Houston Habitat for Humanity and city leaders held a remembrance event Jan. 7 at the Barbara Bush Literacy Plaza to honor former President Jimmy Carter’s long association with Habitat for Humanity and to highlight his role in expanding access to affordable housing.

At the event, Lisonbee Hay, chief executive officer of Houston Habitat for Humanity, described Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter’s decades of work with Habitat and invited the public to add messages to a commemorative stud wall on display through Thursday, Jan. 9. Hay said the organization will livestream Carter’s funeral on the plaza’s digital screen on Jan. 9 and will collect the signed studs for use in a Habitat home later this year. “This door behind me symbolizes the many doors literally and figuratively that President Carter helped to open,” Hay said.

The program emphasized Carter’s long-term impact on Habitat for Humanity. Hay attributed global figures to the Carters’ work, saying they worked “alongside 108,000 volunteers to build, renovate, and repair over 4,400 Habitat for Humanity homes in 14 countries.” She also recounted the 1998 Carter Work Project in Houston, when, she said, about 6,000 volunteers built 100 homes in one week. Hay credited city departments—planning, permitting, public works, police and fire, and housing and community development—with supporting that effort.

Mayor John Whitmire attended and spoke about Carter’s example of public service. “He believed public service was a calling, whether you’re ever on the ballot or not,” Whitmire said, urging attendees to leave partisan politics aside and to emulate Carter’s commitment to community service.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said the county would mark Jan. 9 as President Jimmy Carter Day in Harris County, noting that President Biden had proclaimed a national day of mourning for that date. “So here in Harris County, we will officially proclaim this Thursday, January 9th, as President Jimmy Carter Day in Harris County,” Hidalgo said, and she encouraged attendees to join the signing of the stud wall.

Cindy Ramos, who said she and her family participated in the 1998 Houston Carter Work Project and later became a Habitat homeowner, described the personal impact of homeownership. “Becoming a homeowner was an important milestone for myself, my family, my children, to have their own bedroom space,” Ramos said, recalling building her home in the Fifth Ward during the 1998 project.

Pierce Bush, chief executive officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star, reflected on Carter’s values of decency and volunteerism and urged attendees to carry forward Carter’s example with civic service.

Event organizers encouraged the public to visit the plaza through Jan. 9 to sign studs in person or to leave tributes in an online memory book at Habitat.org. Hay said the signed studs and other tributes collected during the three-day event will be used in Habitat homes built in Houston this year.

The ceremony combined personal testimony from a former Habitat homeowner, remarks from civic leaders, and logistical details about the memorial activities. No formal government vote or ordinance was recorded at the event; the county judge announced an intention to proclaim Jan. 9 as President Jimmy Carter Day in Harris County and encouraged public participation in the memorial activities.