As reported by Turks and Caicos Sun by Vivian Tyson & WIV
Jennifer Forbes was one of the scores of persons in Grand Turk who were rendered homeless after Hurricane Ike devastated that island on Sept 6, last year, but thanks to a benevolent gesture by
Hartling Group, she is now the recipient of a new four bedroom house.
The Hartling Group which operates The Sands, the Regent Palms Resort and under-construction Shore Club, volunteered to conduct repair works in Grand Turk, the most affected island.
Paul Horton, Stan Hartling, Jennifer Forbes and Arthur Forbes of the Rotary Club
When they saw the frame of what used to be Forbes' house, and learn of he trauma she suffered in the aftermath of the hurricane, including the loss of her father, their heart went out to her and decided that she should be the candidate for a home reconstruction.
Stan Hartling, the principal for the Hartling Group, was modest in his response to The Sun, even after taking on such a task, supported by partners, including Horizon Construction, and Tropical Shipping engineer Peter Karrigan.
According to Hartling, in addition to the Forbes' home reconstruction, the Hartling Group undertook other efforts in Grand Turk through the Rotary Club there.
Hartling said the house reconstruction and repair gestures started off as a joint effort between himself and other owners at The Sands and The Regent Palms, noting they were able to raise $70,000 in materials.
Hartling said the group worked with Lillian Missick in Grand Turk, who gave them an extended tour of the island as they viewed the most adverse situations that needed repairs.
"She (Lillian Missick) over in Grand Turk that has the bakery, and who was generous enough to take us around the island several times to try and help us qualify projects - ones that the people did not actually have insurance and needed assistance. And we were not just giving materials to make it easier, but to actually take people who would have no way otherwise to reconstruct."
"Through that, we decided that we did not want to do a project that was just a repair project, but one that had enough damage and that we were not just putting on a roof, but more of a complete reconstruction," Hartling said.
He said based on the severe destruction of Forbes' home, he had to solicit the service of good friend Peter Kerrigan - a civil engineer, who volunteered his time to carry-out assessment and make recommendations for the reconstruction.
Following the raising of the materials, Hartling said he contacted Paul Horton of Horizon Construction, in order to acquire a discount. But instead, Horton made more than a generous donation with respect to labour, which Hartling said between both groups amounted to about $100,000.
"We did that with a couple of projects, but the large one was Jennifer's, which we sort of randomly chose, because we had five or six candidates that we had to decide from, we had to narrow it down. We finally chose her project, because we felt that she had not only her roof gone, but a fair amount of structural damage from the storm, so we selected that as the project."
"Additionally, we were excited because Rotary Club was also doing a lot of work at the time, so a lot of the materials that we had left and didn't distribute to people or use it in our specific project, we were able to give to the Rotary Club and they distributed it as well," Hartling further explained.
Harlting stressed that aside from making the lives of a few families better, the aim of undertaking the projects in Grand Turk was a reminder that even though the island has come a long way since Hurricane Ike, there remains a great deal of work to be done, and that persons with the wherewithal should endeavor to close ranks and assist with the islands' total restoration.
Hartling said he got from the undertaking was to see the joyous demeanor displayed by Forbes after her house was completed; a feedback he said will continue to fuel the giving spirit in him.
For Forbes, the reconstruction of her home has been a dream come true, since it appeared that help was not on the horizon for her in the face of her not having any form of insurance to rebuild her home.
"I was totaled; with no insurance and no savings. We are more than happy. I don't have enough thanks to thank Stan for coming to my rescue," Forbes told The Sun.
She said at the time of the storm she had a sick father, sick sister and grand children. According to her, at one moment, they were sitting under a sound roof and the next moment they were exposed to the ravaging wind.
"We were scrambling from one part of the house trying to get to the next. As we ran from one room to the other, the roof just disappeared from over our heads, and everything was just falling, hitting up left right and centre. I managed to rush into the other bedroom where my father was in the bed. I asked God to give me the strength of Samson, and mustered him up and rushed him into the room.
"And just as just as I got my family into a little area with a shelter in a closet, that was when one of the big rafters from the roof fell across the door, and I was left outside and all the family members were on the inside. I stood on the outside and took the brunt of everything. It was terrible experience.
It didn't end there, three days after the hurricane, my 14 year old son was diagnosed with a tumor and he lost his chin bone in a sixteen hour surgery. And on the same day that they took him in for surgery was when the shocking news came that my father had passed," Forbes explained.
However, she is still thankful that God spared her life and also believed that it was based on she went through during and after the storm that God allowed her to be the recipient of the home.
Hartling House - An oasis on the shores of Long Bay.
To showcase the property, Hartling Group has just launched a web site at http://www.hartlinghouse.com/.
Ray Godoy was unstoppable. He scored a whopping 36 points to ensure that the Hartling Group forced a third game in the best-of-three finals.
Pictured are Paul Horton and Carol Potter pushing his car to its limits in a tight corner and one of Pierre Beswick and Stan Hartling in the BMW jumping a wet wooden bridge in a very small town called Brigus. (Please note the speed limit sign next to the bridge. lol ). The shot below shows what one might call cutting the corner tight to save time. Just for the record… no paint came off the rims, close call!
Saturday, October 3, Come and join us a The Regent Palms under the stars at Parallel 23 for Annie Lennox at 7:30pm followed by ABBA at 9:30pm on the big screen and dance the night away. 
As reported by TCI Freepress 
Stan Hartling, the principal for the Hartling Group, was modest in his response to The Sun, even after taking on such a task, supported by partners, including Horizon Construction, and Tropical Shipping engineer Peter Karrigan.
Hartling said he got from the undertaking was to see the joyous demeanor displayed by Forbes after her house was completed; a feedback he said will continue to fuel the giving spirit in him.
