LULING, La. (WGNO)– Hahnville resident, Larry Tyson has been named the 2016 Rotary Club St. Charles Parish citizen of the year for building a home for a veteran. Sargent Nathan young and his wife have always dreamed of living in New Orleans. Young served two terms in Iraq, and was injured in 2010. His wife, Tabatha Young, entered her family to win a mortgage free home and their dreams came to fruition.
Larry Tyson, who owns a family operated construction company, donated his time and resources to give the couple a mortgage free home. “Operation Fnally Home helped us put the project together, it was just something we felt like we owed back, to not only this veteran but all veterans” said Larry Tyson. And for that modest spirit, he was nominated and pronounced the 2016 citizen of the year by the Rotary Club of St. Charles Parish.
Operation Finally Home is a national program that helps families like Sargent Young’s get the assistance they need. This is the first project of its kind in Louisiana, however last year they built 29 homes nation wide.
Nathan Young, originally from Mobile, Alabama suffers from PTSD, and may at some point in his life need a wheelchair to due the injuries to his vertebrae he sustained in war. Larry and his son Zachary built the home custom to Nathan’s needs.
“All the main entry-ways and doorways are really handicap accessible, the master bathroom is handicap accessible, the house also has a dark room for Nathan where it was really designed from the very beginning, from the initial stages of planning the house out, to where it can really help him be more comfortable whenever he has an anxiety or panic attack. That room has its own dedicated air conditioning system to help cool him down” said Zachary.
The Tysons, along with Operation Finally Home, gave the Youngs the gift of a lifetime.
“Nathan is a big Saints fan, they brought them over from Mobil and made the announcement in one of the film rooms there at the Saints training facility” recalls Larry.
Sargent Young and his wife Tabitha, will be moving in to their brand new, fully furnished home in Luling as soon as their daughter finishes school this spring. The house has all brand new furniture complimentary of J.C Penney.