March 2009
53 posts
Stay tuned... More to come!
Hello all you EM: HE volunteers, fans and friends! We miss you!
Things are slowly getting back to normal after the big build week, and we can’t thank you all enough for reading and commenting and giving us ideas and encouragement! We’ll be posting on and off this week, so expect more photos, interviews, and other updates in the coming days.
In the meantime, feel free to shoot us an...
Catching Up with Windy and Aaron Cooper
We had a chance earlier today to chat with Windy and Aaron Cooper post-“Move that Bus” craziness.
This afternoon, Ashley Fiolek, the top-ranked motocross racer in the Women’s Motocross Association, presented Windy with a wagonload of motocross gear: boots, sunglasses, protective gear, and customized race shirts. Windy, who told us when we first met her last week that motocross...
“We organized this, but the community built this house.”
– Head Builder John Norris of Edenton Builders, in the press conference on Saturday. He called the entire experience “emotional and sleep-deprived.”
(Photo by Allison Davis)
News Roundup: Move that Bus Day
More to after today’s press conference at noon!
The Virginian Pilot: NC Family Revels in Home
The Daily Reflector: Rain Doesn’t Dampen Extreme Spirit in Jamesville
End-of-the-Build Thoughts: Nina
As a big fan of Elton John and the movie The Lion King, I have been inspired by this quote that a very special volunteer has advised me to remember this week. “Don’t ever take more than you give from the circle of life”.
I believe that I have grown as a person this week just by being an observer of this unbelievable project and cause. The community has come together as a whole to help out in a way...
Partner Spotlight: Ashley Furniture Homestore
No rain clouds can slow down this project! As I pulled up to the site this morning, I saw two giant Ashley Furniture Homestore trucks parked out in front of the house. I was ecstatic when I heard that the Ashley Furniture Homestore had donated over $50,000 worth of merchandise to the Cooper cause. In addition, Ashley Furniture has gone above and beyond the cause to organize three sets of...
Move that Bus, Martin County Transit!
When Marvin Chambers moved from Asheville to Williamston, NC six years ago, he never expected an opportunity like this. Chambers, an employee for the Martin County Transit, had grown accustomed to the day-to-day activities of transporting the elderly and others in need. Therefore, when county manager Russell Overman contacted MCT with the assignment of transporting spectators and volunteers for...
“It really surprised me that this many people were here, because we as veterans...”
– Quote from Levi Clemons, the commander of the Pitt County chapter of the Disabled American Veterans, a position Jeff Cooper held years ago.
Clemons, a veteran of both the Vietnam and Gulf Wars, got to know Jeff two years ago when Jeff’s son, Aaron, was in the hospital after the terrible...
Barbeque and Scrambled Eggs?
Only in a cotton field in Eastern, North Carolina can you wake up to a plate of scrambled eggs and barbeque. Yes, scrambled eggs with barbeque mixed in the actual eggs. And, yes, I ate it and yes I enjoyed it. Every day we have had one version or another of Eastern North Carolina barbeque, so much so that the barbeque found itself in this morning’s breakfast. I’m not sure I’d...
Community College Volunteers Out in Full Force
I’m a volunteer on the Jamesville site, just as these talented bloggers are — I’m just a bit (um, almost three times their age) older, having retired from the NC Community College System late last year. I am particularly grateful that so many community college students, faculty and staff have “answered the call” to be heroes helping heroes! Public information staff...
We're Hungry, Hungry Helpers
In a recent post, Colleen highlighted the efforts of the meal committee and their determination to serve meals around the clock to hungry volunteers. I was intrigued by the points Colleen raised in her blog, so I decided to investigate just how much we really eat. So far we have used:
6,000 lbs of ice
15,000 paper products
30,000 napkins
2,500 cups
62 gallons of sweet tea
2,400 bags of...
Catering Partner Spotlight: Carolina Cupcakery...
(Photo by Jarrard Cole)
“Real Men Eat Cupcakes” reads the banner of Carolina Cupcakery Dessert Café outside the VIP tent. The Carolina Cupcakery Dessert Café has been an incredible asset to the Extreme Makeover volunteer experience. Every day, a mother-daughter team from the café travels an hour and a half distance from Chesapeake, Va. to stack and fill a dessert tower with hundreds...
