[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 2 (Friday, January 5, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING KELLE SHULTZ UPON HER RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. TIM BURCHETT

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 5, 2024

  Mr. BURCHETT. Mr. Speaker, today, I recognize Kelle Shultz, a devoted 
and compassionate leader who has served as president of Knoxville 
Habitat for Humanity since 1995 and is now entering a well-deserved 
retirement.
  Kelle's work has helped many East Tennesseans who otherwise might not 
have a place to call home, and her efforts earned Knoxville Habitat 
recognition as a top 40 Habitat affiliate worldwide. Since she took 
over, she significantly increased the organization's home-building and 
repair services for low-income families, peaking at 24 homes a year in 
2018. Under Kelle's leadership, Knoxville Habitat also built the 
200,000th home built by Habitat for Humanity globally, and Knoxville 
Habitat became the largest home builder in the city during the 2008-
2009 Great Recession.
  Knoxville Habitat also implemented a series of Financial Fitness 
classes to educate Habitat homeowners, and this program is now a 
prerequisite to Habitat homeowners around the world. Knoxville Habitat 
has an overall homeowner success rate of 96.4 percent, which is a 
testament to how well Kelle understands what these homeowners need and 
how to provide paths to prosperity.
  She has also shown leadership for Habitat for Humanity in other ways. 
She has actively led the East TN Executive Directors group, served on 
the Habitat Tennessee Board of Directors and the U.S. Council for 
Habitat International, and fostered collaborations with local 
organizations. She was named Outstanding Leader of the Year by Habitat 
Tennessee in 2015 to recognize her amazing work.
  Kelle Shultz is a pillar of the Knoxville community and I wish her 
well in her retirement.

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