AUGUSTA, Ga. () – Augusta’s Habitat for Humanity is honoring the late Jimmy Carter with a door memorial.

He was the most famous volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and the door memorial is one of the ways the organization wanted to recognize his work.

President Carter died in late December. He had worked with the organization since 1984.

The moving memorial placed in the Augusta-CSRA Chapter of Habitat for Humanity was painted by Leonard “Porkchop” Zimmerman and is robot-inspired, showing the late president at work.

Bernadette Kelliher, CEO of Augusta CSRA Habitat for Humanity, explains the thought process behind the memorial.

“The concept was to create a door and then have another door for people to sign and then those will go up inside our community engagement center, which is where our commitment to education of our community and homeowners exist. It’ll be hanging on the walls in there so that people can come and admire it, we’re excited about it.” Kelliher says.

She describes the impact Carter had.

“He was incredibly dedicated, there are a lot of people who talk the talk, but they just don’t walk the walk, and I think what was so inspiring about him was, he was dedicated his whole life, he was in his 90’s on build sites building for people. He was just excited to be a part of creating legacies and lives for people, he’s just so inspirational.” She says.

Will McCranie, Director of Business Development with Habitat for Humanity, says it was an honor to have Porkchop be a part of the memorial.

“I think he’s just a fantastic artist, has a heart of gold. When I brought up the idea of this project, he almost started crying, being a part of something related to President Carter. I believe that was his presidents growing up and luckily the stars aligned and we were able to get him to work on this. I’m just very excited for the community to see it.” McCranie says.

The expression on the door was thought of by Kelliher as a thank you to Carter for paving the road for them and the millions of others involved with Habitat for Humanity.

Kelliher says, “Taking that even a step further, to anyone can be involved, anyone can make a difference, one person can make a huge difference in someone’s life.” 

If you want to see the door or want to sign the second one they offer, you can find them at the Habitat Re-Store on Washington Rd.