Fire Recovery Fund for David & Peggy Holman and Tenants

On the evening of April 4, 2025, the 7-unit apartment building my dad and stepmom (David & Peggy Holman) have owned for 30 years caught fire and was destroyed. Many moons ago, I lived in the upper unit when I first moved back to Decatur circa 1999. My brother, Matthew, lived in the apartment across the hallway. My stepbrother, Wesley, and his wife, Sondra later called one of the units home as they began their lives together. And our youngest brother, Ryne, completely remodeled one of the apartments when he lived there. The Holman/Cooley kids learned to spread our wings from that beautiful old home. It was a good old house to our family and the many people my folks rented to over the years.

Four of the seven units were being rented at the time of the fire and those individuals and couples were displaced. All were long-term tenants having rented from my parents the past 2 years, 7 years, 11 years and 13 years respectively and none of them had renter's insurance. My parents chose to rent to low-income community members with a helping hand-up attitude and sometimes overlooked gaps in income or rental history when wanna-be tenants shared they had "been away" (aka been in prison) but looking for a little grace and an opportunity to be a productive member of society. Dad once said to me, "If I don't rent to them, who will? Everyone deserves a second chance."

Despite the fact that my parents faithfully paid their monthly premiums to American Family Insurance for the last 30 years, the insurance company - just 3 weeks prior to the fire - dropped my parents' policy because the apartment building was built over 100 years ago! Never once in those 30 years did they ever file a claim or pay late, yet their $250,000 policy was dropped unceremoniously and were unsuccessful in finding a new insurance company. The side of the neighbors' home also caught fire and she shared with us that her insurance company also dropped her home owners insurance for the age of her home. Apparently, structures over 100 years old are harder and harder to insure thanks to the greed of insurance companies! UNREAL!

The purpose of this fundraiser is to collect enough donations to cover the cost of building demolition and removal of debris, the neighbor's repairs and funds for the tenants who lost all their possessions.

Thank you for your donations and sharing our story on social media!