Issue link: https://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/1460718
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Bringing Housing Home A Conversation With Blackwood Builders Group's Trevor Johnson BY JAMES SLONE CONTENT SPECIALIST MBAKS W hen a friend invited Trevor Johnson to Roatán, Honduras to help build houses for families in need, he did what any respectable builder would do: he jumped right in. His first trip in 2018 turned out to be such a positive experience he decided to get his company involved. That company, Blackwood Builders Group, brings together "contractors, project managers, designers, and real estate developers [to] build custom spec homes in the Seattle area." You might say that Blackwood has a passion for putting people into homes. That passion makes Blackwood a natural fit for Dwellings Now, a nonprofit that builds homes to provide "shelter and hope for recipient families" to help foster self-respect, sufficiency, and unity for families in need. While the organization leads team builds in several Latin American countries, Blackwood chooses to return to the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras every year. Why? "Because of the families," Trevor explains. "The relationships we've built with them have been very satisfying." Dwellings Now has completed a staggering 130 builds in Roatán, and Blackwood's contribution since 2019 has been instrumental to that success. The company is so pleased with the partnership that they've already committed to three builds in 2022, followed by five more in 2023. Founder and CEO of Dwellings Now, Tom Hackett, praises Blackwood for their dedication. "Our relationship with Trevor Johnson and the Blackwood Builders Group has been extremely valuable because of Top: Townhouses at 50 th and Meridian, a "missing middle" housing development in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood by Blackwood Builders Group. Above: Raising a wall for a family's new home in Roatán, Honduras. 46 master BUILDER | SPRING 2022 MEMBERSHIP VALUE