Horstman
By Matt Clevenger
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TROY — After more than a decade of service, Habitat for Humanity of Miami and Shelby Counties Executive Director Bill Horstman has announced plans for retirement at the end of January 2024.
“I don’t look at it as retiring,” Horstman said. “I just look at it as moving on to the next phase of my life.”
“I told the board I’d support them in all of their efforts,” he said. “I’ll probably come down and pound a few nails, when it seems appropriate.”
Horstman first got involved with Habitat for Humanity 14 years ago, serving for four years as a board member, and accepting the executive director position 11 years ago. Before serving in the executive director position, he also worked for 40 years as part of a large corporation.
“I went from corporate America to a non-profit,” he said. “I wasn’t satisfied with the leadership and management of where the affiliate was going. Hopefully, in the last 11 years we’ve turned that all around, and put an affiliate together that’s in good standing and solid in its management and its processes.”
Habitat for Humanity also started a successful new repair program under Horstman’s direction, and moved the Restore to its current location on West Main Street.
“We moved the Restore that we have out to its current facility,” Horstman said. “That’s grown exponentially over the last six or seven years. The space that we were doing the Restore out of here at the office, we turned that into the Habitat Activity Center (HAC); we do a number of woodworking projects there for our Restore, as well as for the community.”
“We’ve instituted and started a repair program,” he said. “We’re doing two or three per month; that has the potential to grow quite a bit as well.”
Originally from Sidney, Horstman is a graduate of Holy Angels Catholic School. He and his wife have four adult children and 10 grandchildren.
“I’ve been with my partner now for 30-plus years,” he said. “She’s been by my side, and helped me along the way.”
Horstman will finish the month of January in the Habitat for Humanity office, to assist with the transition to newly appointed Executive Director Scott Barr.
“With Scott taking over, we’ve got leadership that can basically extend and execute our strategic plan that we put together,” he said. “I feel good about it; it’s being left in good hands. We’ve got good board members, and Scott is the right guy to lead it, going forward.”
“I don’t plan on retiring from anything,” Horstman said. “If I can help out there, they know how to get a hold of me.”
