WRITTEN BY MIKE PRINS
Stattonrock construction builds really nice houses. But in the past year, they’ve done a lot more than raise roofs.
Dan and Miranda (Randi) Dueck own and operate Stattonrock from their acreage in Abbotsford, BC. It’s been their life for the past 11 years, and they’re proud of their team and the projects they’ve completed—custom homes, kitchen upgrades, barns, to name a few. They’ve even won some awards. But it wasn’t until recently that they found true satisfaction in their work.
Through Eric and Doug Toews of Alderidge Construction, the Duecks were introduced to the impoverished community of Acul, Guatemala. The two families have a long history together and sometimes share projects. In spring of 2016, one co-project had to be delayed a week at Alderidge’s request. Why? A trip with Food for the Hungry to Guatemala. Dan reminisces with a chuckle, “Doug talked a lot about that trip! The whole thing piqued our interest. We were feeling unsettled and wanted to do more with our business.”
As a result of that relationship, Dan and Randi are now helping build an end to poverty in Acul through a partnership with Food for the Hungry.
In spring 2016, Dan traveled with a FH team to Guatemala. For 11 days they visited mothers in their homes, walked with farmers through their crops, toured community projects with village leaders, and played with children who flocked to get a better look, and feel, at Dan’s beard. “The kids had to touch it. Some hung on my beard so much I could taste the grape popsicle on their fingers!” But he didn’t mind—getting close enough ‘to taste it’ was why Dan went in the first place. “It was good to see—I mean, to really see. I wanted to understand what FH does so when someone at home asks I can rattle off what and how we do it.”
In total, Come As You Are raised over $22,000 for family-oriented projects in Acul, Guatemala. Dan remembers Michel, one of the men he met on his 2016 visit, who he hopes will benefit from the fundraising done that night.
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| Friends, families, and business partners enjoy Come As You Are, a Stattonrock fundraiser for Acul, Guatemala. |
Stattonrock construction builds really nice houses. But in the past year, they’ve done a lot more than raise roofs.
Dan and Miranda (Randi) Dueck own and operate Stattonrock from their acreage in Abbotsford, BC. It’s been their life for the past 11 years, and they’re proud of their team and the projects they’ve completed—custom homes, kitchen upgrades, barns, to name a few. They’ve even won some awards. But it wasn’t until recently that they found true satisfaction in their work.
Through Eric and Doug Toews of Alderidge Construction, the Duecks were introduced to the impoverished community of Acul, Guatemala. The two families have a long history together and sometimes share projects. In spring of 2016, one co-project had to be delayed a week at Alderidge’s request. Why? A trip with Food for the Hungry to Guatemala. Dan reminisces with a chuckle, “Doug talked a lot about that trip! The whole thing piqued our interest. We were feeling unsettled and wanted to do more with our business.”
As a result of that relationship, Dan and Randi are now helping build an end to poverty in Acul through a partnership with Food for the Hungry.
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| Dan (left), his dad (right), colleagues from Alderidge Construction, and FH staff traveled to Guatemala for a first-hand experience. |
In spring 2016, Dan traveled with a FH team to Guatemala. For 11 days they visited mothers in their homes, walked with farmers through their crops, toured community projects with village leaders, and played with children who flocked to get a better look, and feel, at Dan’s beard. “The kids had to touch it. Some hung on my beard so much I could taste the grape popsicle on their fingers!” But he didn’t mind—getting close enough ‘to taste it’ was why Dan went in the first place. “It was good to see—I mean, to really see. I wanted to understand what FH does so when someone at home asks I can rattle off what and how we do it.”
In June 2017, Stattonrock and Alderidge held a local fundraising party in support of Acul. The event, Come As You Are, turned out to be a knee-slapping hootenanny as Christian music sensation Tim and the Glory Boys had the crowd stomping along to their bluegrass-inspired music.
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| Tim and the Glory Boys put on a special Hootenanny for Come As You Are. |
Local comedian Cliff Prang emceed the event and “had us laughing so hard my face hurt!” exclaimed one attendee. Refreshments were served and party-goers filled the rustically decorated community space, eagerly making their bids in the silent auction.
The auction item "Say Goodbye To The Beard" had the crowd truly hooting. Dan was flabbergasted by the response. “We started the night at $2,500 for my beard and it kept going up to almost $9,000! Just to shave my beard...though I have had it for nine years!” Needless to say, the beard came off that night to ruckus applause.
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| Dan Dueck's chin hadn't seen the light of day for nearly a decade. But it was worth it! |
In total, Come As You Are raised over $22,000 for family-oriented projects in Acul, Guatemala. Dan remembers Michel, one of the men he met on his 2016 visit, who he hopes will benefit from the fundraising done that night.
Dan visited Michel in a small hut where he cares for his aging mother. In the centre of the hut a fire was burning, the makings of a rudimentary kitchen. The home had no windows, no chimney, no vents. Smoke permeated the air. Dan was told Michel had been living there for about 26 years. “That’s ‘stuck,’” recalls Dan. “Michel can’t just ‘make more money’ to get away; the means aren’t there. I started to ‘get’ FH’s ‘from stuck to thriving’ model. With a little help, there are ways to break that cycle of poverty.”
The trip led to a light bulb moment for Dan.
“I got home and only wanted to be back in Guatemala. But then I realized that good business decisions here could help people there. If I don’t keep the wheels turning in Abbotsford, I can’t do my part for those leaders and families in Acul. We are part of creating something bigger.”
With that in mind, Stattonrock intends to make Come As You Are an annual community tradition. For the Duecks, the biggest take-away from the event was not the $22,000 raised. Dan recalls, “We were so pleasantly surprised by who came—the friends, colleagues, other businesses that came out—many of whom are not really connected to this kind of outreach work. They just wanted to support or sponsor a child, and were having a great time doing it! It got me so fired up!”
It’s never been about the money,” Randi adds. “Yes, we made a commitment to raise $30,000 for Acul this year, but that’s never been as important as building relationship with our friends in Guatemala, and in raising awareness and understanding for people here in Canada.”
With that determination, Dan looks forward to many more trips and years of partnership with Acul. “God wants us to do this partnership thing for the next 10 years. And I want to bring that commitment home for my wife, family, employees, our suppliers, other businesses—you name it. This is what makes our business worth it.”
You can help the Duecks build an end to poverty in Acul by clicking here.
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| The kids in Acul gave their honoured guests a warm "hasta luego!" |
Stattonrock Construction and Alderidge Construction would like to extend special thanks to High Street Shopping Centre (highstreetfv.com) for donating event space, Tim Neufeld & The Glory Boys for their live performance (timneufeldmusic.com), realtors Stan Wiebe (stantherealtor.com) and Paul Wiebe (paulwiebe.com) for their gifts to the auction, and to Cliff Prang (CliffPrang.com) for his talents as a funny guy.
