The Charlotte Observer
Lake Norman News (University City)
Thursday, August 08, 2013

On Nov. 8, a wounded U.S. military veteran will be honored with a mortgage-free home from Fairway Independent Mortgage of the Carolinas, the Boot Campaign and the Military Warriors Support Foundation.

Since May 2012, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. – a mortgage banking corporation headquartered in Sun Prairie, Wis., that has 150 locations nationwide – has donated more than $250,000 to help provide seven homes in alliance with the Boot Campaign and the Military Warriors Support Foundation.

Kelly Yale, director of marketing at Fairway Independent Mortgage of the Carolinas, said this is the first Charlotte Wounded Veteran Home Giveaway. She also said that the home recipient would receive a home that matched their specific housing needs, as well as three years of family and financial mentoring.

Yale said the recipient will also be honored that same day during a Fairway “Boot Camp,” which is a free Realtor training course in south Charlotte and Lake Norman for real estate agents to teach them how to help U.S. military service members and veterans overcome homeownership challenges.

There will be presentations by Capt. Sean Parnell, author of “Outlaw Platoon”; Louise Thaxton, branch manager and national director of the Military Mortgage Specialists Division at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.; Terri Murphy, real estate speaker and consultant; and Tom Tousignant, a 22-year U.S. Air Force veteran who is the regional branch manager and a military mortgage specialist at Fairway Independent Mortgage of the Carolinas.

“We could not be more excited to honor a family that has helped ensure the safety and freedom of all Americans, particularly on Veteran’s Day weekend,”Tousignant said.

Yale also said that several local companies have donated products and services for the home, such as Sherwin Williams, Sensibly Chic Designs for Life, Seize the Day Designs, Carolinas Landscape Management and Creative Home Stagers. She said that they still need volunteers, and anyone who wants to help can email help@fairwaync.com.

To apply for the home giveaway, the candidate must be a combat-wounded veteran (Purple Heart preferred) who was deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom. The home recipient must also be honorably retired or separated from the military and cannot have a current mortgage.

The Military Warriors Support Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded by retired Lt. Gen. Leroy Sisco in 2007 to provide housing, education, job opportunities and recreational events for wounded U.S. military veterans and Gold Star Families.

In 2009, the Boot Campaign – a national nonprofit organization that raises funds and awareness for active and retired military – became a charity partner with the Military Warriors Support Foundation. Since then, the groups have sponsored 20 mortgage-free houses with the help of several companies, such as Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.