farragutpress

FHS trade program making a difference for veterans

December 10, 2025 by Staff Report

Students in the residential commercial construction classes at Farragut High School are not only learning a trade, they are also making an impact in the community. They are doing their part to provide shelter for homeless area veterans. 

Three classes have been working since August, building a 248-square foot “tiny home” — one of two to be completed by school year’s end — just outside the bay door of their CTE building classroom. The houses are for “Operation Hero’s Hill,” which will offer 20 tiny homes for veterans in an as-yet-unannounced Knox County locale.

“We have had 78 students put hands on the current house,” noted construction teacher Richie Patton, who has been guiding students through the process. 

“The students are getting hands-on experience with sheet rock, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, H-VAC and masonry,” he added. “They also have the benefit of being mentored by local companies who are experts in their field.

“They are getting real world experience, learning the basic trades and building relationships with local contractors,” Patton said. “We have even had students become apprentices through these relationships.”

Seniors Jane Davanzo and Sam Souther, who both plan to pursue construction degrees in college, serve as teaching assistants for the classes and are two of only five females working on the project.

“This project has helped me so much [to prepare me] for college,” Souther said. “I want to go into residential construction, and it has been really helpful.”

“We have done just about everything on the house, except the roof,” said Davanzo, adding, “It has really been a blessing to be part of something bigger than ourselves.”

“These kids get to see one small act can change a life forever,” Patton said. “These 78 students have touched that life. Their legacy will live on past us.”

The instructor, who has taught at Farragut for the last six years under the 865 Academy residential commercial construction pathway, said his students “are pretty much a family. The relationships they have with each other, and that I have with them, continue even after graduation.

“I’ve told them it’s my job to open doors for them, but it is their job to walk through them.

“I’ve also told them it doesn’t cost a thing to be nice, and they are seeing every day that they can change the world in some aspect.”

The project itself has reached beyond the doors of the construction classes.

“We’ve had students from all over the high school wanting to be part of this project even without taking the class,” Patton said. “It just shows how much passion these kids have to help.”

And, “the best part is the kids can see the construction [field] is not going anywhere, and they are making an impact,” he said. “We [Knox County students] are the first to do [Operation Hero’s Hill] in the country. If we can really show it works and involves students, we can make it go national.”

Many collaborators are making Operation Hero’s Hill a reality.

Rhonda Smithson, community engagement coordinator in the office of Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, said Farragut is one of six Knox County schools’ Career and Technical Education programs — along with the Knox County Detention Center and the Skilled Trades Academy Regional Training Center — building houses for “Operation Hero’s Hill,” an initiative of Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs to provide homes for the 140 veterans experiencing homelessness in the county.

“Championed by Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, Operation Hero’s Hill is a transformative initiative dedicated to ending veteran homelessness by providing safe, stable and dignified housing for those who have given much in defense of our country,” a Knox County press release stated.

Standing on property designated for the project, Jacobs stated in a video, “this property will be transformed into a community for veterans who need a little more help finding a home of their own.

“Operation Hero’s Hill will consist of 20 tiny homes, a laundry facility, a gathering place and a computer lab,” he said. “The really cool part is the homes are being constructed by Knox County Schools Career and Technical Education students.

“Thanks to so many great partnerships, these students will spend the school year working with mentors and trade experts to build their construction skills and their workforce readiness,” the mayor said.

Knox County government has partnered with KCS, the START Center and The Associated General Contractors of Tennessee, Knoxville region, along with contractor D.R. Horton, Angelic Ministries and numerous other community partners and businesses to make Operation Hero’s Hill a reality.

At Farragut, Patton said contracting assistance has been provided by Steve Patton of Grace Electric, LeAnn Fritts of Interstate Mechanical, Brett Craig of George W. Reagan Co., Scott Green from the Lee Company and Gordon Hines of A.G. Hines Corp. 

One overall financial sponsor partner is Realtor Julia Hurley, owner and principal broker of Just Homes Group in West Knoxville.

She serves on the advisory board for Farragut 865 Academy, “which is overseeing the Farragut builds,” she said, and also “serves on the board of the Association of General Contractors, Knoxville, which were brought in by the Knox County Mayor’s Office to be the connecting force for the builds.”

Additionally, Hurley is a member of Women in Construction, which is “pushing a focus for women in the construction industry,” she said, pointing to the leadership of Davanzo and Souther.

Hurley made a recent visit to FHS to see progress on its first “tiny home.”

“I’ve been through a bunch of new builds, and this looks really good,” she said.

Hurley said she sees this project as a harbinger of what could be accomplished regionally and beyond. 

“This project is opening the door to see Knoxville create a national educational program while also serving the veterans community,” she said.

Hurley added that once the build is completed at Farragut, “we will also be sponsoring an open house for the family of the students and the local community to tour them and learn all about it.”

For more information about Operation Hero’s Hill, visit operationheroshill.com or e-mail to OperationHerosHill@knoxcounty.org