DENVER – Broncos President and CEO Joe Ellis and more than 30 of Denver's top executives ditched their ties for construction hats on Friday as they came together for Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver's Annual CEO Build.

Ellis co-hosted the event with Habitat Denver CEO Heather Lafferty.

"It's been a blast working with all these CEOs and their representatives from around the city," Ellis said. "To be able to add something that has value and is tangible and benefits people who deserve the right to live in a safe and fun environment is incredible. Habitat for Humanity does wonderful things to give people great opportunities."

Executives from Denver companies including U.S. Bank, Denver Business Journal, Arrow Electronics and 9 News were in attendance. He worked alongside them and the future owners of the townhomes that were being built.

Ellis spent the morning on scaffolding preparing the siding of one of the townhouses. He was impressed by the turnout and the skills of his fellow builders.

He said working with Habitat for Humanity is extremely rewarding, especially when the future homeowners are onsite. Ellis noted that the work that Habitat for Humanity does changes lives and gives people hope.

"What you get out of it is a real recognition and understanding that what you're constructing and what you're helping to build is touching people directly and you're doing it alongside those people," Ellis said. "You're allowing people to live in environments that they weren't necessarily privy to or accustomed to previously and now they get to live in these safe, comfortable, clean homes."

The Sable Ridge Townhome development in Northeast Denver, where the build took place, is the largest project Habitat Denver has done locally. Once the entire project is completed in 2016, there will be 51 townhomes.

While Ellis participated in the event on Friday, the Broncos are year-round partners of the organization. The Broncos regularly work as a staff on build projects and incorporate build opportunities into organization-wide community days.

Lafferty said this event is especially exciting for the organization because people who are fierce competitors in business on a day-to-day basis come together for a day to work towards a common goal. She acknowledged that the work that Habitat does wouldn't be possible without volunteers and that the work done during builds like Friday's make a big impact on local families.

"The families that we're working with, these are hard-working families," Lafferty said. "Many of them work at our airport or down at the Anschutz* * Medical Campus or in the local economy here. They are essential to our economy and yet they don't have a good place to call home.

"In Denver one in four children live in poverty, many of those children don't have a good roof over their head. They don't have the stability of a good home. That's what Habitat provides is the ability for the family to have a stable, affordable and safe home - a place where they, as a family, can grow and thrive."