American Hero Surprised with Mortgage-Free Home at Lake Ridge
Ken Kalish gifted with mortgage-free home at Lake Ridge.
It’s tragedy to triumph for Marine Sergeant Ken Kalish, an American hero who lost three limbs during his service in Afghanistan and who was surprised with a new mortgage-free home at Lake Ridge.
Operation FINALLY HOME (OFH), the Former NFL Players Association, the Dallas Builders Association, SouthStar Communities and Victory Custom Homes teamed up to donate the land and home to Kalish. The Lake RidgePatriot Cup took place the following day at Tangle Ridge Golf Club, with all proceeds benefitting Kalish’s home.
The Sergeant was injured when he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) or “road-side” bomb while serving our country on his second tour. The death of his fiancé from a critical illness while Kalish was in surgery was an additional, tragic setback.
Kalish had been trained to detect roadside bombs alongside his black lab, Fynn. Fynn was uninjured and returned stateside with Kalish, where he will also soon make his home at Lake Ridge. Construction on Kalish’s home, which is being built on a one-acre treed lot in The Sanctuary at Lake Ridge, an exclusive gated community on the shores of Joe Pool Lake, is expected to be finished within 90 days and will be part of a CNN special the channel is filming.
Kalish was under the impression he was coming in for an interview yesterday to determine if he was eligible for a mortgage-free home at Lake Ridge at Joe Pool Lake. Instead, he was surprised by more than 100 eager individuals including Lake Ridge residents; Mayor Pro Tem of Grand Prairie Ruthe Jackson; Cedar Hill City Manager Alan Sims, members of the Grand Prairie Police Department; the Grand Prairie Honor Guard; and fourth-graders from Lake Ridge Elementary, who led the Pledge of Allegiance and then joined the crowd in writing notes of love on the construction of a wall that will be included in Kalish’s home.
Also in attendance were several NFL greats, including Dallas Cowboy Bill Bates; however it was Kalish to whom the elementary students flocked, eager for his autograph, curious about his service, his injuries and his dog, and clearly moved by his heroism.
The non-profit organization Operation FINALLY HOME builds homes for wounded veterans and their families. This new mortgage-free home at Lake Ridge is the 10th with SouthStar Communities; homes are also currently being built in the SouthStar Communities of Vintage Oaks in the Texas Hill Country and King Oaks in Bryan-College Station.
Anyone wishing to join the list of volunteers for OFH at Lake Ridge can do so at Lake Ridge.
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