In 1990, Fr. Gerry Creedon, was called to a ministry in the Dominican Republic and asked Monsignor Bob Cilinski to join the board of Gabriel Homes. He agreed and two years later, became the President of the organization.
At the time, Gabriel Homes had two homes and was struggling to pay their bills. So, Rev. Msgr. Bob rallied students at George Mason University and held a fundraiser where his all-priest basketball team played members of the Washington Redskins in the GMU Stadium. They raised $5000 that night and closed the Gabriel Homes’ financial books with $300 in the bank.
He vowed to not have another year like that and lead the organization to hold other fundraisers, including our premier golf tournament. Rev. Msgr. Bob also helped advise the organization to create a foundation to help benefit us long term and was actively involved in fundraising efforts with the community to support stability.
In the 33 years that Rev. Msgr. Bob served as President and Board member of Gabriel Homes, his contributions are endless.
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In 1998, Mike Holupka was asked by Fr. Bob, to serve on the Board of Directors of Gabriel Homes. Mike, who was already involved in many community projects in the region, agreed to serve and assumed the role of Chairman of the board.
In the 25 years that Mike Holupka served as Chairman of our Board of Directors, Mike recognized the organization’s biggest asset are our residents and made it a priority to ensure that they lived in homes that were safe, clean, and uncluttered.
Mike provided personnel from the Anderson Company and B&B Signal to help with repairs, landscaping, building improvements and any other work needed on the homes. He has also created the Gabriel Homes Work Crew (GHWC), a group of his retired friends who go to the homes monthly to do various jobs in support of our residents.
He created board committees like the Strategic and Planning Committee to address our home maintenance and the Health and Welfare Committee to address our aging population. Mike’s gifts, in time and service, to Gabriel Homes are seen all over the organization.