Building Material Thrift Store founder Bruce Tidwell Retires News Release: 2/19/2018
February 19, 2018
Building Material Thrift Store founder Bruce Tidwell Retires
After nearly 20 years at the helm of the Building Material Thrift Store (BMTS), Bruce Tidwell is bidding adieu to the non-profit he helped found.
“Bruce has been the heart and soul of the BMTS since it first opened. He’s also put his back into it, literally,” said Scott Boettger, a BMTS board member and the executive director of the Wood River Land Trust. Proceeds from the BMTS are donated to the Land Trust.
The inspiration behind the BMTS (an official 501c3 non-profit) was rather simple. “Seeing the magnitude of waste going from construction sites and into the trash stream was overwhelming. Something had to be done about it,” said Bruce, who began working as local contractor in 1986.
After a serendipitous trip to Baltimore, where Bruce saw an organization that was saving construction materials and then selling them to less privileged members of the community, he brought the idea to the Wood River Valley. And the BMTS immediately took off.
“As soon as we opened on January 1st in 1999, we’ve been busy. It made people sick to see so much stuff go the landfill and now it doesn’t have to. It’s amazing how things have snowballed from such humble beginnings,” Bruce said, estimating that since it opened that BMTS has saved “thousands, if not millions, of tons of materials” from going to landfill.
Support for the BMTS has come from throughout the valley, but the role that local contractors have played has been extremely important.
“Just about every contractor in the valley supports us,” Bruce said. “They have been huge for us. They’re the continuity that keeps us going and takes us to new donors.”
Housed in the Woodside Industrial Park in south Hailey, the BMTS has been successful because it not only stops the flow of construction waste to the dump, but also as a way to help support the mission of the Land Trust—to save, protect and restore land, water ,wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities in and around the Wood River Valley.
“I always joked when we were picking up materials that we’re helping people create open space in their garage and they’re helping us create open space in the county,” Bruce said
In honor of Bruce’s service to the BMTS, a Special Sales event is being planned for later in the spring. Meanwhile, those of us who love open space and the positive environmental impacts Bruce has helped create will be celebrating his work for generations to come.
For any questions, please contact the Buildings Material Thrift Store at 208.788.0014 or check out BuldingMaterialThriftStore.org.
After nearly 20 years at the helm of the Building Material Thrift Store (BMTS), Bruce Tidwell is bidding adieu to the non-profit he helped found.
“Bruce has been the heart and soul of the BMTS since it first opened. He’s also put his back into it, literally,” said Scott Boettger, a BMTS board member and the executive director of the Wood River Land Trust. Proceeds from the BMTS are donated to the Land Trust.
The inspiration behind the BMTS (an official 501c3 non-profit) was rather simple. “Seeing the magnitude of waste going from construction sites and into the trash stream was overwhelming. Something had to be done about it,” said Bruce, who began working as local contractor in 1986.
After a serendipitous trip to Baltimore, where Bruce saw an organization that was saving construction materials and then selling them to less privileged members of the community, he brought the idea to the Wood River Valley. And the BMTS immediately took off.
“As soon as we opened on January 1st in 1999, we’ve been busy. It made people sick to see so much stuff go the landfill and now it doesn’t have to. It’s amazing how things have snowballed from such humble beginnings,” Bruce said, estimating that since it opened that BMTS has saved “thousands, if not millions, of tons of materials” from going to landfill.
Support for the BMTS has come from throughout the valley, but the role that local contractors have played has been extremely important.
“Just about every contractor in the valley supports us,” Bruce said. “They have been huge for us. They’re the continuity that keeps us going and takes us to new donors.”
Housed in the Woodside Industrial Park in south Hailey, the BMTS has been successful because it not only stops the flow of construction waste to the dump, but also as a way to help support the mission of the Land Trust—to save, protect and restore land, water ,wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities in and around the Wood River Valley.
“I always joked when we were picking up materials that we’re helping people create open space in their garage and they’re helping us create open space in the county,” Bruce said
In honor of Bruce’s service to the BMTS, a Special Sales event is being planned for later in the spring. Meanwhile, those of us who love open space and the positive environmental impacts Bruce has helped create will be celebrating his work for generations to come.
For any questions, please contact the Buildings Material Thrift Store at 208.788.0014 or check out BuldingMaterialThriftStore.org.
Contact:
Bruce Tidwell
bmts@woodriverlandtrust.org, 208-788-0014
