keithword@bellsouth.net
Our office is located at 170 Craig Avenue right off East Ladiga Street and the 278 bypass
- Street Address: 170 Craig Avenue
- Mailing Address: P.O. Box 420, Piedmont, AL 36272-0420
- Phone: 256-447-6734 or 256-447-0526
- Fax: 256-447-7233
Office Hours: Monday - Friday 7:30 to 4:00 pm
Office Staff: J. Keith Word, Executive Director, (Oct 1989); Sheila Hill, Deputy Director, (Aug 1991); Mary Jane Gowens, Occupancy Specialist, (Mar 2000); Vickie L. Morris, Secretary/Clerk (Apr 2010)
Maintenance Staff: Johnny Minton, Supervisor, (Nov 1991) Ron Rankin, Assist Supervisor, (Oct 2006) Eddie Farmer, Maint Mechanic, (Oct 1986) Joey Turner, Maint Mechanic, (July 2009) Cheryl Shoemaker, Assist Maint Mech, (Jun 2002)
Total # of Housing Units: 261
Public Housing: 211
Section 8 New Construction: 50
May 2006
The Piedmont Housing Authority was created by state law in 1952 when a group of concerned citizens in Piedmont decided there was a need for low income housing. During the next 39 years 211 units of low income public housing was built, the Section 8 Existing Housing Program was started and Piedmont Manor Homes was built and the Housing Authority has managed that property since 1981.
I came to the Housing Authority in October 1989 and became the third Executive Director in September 1991. The Housing Authority then became involved in our city and community with numerous partnerships formed and a new beginning for programs and projects. Let me tell you about some of the things we have accomplished during the past 16 years:
MONEY: The Piedmont Housing Authority has administered over 16 million dollars in the past 16 years including $ 5.5 million in modernization and renovation funding. Our funding has been for the Section 8 Existing Housing Program, the Low income public housing program, management of Piedmont Manor, and the Housing Drug Elimination Program. that comes to about 1 million dollars a year that we at the Piedmont Housing Authority administer and manage and it is not an easy job. The last funding item we are very proud of is that Alabama Bond Pool Program with 37 PHA’s.
PROGRAMS: This part we are especially proud of. A. Project CARE Learning Center B. Project Detail with the Piedmont Police C. RMC Wellness Bus (5/19) D. RSVP with our Community Chest Program E. Piedmont Police Sub-station F. McDonalds A-Team Program for Academics G. Partnership agreement with City of Piedmont H. Now we partner with Community Action Agency I. Now we partner with Calhoun DHR
AWARDS: The Piedmont Housing Authority has received many awards and recognition for our programs during the Past 16 years:
So you can see we stay busy at the Piedmont Housing Authority each day and truly take pride in our city and community in providing a better quality of life for our residents and their families.
I would like to take this opportunity to recognize my staff and thank them for all their service and hard work. With the nine full time employees and two part time at our agency they have a combined total of 121 years of service in housing in Piedmont. I applaud them and thank them so much for their dedication to our agency and our residents.
Where do you go from here? We plan in the very near future to buy some property and build a new office since we have out grown our existing office. Then we plan to remodel the existing office to turn it into a community center for multiple purpose uses.
The Piedmont Housing Authority was created by state law in 1952 when a group of concerned citizens in Piedmont decided there was a need for low income housing. During the next 39 years 211 units of low income public housing was built, the Section 8 Existing Housing Program was started and Piedmont Manor Homes was built and the Housing Authority has managed that property since 1981.
I came to the Housing Authority in October 1989 and became the third Executive Director in September 1991. The Housing Authority then became involved in our city and community with numerous partnerships formed and a new beginning for programs and projects. Let me tell you about some of the things we have accomplished during the past 16 years:
MONEY: The Piedmont Housing Authority has administered over 16 million dollars in the past 16 years including $ 5.5 million in modernization and renovation funding. Our funding has been for the Section 8 Existing Housing Program, the Low income public housing program, management of Piedmont Manor, and the Housing Drug Elimination Program. that comes to about 1 million dollars a year that we at the Piedmont Housing Authority administer and manage and it is not an easy job. The last funding item we are very proud of is that Alabama Bond Pool Program with 37 PHA’s.
PROGRAMS: This part we are especially proud of. A. Project CARE Learning Center B. Project Detail with the Piedmont Police C. RMC Wellness Bus (5/19) D. RSVP with our Community Chest Program E. Piedmont Police Sub-station F. McDonalds A-Team Program for Academics G. Partnership agreement with City of Piedmont H. Now we partner with Community Action Agency I. Now we partner with Calhoun DHR
AWARDS: The Piedmont Housing Authority has received many awards and recognition for our programs during the Past 16 years:
- NAHRO AWARD OF MERIT
- PROJECT CARE
- 1992 NAHRO AWARD FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS
- 1993 SERC-NAHRO AWARD FOR HUMAN SERVICES
- 1993 AAHRA PR PROGRAM AWARD
- 1993 NAHRO RESIDENT SERVICES AWARD
- 1994 SERC-NAHRO AWARD FOR FIGHTING BACK
- 1994 HUD HIGH PERFORMER AWARD
- 1997 AAHRA BEST PRACTICES AWARD FOR A-TEAM
- 2003 AAHRA BEST PRACTICES AWARD FOR PROJECT DETAIL 2004
- ALABAMA MUNICIPAL LEAGUE AWARDS FOR 2002, 2003, AND 2005 GOLD AWARD ANNOUNCE TODAY
- FOUR EMPLOYEES OF THE PHA WHO WON ADMINISTRATIVE AND MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEES OF THE YEAR AND THREE ARE HERE TODAY: Sheila Hill, Larry Evans, and Donald Thompson.
- TWO STUDENTS IN HOUSING HAVE WON AAHRA SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS IN 2004 AND 2005.
- DURING MARCH 2002 THE PIEDMONT HOUSING CELEBRATED 50 YEARS OF SERVICE IN OUR CITY.
- WE ARE CURRENTLY REMODELING TWO LARGE DEVELOPMETNS 50 AND 75 FOR 2.2 MILLION THAT WILL PROVIDE A MUCH MORE MODERN AND UP TO DATE APARTMENT FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
- WE HAD A HOUSING STUDENT IN JACOB BRAMLETT OBTAIN HIS GED THIS MONTH BEING THE FIRST STUDENT IN THE STATE TO OBTAIN HIS GED WHILE IN DUEL ENROLLMENT IN PIEDMONT CITY SCHOOLS AND GADSDEN STATE COMMMUNITY COLLEGE.
- LAST MONTH SHEILA HILL WAS RECOGNIZED BY THE CALHOUN COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AS SECRETARY OF THE YEAR IN CALHOUN COUNTY.
So you can see we stay busy at the Piedmont Housing Authority each day and truly take pride in our city and community in providing a better quality of life for our residents and their families.
I would like to take this opportunity to recognize my staff and thank them for all their service and hard work. With the nine full time employees and two part time at our agency they have a combined total of 121 years of service in housing in Piedmont. I applaud them and thank them so much for their dedication to our agency and our residents.
Where do you go from here? We plan in the very near future to buy some property and build a new office since we have out grown our existing office. Then we plan to remodel the existing office to turn it into a community center for multiple purpose uses.