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HANDY AND HELPFUL Leeward Group’s mission: assist elderly, handicapped with household tasks
Kalamazoo Gazette – Generations Section September 15, 2007 by Dave Person
Helping the elderly and handicapped to stay in their own homes has brought a sense of purpose to Dave Lee’s life. “I was frustrated, trying to find out what my purpose was,” Lee, 42, said of the personal struggle he went through a few years ago. In 2004, Lee, who was equipment manager at Ship-Pac Inc., tried his hand at starting a home maintenance and repair company geared toward Kalamazoo County’s elderly and handicapped residents. A year after starting Leeward Group, Lee quit his job at Ship-Pac so he could keep up with the demand. “Word of mouth has grown the business to what it is today,” said Lee, who has 80-some customers, about 30 of whom seek Leeward Group’s help at least monthly. As a result, Lee has brought in three others to work with him – Bill Koehl, Chad Laning and Mary Stryker. If it gets crazy, I get other people to come,” he said. Among them, he said, are a licensed plumber, electrician and builder who are willing to step up if the project is beyond Lee’s or his staff’s ability, or if it requires someone licensed in one of their professionals. I’ve recommended his service for my clients, and my parents have used his service,” said Jan Livesay, owner of Unfinished Business, an advanced-planning and document-organization business. “I’m just very glad he’s around.” Livesay said one of her neighbors hired Lee and “thought he was just wonderful.” “So I referred a client to him, and she had him keep coming back because she had all kinds of things, small things, large things (for him to do),” Livesay said. He comes in with a smile and a can-do attitude and gets it done.” Keys to his business, Lee said, are low cost to customers – Leeward’s rates start at $30 an hour for handyman tasks – a wide variety of services and a lack of long term contracts. “We’re the one company in town that mows your lawn once” if that’s all the customer needs done, Lee said. “We meet people at their need.” “Leeward Group provides all of the services the homeowner needs, whether it be lawn care, landscaping, power washing, gutter cleaning or outside window washing,” Lee said in a news release. “On the inside we’ve done whatever has been needed, from moving furniture, plumbing work, painting, electrical, cleaning stoves to complete remodeling. No job is too big or small.” Lee and Koehl say they are self-taught handymen. “After you do it (a particular job) once, you know it,” Koehl said. Lee, an architect by training, said his jobs are as diverse as repairing swimming pools and patios, replacing toilets and retiling bathroom walls. This week his schedule included putting in a driveway and pouring a sidewalk. Koehl said one project started out to be installing a barrier-free shower lining, then continued with a new bathroom window and flooring at the request of the homeowner. “We basically remodeled the whole bathroom,” he said. “Most of the projects require a handyman, and that’s where we shine,” Lee said. He said he and his employees perform other duties when requested, such as taking people to the airport if they have a flight to catch and want to leave their car at home. “It’s just that little bit of extra that sets us apart,” Koehl said. Lee said the company keeps costs down by accepting donations of tools and supplies, and using materials left over from previous jobs. Koehl said that, to some customers, having them around is more important than the actual work. “A lot of times they’re just happy having someone there,” he said. Lee said gratification from his job comes when someone tells him, “Dave, you’ve taken some of my handicaps away.” “That’s when you get back in your truck,” he said, “and you say, “There’s purpose in my life.”
LEEWARD GROUP The four people who are the core of Leeward Group, 225 W. Walnut St., are: David Lee, 42, of Kalamazoo, former equipment manager for Ship-Pac Inc., who founded Leeward Group in May 2004. He is on the boards of the Friends of the Portage Senior Center and Lending Hands of Michigan Inc. Mary Stryker, 59, of Kalamazoo, whose late father was a Leeward Group client. She went from full time to part time in another job in order to work part time for the Leeward Group last fall after her father’s death. A board member of Community Advocates for Persons with Developmental Disabilities, she is responsible for sales and marketing for Leeward Group. Bill Koehl, 38, of Otsego, a certified chef who began working for Leeward Group in February. Chad Laning, 20, of Kalamazoo, a Kalamazoo Valley Community College Student who became acquainted with Lee through his sister, a friend of Lee’s daughter. He has been working for Leeward Group as well as going to school for three years. Prices: Leeward Group caters to senior citizens and the disabled, but will assist anyone who requests its services. Weekday rates start at: $30 per hour for handyman services. $40 per hour for electrical and plumbing work. $50 per hour for lawn mowing. $60 per hour for power washing.
For more information: 207-6702 or visit their web site at:
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