Building a Strong Foundation for a Better Future
It was at a Republican fundraiser where the two met. At the time, she was incoming president of the association of realtors, and he was the owner, founder and president of American Beauty Development. “I tapped her on the shoulder and introduced myself,” states Jack Shine, “and when she turned around, I thought, ‘Wow’.”
Jack handed Doreen a card, and asked if he could call her the following day. But impatience got the better of Jack as he approached her again that evening, asking if they could grab a drink together after the event. “I didn’t want to wait another moment.”
Doreen obliged. “I like that he had the guts to do that, to come over to my table while I was eating and ask me out.”
Over a decade later, the two have proven to be successful, both in and outside of their relationship. Doreen serves as chair for the selection committee for Habitat for Humanity, while Jack is Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for Habitat For Humanity.
Doreen made her way from Ireland to the U.S. in 1970, and resided in the Santa Clarita Valley beginning in 1975. While the two had not met yet, it was during that time, when Jack was paving his way in our valley. Since 1963, Jack has been highly successful with the development of residential and commercial projects. “I bought a piece of property up in Bouquet Canyon, and built 563 homes in that project.” Over the next few decades, more and more land was purchased to build homes. “We always built affordable housing with price ranges that we thought were the best value for what we were building,” states Jack. “We built quite a few homes until the early 1990’s, and for the next dozen or so years, we continued to buy land, but sold it to other builders.”
In 1998, Jack got involved with Habitat for Humanity, a local non-profit organization dedicated to building homes for low-income families. “We are building homes for families who can’t afford it without a little help,” states Jack. “It’s not a handout, but rather a ‘hand-up’.” After building 61 homes in the North Valley and bringing another 12 to the community, Habitat for Humanity found land in the SCV to build homes for our military veterans. “We found 22 acres and decided this is what we wanted to do. As we got into it, we were able to generate 87 homes in the community the biggest project for Habitat for Humanity.”
Doreen is actively involved in the project as well, serving as chair of the selection committee. She also chairs, and has for the last five years, the Builder’s Ball, Habitat’s primary fundraiser, being held on February 21, at the Sheraton Universal.
“You don’t give something for Doreen to do, if you don’t want to get it done,” Jack intercedes. With Doreen’s experience working for the Department of Social Welfare in Ireland, combined with her real estate training, she is just the one for the position.
“Veterans and their families are affected by war, so it’s going to be a great thing to give back. This project is that veterans are getting more than just a house, but also a whole new way of life.” states Doreen. “We want to see people advance and get the help they need. “The idea is to get other people to advance and improve themselves so everyone has a chance to get on the middle class ‘merry go round’…we want to provide people with opportunity, and give them a chance to help themselves.”
The Habitat for Humanity 87-home project will be the first of its kind in Santa Clarita, and the start of grading the first phase will begin roughly in February or March of 2014. Once the land is graded, homes will take anywhere from four to six months to complete.
“Our grand opening celebration was on November 9, and was in great part made a success through the efforts of our CEO Donna Deutchman.”
“To give, is one of the best feelings you can have in your life, other than having children,” states Doreen. “To have Jack by my side, and know we want the same things in life, well it just doesn’t get any better than that. We both love this community and want to see people do well.”
by Stephanie Struyck Elgin
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