Eastern Eight Community Development Corporation’s good work was recognized by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency recently, as the organization took home a “Remarkable Achievement” award in Rural housing development from the recent Governor’s Housing Summit.
“We’re very pleased to be recognized by THDA and our peers,” Eastern Eight Executive Director Retha Patton said. “We’re even happier to have helped 11 families in rural parts of our eight-county area to achieve the goal of homeownership, because our clients are the focus of our mission.”
Eastern Eight has added nearly $12 million to the region’s tax base in a little more than a decade of existence. It captured its latest award after being nominated by a major partner, the regional Rural Development office of the United States Department of Agriculture.
The 11 rural home sales, worth more than $1.1 million, were characterized by a purchase by Shirley Snapp. Ms. Snapp bought a home in Washington County, but not before a rigorous process all Eastern Eight clients complete before ever turning the key in the door of a new home. In Ms. Snapp’s case, that included working to re-establish good credit, improving her income and completing Eastern Eight-provided homeownership counseling.
With the dozen other cases involving Rural Development, it all added up to what THDA describes as “excellence in the development or management of owner or rental housing, reflecting the highest standards in quality and sustainability.”
THDA Executive Director Ted Fellman put it this way: “The ‘Tennessee’s Best’ awards is an opportunity for us to learn from the great work going on around us. We can be more successful and effective if we can study what has worked in other neighborhoods.”
Eastern Eight, which has also received awards and recognition for its housing services in Northeast Tennessee’s urban areas, completed 11 homeownership projects involving Rural Development loans during fiscal 2011, in Carter, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan and Washington counties.
Eastern Eight is a non-profit agency that provides turnkey homeownership and rental services , as well as foreclosure prevention services, throughout Carter, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington counties. To learn more about Eastern Eight, visit www.e8cdc.org or call (423) 232-5097. For more information on THDA, visit www.thda.org.
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