Dynasty Painting Revisited - Found A Home to Paint

Way back in April we introduced you to a young man named Enrique Gutierrez of Muskegon who's got a painting company called Dynasty Painting.  As you may recall, we met up for a chat at Gracie's Bookstore in Lakeside so Enrique could lay out his plan to find someone who was in need of a had to get their house painted.  The requests came in and the decision was made, and it was closer to home than expected.



Last week, Enrique got a hold of me to tell me that the selection was made and that he'd picked a neighbor right across the street.  As the events unfolded Bob Fitzpatrick had just lost his wife of 36 years and Bob had to spend most of his time with her in her final days, as anyone would.  Dealing with the effects of a long term illness is hard, on any number of levels.  There are financial burdens, emotional tolls, time constraints and just the overwhelming magnitude of the situation.  Bob did what had to be done though and saw it through for his wife.

Find Dynasty Painting on Facebook

Being close by, Enrique saw what was happening and when the time came, he felt this was his calling and here is where he was mean to do his work.  Enrique approached Bob and told him the plan.  Like so many others, Bob kind of had a hard time getting his head around the idea.  He said to me before we started the interview that he thought there were so many more out there who were "more worthy" of something like this. It seems the most selfless people say that when something comes their way.  None the less, he agreed and in the first week of August, the work will begin.

Here's the really great part.  What was to be the work of Enrique...has blossomed out to include area football teams pitching in, other area painters wanting to lend a hand, people from as far away as South Haven wanting to do their part to feed the crew for a day.  They have even had an offer from Skeetown Tavern for a project completion party.  Folks...allow me to shout it from the mountaintop.... THIS IS HOW COMMUNITY WORKS!  I for one and proud to have had a chance to help tell the story.

As we promised you a few months ago, when a house was chosen we'd follow up not only to make sure you knew it was still going on, but to show you first hand just how awesome Muskegon is and how well we take care of one another.  Here's a little chat with Enrique and Bob.

Not everything has to be a house painted.  Not every one has to bit off a part of community this size.  It's as simple as watching out for a neighbor, making sure that they are ok or if they need a hand with something simple.  It's about saying hi to a stranger or trying something new in a different neighborhood.  We are built on our connections and our community grows by the fiber we build between each other.  Be the change you want to see.  I want to close by saying how remarkably proud I am to have been a small part of this.  I think it's amazing to see an I hope your take away from this is that one random act of kindness is all it takes to change the world.