Tiny home dedication

In a small and informal gathering, members of a volunteer work crew placed a plaque on the tiny home they created for a local veteran.

"We know some people transition from the Army and have a hard time. They fall on really, really hard times and become homeless. This may be the step and impetus to allow them to get back on their feet," said Madigan Army Medical Center Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Bivins.

"And thank you, Sgt. Maj. Vimoto for telling us about this idea so we have an opportunity to give back," added Bivins.

Isaia "Ace" Vimoto, a retired Army sergeant major who now works with the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Apprenticeship Program, reached out to see if there was any interest in contributing to the tiny home construction projects that are aiding homeless, many of them veterans, in the Puget Sound area.

Vimoto was on hand for the commemoration event. He responded to Bivins and the other Soldier-volunteers with a simple, "You said it well, thank you sir. Thank you so much. Thanks for all you've done, appreciate it."

Members of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club here at Madigan met Vimoto's inquiry with enthusiasm.

Master Sgt. Phillip Preyer, the executive noncommissioned officer-in-charge with the deputy commander for Medical Services, spearheaded the labor volunteer effort; a Seattle construction company that has worked in the development of low income housing for years supplied the materials.

"There was a core group of four to six (people) everyday doing most of the labor," said Preyer. Overall, there were a good 20 people who pitched in to put the small structure together. Probably the most generous with his time was Shadow, Preyer's dog, who quickly became the project's mascot. "He was here every day," Preyer noted.

Another hard working volunteer who was proud to join the effort was Staff Sgt. Alfonso Bernal-Stevens, the NCOIC with Madigan's Specialty Clinics.

"I heard about this a while back -- that they were taking a trip up to see the project in Seattle where they were doing the little houses. I've volunteered on other projects before while I was a civilian," said Bernal-Stevens.

"So, I really enjoyed it; and they needed help out here. I said, absolutely. I can swing a hammer," Bernal-Stevens continued. "I don't know how to put a house together but that's why we've got Sgt. Bickler."

That would be Sgt. 1st Class Morgen Bickler, the NCOIC for Consolidated Education, who functioned as an onsite leader for planning and building.

"The project was actually quite meaningful to me on many fronts," Bickler explained. "First, I was able to use an earned skill set," he explained. As someone born in Washington, he is happy to benefit those in his home state. "Second, I was able to pass pieces of that skill set to many Soldiers," he continued.

Bickler also highlighted an aspect of volunteer work that was unmistakable at the event -- esprit de corps. "I was able to interact with my peers to a much greater extent than I have since I arrived at Madigan," he noted as he often works in an outlying building.

After the full group took a photo with the tiny home, the members of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club gathered for their own, tools in hand.

As the first military unit to contribute to the tiny home construction volunteer movement in the state, Madigan's Soldiers have led the way. Other units on base are now working on their own construction projects. The one created by the Madigan crew is earmarked for a veteran with the hope that its shelter will bring comfort and a reminder that they are appreciated.

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