EXCLUSIVE: Cambria County Veteran will receive brand-new home for free
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ) — After interviewing five candidates on Saturday at the War Memorial Arena, a panel of representatives selected the veteran who would receive a new home, free of charge. WTAJ received an exclusive interview with the candidate on Sunday.
Darren Hill served in the U.S. Navy from 1987 to 1994 after graduating from high school. In 2006, he moved back to Johnstown, where he started to get involved in the community and his local church.
Hill was selected as the recipient of a brand-new free house through the Polacek Veteran Home Initiative, Vision Together 2025 and Hosanna Industries. He will live in the home with his family.
'I wasn't confident that someone like me would win something like this,' Hill said.
The home will be constructed on Somerset Street in Johnstown and gifted by the Polacek Veteran Home Initiative, led by JWF Industries President William Polacek.
'Truly deserving veteran, who was in need of a home. And we're happy to be able to provide him with one. So it's been great from beginning to this point. And, it's gone so well that the plan is to continue to do this. This is going to be the first of hopefully many, many veteran homes in the Johnstown community. So it's been great,'
The newly constructed home will be built with the latest in sustainable and accessible design to provide comfort and security for the future.
'I feel blessed, I feel like a long time coming because I really need a home that's going to be brand new, and I don't have to worry about all the maintenance and having to fix something up. So I feel really blessed,' Hill said.
It will be a 864-square-foot, three-bedroom ranch house built by Hosanna Industries.
'Building new opportunities in Johnstown, not only for Mr. Hill and his daughter and his aunt, but the community at large, is very, very rewarding. Johnstown is such a special town, and we were starting to see a lot of really great energy come to the town,' Brian Hetzer, Construction Services Supervisor for Hosanna Industries, said.
Volunteers will begin construction for the new home in July, and it is estimated to take four days.
Hetzer said the blitz build is a four-day process of organized chaos. On the first day, there are between 50 and 100 volunteers. The foundation will already be in the ground with the walls waiting to be erected.
By the end of the first day, there's a complete structure with siding on it, windows and doors installed. The roof is on, and all of the electrical, plumbing, and heating systems are completely done and inspected. The second day, insulation, drywall and mudding are also completed.
By the evening of the second day, the house is painted on the inside. On the third day, volunteers start installing the flooring, doors and trim, as well as the cabinetry and work on the outside decks. On the last day, all of the furnishings are moved in, and the house is dedicated.
If you would like to volunteer your time or services, visit the Hosanna Industries website, or call the office at (724)-770-0262 and ask to speak with the Volunteer Coordinator.
Hetzer said volunteers of all types are needed, including plumbers, electricians, carpenters and masons.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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