Extreme Makeover: Blog Edition

Jackson Family - Poolsville, MD

Gilyeat Family - Kansas City, Kansas

Another ABC Extreme Home Makeover: Home Edition for Kevin Green Home in the Kansas City marketplace! It’s my third build as a General Contractor to support initiatives that develop common goals, promote working together among diverse groups and to enhance pride within both my industry and community. We have and are building a better community!

So it’s good to be back for the 3rd time

1) Excited! I’m giving something back again.

2) Challenged! To build a beautiful new home for a deserving family in record time. ..still an amazing effort to be a part of.

How do I it? I call it emersion …like the English language… not really any principals to it… you just do it every day and it comes to you after time. I like to see what motivates people for action. … not 10 years ago but Today!.. I say it is the invisible force … “Emotion is the force of life… Everybody thinks we work for self-interest all the time…not really. What drives most people is taking the invisible to the visible. The science of achievement is easy to take the invisible and turn it into the visible….and after time it becomes a game and we keep adding to it……pretty boring after a while. But…what most people don’t master in their lives is the art of fulfillment… the art of appreciation and to contribute beyond you. I have been blessed to have the ability to consistently move myself and others to take action because I understand the visible force that shapes all of us. While many people have the resources (time, money, contacts, programs, etc.) to make a difference – still many times, people still fail… Why??? Didn’t have the resourcefulness-the human emotions to find the way to get it done. With vision, passion, and energy…you will find a way to get it done. I call it emotional fitness and physiological strength to lead hundreds of subcontractors and volunteers to achieve the special things we do during Extreme Home Makeover: Home Edition week. And as “cliché” as we get to hear Ty and the crowd chant “move that bus” , you are wrapped up in the emotion of the week and feel the excitement for the family to begin their new life…..you begin to understand the art of fulfillment and to contribute beyond yourselves. It’s called FULLFILLMENT!

The experiences and personal stories with each build are heartfelt and everlasting for all those that were involved. I would like to personally thank everybody that was involved in any or all of the three builds in the Kansas City marketplace. By working together, we are building a better community!

Kevin Green
President
Kevin Green Homes, Inc.
Parkville, Missouri

Marrero Family - Camden, NJ

Doing Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was an experience that has forever changed our lives.  In the end, the Marrero's have a place they now call "home", a place with beds, food on the table, a sanctuary for each member of the family, and most importantly a new start.  But as with many things in life, it is the journey that defines the experience, not the destination

Going into an experience like this, you never know what to expect.  Are we going to be able to pull this off?  Will we have enough help?  What if something goes wrong?  But working with the crew from Extreme Makeover, our company, our trade partners, and our amazing volunteers, we accomplished everything we set out to do and more.  We are overwhelmed with both a sense of pride at having accomplished our goals and a deep humility at having been a part of something larger than all of us.

Our company was thrilled to help, giving their time and energy to work around-the-clock shifts. Our vendors and trade partners were lining up to give more and more time, services, materials, expertise... whatever they could. The amazing members of the Camden, Pennsauken, and South Jersey communities gave their love and strength to support the build for 7 straight days.

Of course, the experience was made that much more special because the patriarch of our family and the founder of our company, Jirair S. Hovnanian, was there to see it all happen.  As an immigrant to this country himself, he has always appreciated America as the "Land of Opportunity." Over and over, upon seeing the enormity of the task at hand, and seeing the success with which his family and his company were accomplishing it, he would remind all of us: Only in America.  Only in America could you rally 3,000 people to build a house in 4 days for a family who needed it.  Only in America could you broadcast the whole effort in a way that will inspire others to do the same around the country.  Only in America could you make something out of nothing, and give a family and a community a new start.

His undying love for his country is rivaled only by the pride he felt when he helped welcome the Marrero family home.  Little did we know, it would be his final act.  Jirair S. Hovnanian passed away 3 days after we moved the bus, but his lesson stays with us: if you work hard enough, dream big enough, and love strongly enough, anything and everything is possible.


