Meet the People of Honest Abe Log Homes

Josh’s positions at Honest Abe have given him direct contact with customers, and he’s found he likes hearing their stories.

“For our potential clients, I love hearing about what has inspired them to take this path,” he said.  “My favorite stories come from long-time clients. It’s incredible to hear what many of them have overcome through life and the process to see their log or timber frame home become a reality. It’s inspiring, and makes me want to do an even better job for our next client.”

During his tenure at Honest Abe Josh has been recognized with national awards for  marketing excellence and advertising design. In 2008, he was listed in the “Top 30 Under 40” by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and he currently serves on NAHB’s Log and Timber Homes Council Steering Committee.

“I grew up in a family of construction workers,” Josh said. “I helped my dad more than a few times growing up.”

That experience helped Josh understand the role of product quality in customer satisfaction.

“This is not just a concept at Honest Abe,” Josh said. “Each of our employees is committed to helping the customer create the home they’ve always wanted.”

Josh said the company’s mission is to create a customer experience so satisfying that when the home has been designed and built and the homeowner has moved in, they would look back and choose Honest Abe all over again.

“Honest Abe homeowners tell us that all the time,” he said, adding, “It’s extremely rewarding to hear them brag on our product and – most rewarding – our people.”

Most important to Honest Abe’s customers has been his ongoing contributions in ensuring that homes manufactured by Honest Abe are stable, durable and affordable. Jackie retired as Vice President of Manufacturing, but he continues with Honest Abe purchasing and managing wood inventory and monitoring the wood drying kilns. “When we first began manufacturing log homes we used yellow poplar logs like Tennessee’s early settlers,” Jackie recalled. “But it just wasn’t suitable. We tried a lot of other species, even the yellow pine a lot of log home companies still use, but it twisted and warped too much, and we reject it.” Finally, Eastern White Pine proved to be the wood with the most favorable characteristics, and Jackie said that has been used exclusively by Honest Abe for manufacturing logs since. Jackie purchases Honest Abe’s timbers, maintaining an average nine-month inventory. “This is one of the ways we make our customers feel secure,” Cherry said. “They know that when they order their home, their logs have been purchased, prepared and protected by our company and are ready to be milled into their house. They can come and see them anytime.” Jackie has been instrumental in developing and perfecting the kiln drying systems that make Honest Abe’s wood products so stable. “The goal of kiln drying is to reach a moisture-content level that is best for most building sites, no matter where a new home is being built,” Cherry said. “We dry hundreds of logs at at a time for three to five weeks. It kills insects, reduces checking, makes staining easier and just overall produces a more desirable, stable home.” Honest Abe has created nearly 7,000 homes for people who dreamed of living in a log home. Jackie has had a part in making most of those dreams come true.

Josh has spent more than decade with Honest Abe, and for 10 years, he’s managed construction and operations.

“I am in charge of making sure the process goes as smoothly as possible, scheduling construction of a customer’s house,” he said. “If you give us the pleasure of constructing your house, I will also coordinate and oversee one of our experienced labor crews in building your dream house.”

His hard-working crews are in constant demand by Honest Abe customers. Josh believes that creating a structure of beauty and lasting value – be it a house, church or commercial building – begins with quality materials and continues with excellence in construction.

“Our crews take pride in doing it right the first time and making the homeowner confident that their building is exactly what they expected,” Josh said. “When we leave a job site, our goal is that the customer would choose us all over again and welcome us back for another project.”Josh said he and his crews are humbled at the praise they receive from homeowners and feel that the many referrals they get are a testament to their desire to serve clients through excellence and integrity.

“I love my job and the satisfaction that I glean stems from knowing that I have done everything I possibly could to make sure we have a smooth transition from one process to another,” he said.

“I order and make sure we do not run out of items that make up the log home or timber home package,” he said, adding that he also makes sure all components are included in the package before shipping.” Bobby has worked for Honest Abe and its sister companies for more than a dozen years, holding positions with Honest Abe over the past eight in customer service, scheduling and as a sales assistant before assuming the mill manager’s role. “I have been blessed to work for a company that truly cares about their customers,” he said. “Without our customers, none of us would have jobs to support our families.” Bobby said he gauges how well he and his employees have done their jobs by talking to former customers. “I get more satisfaction by talking with a customer once their house has been built a while and they are happy with the complete experience from start to finish,” he said. “That is what we are here for – to make our customers’ dreams come true.”