John Tawney and Ray Williamson each logged more than 2,000 volunteer hours at the Beaverton ReStore before Habitat for Humanity Portland Region handed them engraved hammers and its highest recognition: the Brauner Circle of Volunteer Excellence Award.

The two were among three recipients honored at Habitat's annual volunteer appreciation picnic at Willamette Park in mid-June.

Volunteers from construction sites and ReStores filled the picnic shelter, played cornhole, and shared sandwiches, according to a July 7 blog post by Habitat Portland Region's Melissa Hassett.

Tawney has volunteered at the Beaverton ReStore on SW Millikan Way for six years, showing up multiple days a week to help customers, welcome new volunteers, and load large donations. Hassett wrote that Tawney is "simply put, the heart of the team."

Williamson joined the Beaverton ReStore in 2021 after volunteering with Habitat near his former home on Washington's Olympic Peninsula.

He found his niche in the Metal Recycling program, where volunteers disassemble donated items that aren't fit for resale, sort metals by type, and send them to scrap dealers.

The revenue funds Habitat's homebuilding programs. Habitat's ReStores are aiming to raise $150,000 from metal recycling in 2026, according to the organization's website.

The award is named for Ed and Ellen Brauner, who became deeply involved with Habitat after hearing co-founder Millard Fuller speak in Portland in 1989.

They went on to build homes, serve on the board, and help families move into new houses. Seven Beaverton ReStore volunteers earned the honor in last year's award cycle, a sign of the location's deep bench of committed regulars.

The third 2026 recipient, Joni Portmann, is a Construction Core volunteer who has worked on Habitat build sites including the Myrtlewood Way project in Gresham. She was unable to attend the picnic; Habitat plans to deliver her hammer in person.

Residents interested in volunteering at the Beaverton ReStore or its Metal Recycling program can sign up at habitatportlandregion.org/volunteer.

The store at 13475 SW Millikan Way is open Wednesday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Donation drop-off is accepted until 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Monday and until 2 p.m. on Tuesdays.