Nicholas Shane Bryant stands in the Citrus Springs Habitat For Humanity neighborhood with a street bearing his name. Bryant’s grandfather’s company, Nick Nicholas Ford, has sponsored 60 Habitat for Humanity homes over the past 30 years. Roads within the new community will reflect the names of community partners who have been committed to their cause. Bryant is an assistant manager at the Inverness-based dealership. This street intersects with North Allison Drive, which is named after another grandchild of Nick Nicholas, Allison Simmons.
When Nick Bryant learned he would have a street sign named after him, his first thought was: “That’s pretty cool and definitely humbling.”
His second thought: “I imagine I’d be suspect No. 1 if that sign ever goes missing.”
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On Friday, March 24, Habitat for Humanity of Citrus County (HFHCC) dedicated its two newest homes on Nicholas Shane Drive in its Citrus Springs development.
They also unveiled the street sign bearing Nick Bryant’s name (Nicholas Shane Bryant).
Bryant, 23, is the grandson of Nick Nicholas, founder of Nick Nicholas Ford. He’s also the dealership’s assistant manager.
The Habitat development also has an Allison Drive, named after Nick’s cousin, Allison Simmons.
In the past 30-plus years, Nick Nicholas Ford has sponsored 60 Habitat homes, creating “a legacy of making a direct impact on the lives of dozens of families in Citrus County throughout its partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Citrus County,” said George Rusaw, president/CEO of HFHCC.
“You cannot put a price tag on the impact they’ve had in the community,” Rusaw said, noting the main thoroughfare in the Habitat at Citrus Springs is Nicholas Shane Drive. “The Nick Nicholas Ford family has been the main supporter of HFHCC for decades, it’s only fitting that the main road through the development is named in their honor. Their legacy and impact on our neighbors will live on for generations to come.”
Nick Nicholas said ever since he first learned about Habitat for Humanity he has admired the concept.
“I like how it’s all about having to work for it,” he said. “It’s not something given to them, and that’s a problem in this world; everybody wants something for nothing, and that’s not Habitat.”
Shane Bryant, Nick Bryant’s dad, Nick Nicholas’ son-in-law and the dealership’s vice president, said he remembers when he was president of the Gator Club back in the 1990s, before the dealership started sponsoring homes, and how he and other club members would do workdays at Habitat home building sites, working alongside people working on their own homes.
“When you see people out there working, putting in the sweat equity, it’s a good thing,” he said. “George (Rusaw) has brought some of the homeowners to us, and we’ve helped repair their vehicles when they’ve had hard times, and we’ve even had a few Habitat homeowners working here.
“There’s a lot of connections between Habitat and the community,” he said.
Nicholas Shane Bryant, 23, is an assistant manager at Nick Nicholas Ford in Inverness. He stands under a street sign bearing his name within the new Habitat For Humanity’s Citrus Springs community. Bryant’s grandfather, Nick Nicholas, has sponsored 60 new Habitat homes over the past 30 years, and Habitat is honoring community partners with street names that reflect those partners.
Nick Bryant said Habitat has always been a part of his life growing up.
“I have vivid memories of going to the dedications when I was little, but I didn’t really understand what it was about back then,” he said.
The dealership first started sponsoring Habitat homes when former Habitat director Terry Steele approached the dealership’s former comptroller, the late Dora Hunt.
“We thought the program was worth the try, and it worked out … so we kept going,” Nicholas said. “It’s the right thing to do — we’ve been blessed.”
As HFHCC marketing director Jeff Bryan explained, businesses that sponsor a Habitat home are eligible for a Florida sales tax credit through the Corporate Community Tax Credit Program (CCTCP).
Other businesses HFHCC is honoring in the Habitat Citrus Springs development with street names include Bay Area Air Conditioning/Dave Hutchins, president, with streets named Michael David Way and Courtney Drive, after his grandchildren; and Crystal Motor Company/Steve and Jewel Lamb, with streets named Levitt Lane and Trip Lane, after their grandsons.
It’s not every day a person has a street named after them, and Nick Bryant is taking “his” street in stride.
“For me, it’s a reminder of all the good we can do in the community,” he said.
