“I asked for an Xbox 360 and I got a 12,500 square-foot building" for Fort Sam wounded

$5M oasis for war wounded to open at Fort Sam

By Michelle Roberts - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Nov 29, 2008 14:30:03 EST

SAN ANTONIO — Judith Markelz has relied on volunteers for years to help the war wounded and their families. They’ve brought meals, DVDs, event tickets and an endless supply of cookies to help comfort those whose lives are suddenly upended by a bomb or a bullet.

So when a new volunteer, Les Huffman, arrived at the chaotic 1,000-square-foot room used for the Warrior and Family Support Center in January 2007 and asked what Markelz needed, the program manager said a new video game system.

But Huffman, the president of a small commercial development firm, wanted to do more. And when Markelz conceded she could use a little more room, that’s what she got: a $5 million building designed like a Texas Hill Country home with a therapeutic garden, classroom, video game room and kitchen — all paid for by private donations. It’s the first center of its kind built on an Army post.

“I asked for an Xbox 360 and I got a 12,500 square-foot building,” she laughs. “Nice trade-off.”

Markelz gets the keys to the new place, built at Fort Sam Houston, on Monday.

Cash donations to the Returning Heroes Home, the nonprofit Huffman Developments set up to oversee the project, were supplemented by subcontractors eager to give their time and by suppliers willing to give materials for free or at steep discounts.

“Whenever we’ve needed anything, things have just come together,” said Beverly Lamoureux, the Huffman Developments executive vice president who helped oversee the design and building of the new center.

go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_warwounded_112708/