Cindy Taylor from Habitat for Humanity approached Huston Electric for help with a very specific request… She was looking for electricians that happened to be women.
Cindy, Habitat for Humanity’s Director of Development, explained that Women Build was created to make women feel more comfortable volunteering. The build site is made up almost entirely of women, and each house is then turned over to a deserving woman and her family. Without having to worry about the stereotypical construction site atmosphere, many women are able to relax and enjoy the volunteer experience. Many of Habitat for Humanity’s finished homes go to single women with young children. “Our Women Build is kind of one big nurturing thing…We make sure that everybody meets the homeowner and that makes it much more personal”, Cindy explained. For the homeowner, “it creates an enormous amount of pride and accomplishment”, a greater sense of security, and the chance to pursue dreams that wouldn’t have otherwise been attainable.
We were excited to offer our support for their eleventh Women Build, so we assembled a crew of ladies lead by electrician Jackie Gillis. Jackie, Jennifer, Kristina, Robin, Cathy, and Kara have been working hard to wire the house, volunteering a total of 60 hours so far.
Huston Inc. was founded in 1939 and has divisions specializing in electrical contracting and service, home and business automation, smart boards, lighting retrofits, telecommunications, visual communications and signage, generators and compressors. Huston Electric has four locations including Lafayette, Kokomo and Westfield, IN. To learn more about Huston’s products and services, please visit www.hustonelectric.com
Matt Huston was born and raised in Lafayette, IN. During the summers beginning at age 13, Matt worked for the family electrical business, Huston Electric, first as a warehouse helper and then truck driver delivering material to jobsites. After graduating from Harrison High School, Matt attended Purdue University and finished at Indiana University-Purdue University (IUPUI) in 2013. Matt started his career as the Electrical Service Manager in Huston’s Lafayette location. Hitting the ground running, Matt built countless service-based relationships and has grown and morphed Huston Electric’s service division and market offerings. Matt was promoted to Director of Electrical Services in 2019 and was the driving force behind Huston’s solar division that launched in 2020. Currently, Matt serves as President of Huston Electric and is leading the company into its 85th year in business. Matt is excited and humbled to be able to follow in the steps of his father (Jon), grandfather (Dave), and great grandfather (Don) and looks forward to carrying on the legacy and growth at Huston Electric. Matt is an active member in many industry peer groups, community events, and trade conferences. He is a member of the Region4 Workforce Board and is Huston Electric’s appointed representative to ELECTRI International.