ST. PARIS – Melanie C. Blankenship was nominated for the May 2021 Home Sweet Home Community Beautification Award for Habitat for Humanity Champaign County Ohio (HFHCCO).
Habitat’s first HFHCCO Home Sweet Home Beautification Award was presented to Barb and Daniel Brooks, Harmon Avenue, Urbana in 2020.
“It is with great pleasure we announce Melanie has been selected for the Community Beautification Award by the HFHCCO board,” a news release from HFHCCO states.
Blankenship resides at 517 S. Church St., St. Paris.
Blankenship is a Graham High School graduate and a single mother who is the lab coordinator for Eurofins Scientific located at Cargill in Sidney. Her daughter, Lela, is an HR Specialist for Kimball Midwest in Columbus and manages rental properties and a snow removal business in her spare time. Her younger daughter Macy is in college, studying accounting/finance while she works full time as a grain inspector for Eurofins Scientific at Cargill in Sidney. Her son Braden, who assisted with the build of the home, will be graduating from Graham High School this year. Braden, a GHS senior, works for Greentree Specialist LLC in Columbus but still resides in the HFHCCO Habitat home.
Blankenship’s home was built in 2017. Blankenship and her entire family assisted with the structure build as well as the many volunteers. The front porch posts were antique barn beams from her grandfather’s farm. As a single mother, Blankenship has had much on her plate of late – health challenges, car issues and more. She has worked very hard to complete the landscaping at the front of the home – edging the flower beds, mulching, adding trees and flowers, as well as front porch furniture she and her mother upholstered for outdoor usage. Her rear patio was gifted to her by her family. It too has had an upgrade – patio furniture was added, an antique farm pump koi pool and additional tree and flower plantings. Flower boxes were added both to the front and the back of the home.
Blankenship is a good example of an HFHCCO home recipient who has stayed current on her mortgage and has earned her $500 Arbor Fund allotment, the news release states: “We are proud of Melanie and wish to thank her neighbor, Kevin May, who has assisted Melanie with gutter cleaning and more. Melanie is going to remove a large pine tree in the back yard soon. She brought in gravel and dirt to fill a low spot at the rear of the home. She has been diligent in this area and the home is a welcome addition to the South Church Street community.”
Blankenship will receive a $100 gift certificate from the HFHCCO ReStore in Urbana. She will also receive a $50 gift card from the Brock C. Comer Memorial Scholarship fund as well as various other gift cards from the community.
“We are thankful for Melanie. The HFHCCO Home Sweet Home Community Beautification Award sign and banner are currently being displayed at her home. This award recognizes Habitat homeowners who are helping to keep their adopted neighborhoods attractive,” the news release concluded.