SPARKS — Randy Lawhun has been suffering from chronic pain syndrome. He has endured five failed back surgeries and a back fusion went wrong when a piece of his vertebrae slipped. Doctors had to go back in to retrieve it but the process resulted in nerve damage.

Randy, 70, is disabled and while his wife, Glenda, 60, works and does what she can to support the couple, she said she’s not physically strong enough to perform basic repairs to their one-story house on Breaker Way. Such tasks are also costly, she said.

“It would have been tough,” she said. “We would have had to dip into savings to do it.”

However, thanks to a nomination from one of Glenda’s co-workers, she’ll no longer need to scrimp or struggle to fix up the house. The Lawhuns were chosen for Prudential Nevada Realty’s Sparks Home Spruce Up. Prudential agents devoted their Saturday and some resources donated by local companies and individuals to clean and enhance the Sparks couple’s 1,300-square-foot house.

Thirty-six Prudential offices, which are affiliates of Mason-McDuffie Real Estate, were requested by the company’s president to complete a project to benefit their community.

Tracy White, office administrator of the Disc Drive location, said the Sparks agents decided to help a homeowner in need of minor repair.

“We put it on the radio station for nominations and we voted on which property we felt was the most in need (of repairs) and what we could accomplish the most in one day,” she said. “Our goal is that this will become an annual event.”

On Saturday, 22 real estate agents helped spruce up the house by painting, repairing the roof with new shingles, removing graffiti and touching up the wood paneling and paint on the inside.

“With the economy the way it is, you wouldn’t expect a lot of people will help, but there are so many people who were willing to donate their time for this project,” agent Michele Defreitas said.

Defreitas was painting a door for the house and said she and other agents worked in teams to finish all of the projects, the largest of which was the backyard.

“When we looked around (the backyard), it seemed like there was so much to do,” agent Carole DeLong said.  “But it’s amazing to see how quickly things can get done when you have 30 to 40 people working together.

Along with the volunteers from Prudential, different contractors and local companies volunteered their time as well as some home improvement supplies, including paint and new gutters.

“I think it’s really important to give back,” said Erin Alpers, owner of Fish Window Cleaning.  “I’m pretty fortunate and I try to do what I can, even if it’s just cleaning their windows.”

Alpers heard of the project through a Prudential real estate agent who she had worked with before. 

The Lawhuns have lived in their house on Breaker Way for 27 years, Glenda said, and she believes it to be at least 15 years older than that.

Some other work that needed to be done included fixing a garage door opener, helping to aerate the lawn’s plants and areas where grass wouldn’t grow, shampooing the carpets, washing windows and replacing tiles in a shower. A large crack in a portion of brick that goes halfway up the structure on the outside is also in need of mortar, Glenda said.

Last week, agents took valances and curtains to be cleaned and they gave her a new backsliding door and kitchen windows. She’s also in the process of taking down some knickknacks so other work can be done.

While the work was being completed, the Prudential office treated the Lawhuns to a day and night at John Ascuaga’s Nugget with a $100 gift card.

Glenda, a breast cancer survivor, now works at Reno Heart Physicians where her husband is a patient, keeping track of doctors’ schedules. She said her co-worker’s nomination was very nice and a day out together is uncommon these days.

“We used to travel quite a bit,” she said, describing the couple’s outings to San Francisco and Hawaii.

But now they stay home mainly because Randy uses a scooter or a walker.

“This is pretty rare,” she said of her visit to the Nugget.

“I just can’t believe … they’re doing a little mini-makeover for us,” she added.