Lyle Hanna is the founder of Kentucky Habitat for Humanity. He first met President Carter while he was in Georgia for a Habitat for Humanity international meeting.
"When you go to Americus, Georgia for meetings, you always hear about President Carter because he used to serve on the Habitat board," said Hanna. "And he would teach Sunday school every Sunday at his church in Plains."
It was through his church that Carter first learned about Habitat for Humanity.
"Because once he retired from being the president, he's into carpentry, and these people were showing up at his church." said Hanna. "Finally [Carter] said, 'Well, I'd like to help in some way. What could I do?'"
The former president's first project with Habitat was at a six-story tenement building in New York City's East Village, which had partially burned down.
"He brought a couple busloads of people from Georgia, all volunteers. They were good at building, and he had done all this planning to get all the rest of the stuff was there. They started to work, and in 10 days, they had rebuilt that building," said Hanna. "I guess people thought he'd leave after a day, but he didn't. They stayed and worked from dawn to dusk."
Hanna says Carter's involvement in that project was what made Habitat famous, allowing it to recruit more people, secure more resources, and grow into more cities in the U.S. and around the globe.
In 1994, Kentucky Habitat for Humanity set out to build 94 houses across the state. They exceeded expectations, building 113.
"So, what we discovered was we could do great things," said Hanna. "And then we thought, well, why don't we get Carter here? So we started thinking, how would we get Carter here? Who would we call? What would we do?"
By that time, Carter was already involved with Habitat for Humanity, dedicating one week a year to a major project.
"So we thought, well, we ought to do it in eastern Kentucky because he started the Appalachian Regional Commission."
Hanna said he called then-Lieutenant Governor Paul Patton, who helped start an affiliate of Habitat in Pikeville. Then, Hanna traveled to Georgia to meet with President and Mrs. Carter.
"He said, 'This sounds really great,' because most of his projects were in big cities. And, here, we were offered an opportunity to get out and really do something in the rural areas where we need so much housing even now."
The project built 23 houses in Pikeville and 27 others spread across Beattyville, Morehead, Berea, and Richmond.
"What I say to people when they ask me about Carter is: if you want to show homage or pay honor to Carter, find a way to do something for somebody in need," said Hanna.
Kentucky Habitat for Humanity has built nearly 7,000 homes in the state over the past 20 years.