Garo D. Hovnanian
J.S. Hovnanian & Sons

www.HOVhomes.com

Riggins Family - Raleigh, NC

Q & A with Homelife Communities Regional President: Don Mead

Pre-planning:
Once we said yes, the rip cord was pulled and the race was on! We appointed 2 project managers, 1 to over see the build and one to oversee the volunteers. From there the house was designed with help from our architect, engineers and the Extreme Makeover designers, a building schedule was created and we started recruiting vendors. Preparations for marketing, signage, food, tents, restrooms, volunteers were being developed at the same time. There were an awful lot of long nights. But the reward of seeing the family come home was worth every second!

Our next step was pulling the team together. On a Sunday afternoon, we had a big meeting, told he subs what we were doing and introduced them to the family using their application video. From there, the recruiting, although massive, was easy. People wanted to help this deserving family.
We work with some great vendors. We knew they would step up to the plate. Last summer we built a home to benefit the Duke Children’s Hospital and were able to donate $90,000. That project and the Extreme Makeover for the Riggins are only possible because our employees and trade partners believe in giving back to the community. We also saw a tremendous amount of support from the City officials, inspections department, policy, fire and the community as a whole. The entire area got behind this and made it possible.

A couple of moments truly standout in my mind from the build. I think one of the things that surprised me was how long someone could actually stay awake! The good Lord takes care of people and can make the impossible happen. Seriously though, I remember sitting in the sun room after the furnishing had been installed. I watched as our guys were taking care of the final punch items and it just hit me. We actually built this home in 94 hours! What an impact this would have on this family’s life. Another moment was when Ty took William, Sr.’s hand and ran it over the stone on the front of the house. Although he was blind, he could see what the house was made of. That was very emotional and will stay with me forever.

The Riggins have absolutely become our family. We have gotten to know them personally and love them very much. We will be partnering with them at Building Together Ministries to help mentor the children, spend lunches reading; we’ve committed to replacing the HVAC system of the building this year; we plan to help out in their Christmas store and to help supply the retail store as well. Our vendors and trades have also gotten to know Linda and her family. Big things are to come from this relationship. It’s only just begun!

A couple more things to add…
First, I just want to thank everyone who was involved, from the subs and trade, to the volunteers to the Red Bull girls who brought us power drinks at 3:00 in the morning. It was AWSOME!!! This has been a life changing experience for everyone involved. Linda Riggins and her family are a true inspiration and example of what good citizens are all about. I encourage, no challenge, each person reading this to go out and do something good for someone. You may not even know them, but take the time. Build a ramp, fix a roof, weed a garden, help someone put groceries in their car…don’t let this be a passing thought. Take action on it. Life is full of should haves, change that and make it full of that felt great!

-Don

Special thank you to Kohler.

Kohler stats on materials donated:

79 episodes

88 Kitchens
42 Laundry/Utility Rooms
126 Sinks
205 Faucets
7 Beverage Faucets
4 Hot Water
34 Soap/Lotion
3 Aquifer water filtration systems
32 Laundry/Utility Sinks

252 Bathrooms
46 Powder Rooms
434 Lavatories
434 Lavatory Faucets
3,535 Accessories
322 Toilets
111 Baths
102 Whirlpools
79 Shower Receptors/Modules
98 Shower/bath doors
29 Shower Towers
2 Steam
47 Hand showers
43 Bath/Shower Faucets
88 Bath Furniture (vanities, Cabinets)
8 Urinal
1 Bidet

1 Robern medicine cabinet
54 Robern small bath mirrors

Behind the scene pictures from the extreme field-trip to the Kohler factory in Kohler, Wisconsin while filming the Koepke episode.

From the Thibodeau house in Toronto, South Dakota

in our 1-hour show, we often run out of time and cannot show every room in the house. Here are a few pictures of the theater room from this build.

From the Gilliam House in Armada Township, Michigan:

They built the house in 53 hours and 54 minutes, but in our 1-hour show, we often run out of time and cannot show every room in the house. The nursery from this build was a project that Michael Moloney loved working on. Below is the extreme result.

Behind the scenes photos - Hendersonville, Tennessee

*Photography by Todd Sanders

Behind the scenes photos - North Pole, Alaska

* Photography by Todd Sanders