February 24th, 2016

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I think it’s important for people to see the faces of HAND, because we take pride in who we are. Therefore, today I wanted to introduce you to one of our wonderful employees. Her name is Tammy Murray. Not only does she work hard in several aspects of HAND, but she’s also the happy mother of three kids. She is also a fan of the color pink after having her first and only daughter! Murray also has a cat and dog that she is happy to say is past its puppy days! She loves doing yoga and being outdoors in her free time as well as volunteering at her church.

Murray works on office management, asset management, and recently property development. This means that she helps with deadlines, talking with tenants and project managers, up keeping tenants quality of life, managing properties on a large scale, and incorporating new properties into HAND. After finishing her long list of jobs, she expressed, “That’s what I do right now, but who knows what I’ll do next week. That’s the perk of working for a nonprofit!” Murray explains, “I’m learning a lot and that’s been very beneficial to be able then to see how decisions we make and the design and building process—how that impacts us from a property maintenance issue. So that’s been really good to see that full circle.” She loves all the roles she has at HAND and is always excited for the new experiences that come with each day.

After staying home with her kids for five years, she decided to go back to work, saying, “I have always had an interest in the construction aspect of it and I wanted to do something that was more involved and engaged with my community and how it impacts those that I live with.” Murray loves the hands-on attitude the company has and loves the direct impact HAND has on Hamilton County. When asked what it’s like to work for a nonprofit she said, “I love working for a nonprofit. I love that we’re focused on our residents, and those in the community and how we can address some of the housing issues that we have in Hamilton County.” Helping others is a driving motivator for Murray and she’s able to truly act on the drive by working with HAND. She’s gotten the opportunity to make a difference in her community every day since starting at HAND.

Murray also explained why HAND is important, saying, “You think about your family members and people you care about, and nobody wants to see their family member live in a situation that’s not of good quality or that’s not safe. That’s why what we do is so important, because we want people to have that.”

I also got the chance to ask Murray her view on the impact HAND has. I was curious to see another perspective, independent of my own, and I was surprised by how much I learned from our conversation. Sometimes we take for granted the things we come home to everyday. Many people in Hamilton County don’t have the luxury of a home and Murray comments, “Housing is such a big piece to someone’s well-being.” Housing has a big effect on the overall health of people and that’s why HAND is such an important company. She also explained that, “Whether it’s a group that works with domestic violence, or a group that works with seniors, or a hospital, housing is such a huge piece. There’s so many aspects that are hitting folks in the community that are related to housing. That was one of the things I didn’t really see until I came to work at HAND.” Housing is near essential to individual’s well-being and it’s vital that everyone has access to affordable, quality living. Murray and HAND are fighting hard to provide people with the safe, comforting housing Hamilton County residents’ need.