many businesses and individuals as possible,” Whalen said. “We’re really looking forward to working with them, bringing them into this because there’s an incredible need for both new homes, homes for people, but also in helping people that are in need of just repairs and such.”

For more information about HRHFH, visit its website at www.hrhfh.org.