Hollywood Reality
It is impossible to walk into a local grocer or airport without passing innumerable magazines listing the whereabouts, tragedies, and successes of “Hollywood’s finest.” I, like many Americans, examine their lives with a fervent curiosity. After spending just a few days on the set of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, though, I now see these celebrities in a different light…perhaps even a different...
Thinking Green
We’ve been told that, this season, EM: HE has set a goal of incorporating more environmentally-friendly materials into all the homes. This Jamesville house is no exception— two of the major green aspects of the house are the e-logs used to side the house and the geothermall system that will supply energy to the house.
E-logs are a kind of siding made from recycled materials, and not...
Media Roundup, Part 2
A few stories about the build to get you through the evening…
March 11
The Virginian-Pilot: ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ Needs Skilled Volunteers
The New Bern Sun-Journal: Habitat volunteers to work for ‘Extreme Makeover’
WVEC 13 News: They’re raising the roof on Extreme Home Makeover project
March 10
The Daily Reflector: ECU students part of...
“We’re Twittering! Follow us at https://twitter.com/extremeebheroes!”
Early Mornings and Cardigan Days
(Intern Bloggers, from L-R: Katherine, Jarrard, Colleen, Sarah, Ed)
Now that it’s Wednesday afternoon, and we’ve had a great day of interviews and filming, I’d like to take this opportunity to reflect on a special event that occurred this morning. Today began early for our intern team— we were aiming to be on site by 7 a.m, which meant wake-up should have happened at...
Dirty Dishes? Just Moisturize It!
You don’t have to look far to spot the main attraction in this Jamesville cotton field— the Cooper’s new home has sprung to life right before our eyes. Dozens of visitors watch from behind a dusty steel barricade, which separates spectators from the construction site. Scores of volunteers scatter the landscape, some climbing the tall peaks of the roof and others forming concrete block assembly...
If the Kids in Belgium Can Give...
Today, we spoke a few representatives from the beauty product line Arbonne International, which is donating about $3,000 worth of beauty and skin care products to the family. One of the Arbonne reps got a Cub Scout Troop in Beligum (most of the kids in the troop are from US military families) to raise $75 to donate to their cause. So, what I’m saying is this: if little kids in Belgium can...
Catering Partner Spotlight: Captain Bob's
The fine folks of Captain Bob’s Restaurant & Catering (a 25 year-old operation based out of Hertford) have been keeping us good and fed for the past few meals. I caught up with Joey and Paul of Captain Bob’s this afternoon— the two were on site cooking up a delicious lunch of boiled shrimp, fried shrimp, green beans, hush puppies, and banana pudding for the VIP tent. Joey and...
“Wanted: painters, masons, siding, roofers, and financial donations! Go to...”
Battle of the Beards, Part 1
Yesterday, Albert blogged that, in the spirit of the playoff beard, he wasn’t going to shave until “Move that Bus” day on Friday. Since then, we have discovered that Intern Ed also has been venturing into creative facial hair territory. So we wanted to ask you guys— which beard is better? We trust that you will take some time to deliberate (Albert is in the picture on...
Dude, Where's My Hammer?
Today, in the design tent, the five most feared words in the carpentry world interrupted the assembly of Jeff Cooper’s new bed: “Dude, where’s my hammer?” Everyone turned to look at a shaggy haired teenager whose face was plastered with a look of quizzical astonishment. How could a hammer just disappear? An older man with graying hair continued to work while everyone else was looking for...
Ronald McDonald: An Extreme Hero
(Photo by Ed Perkins)
Today the Extreme Makover site was graced with the presence of world-famous Ronald McDonald, complete with big red shoes and white hard hat. As a lifelong McDonald’s fan, I had the great pleasure to interview dear Ronald, who echoed the feelings of all those lucky enough to be a part of this build by stating how worthy Mr. Cooper and his family are of this wonderful...
One of Roy's Boys on Site
It’s only fitting that with the recent Tarheel victory over the Duke Blue Devils, we would represent with some Carolina pride on the build site. Today, we had the chance to catch up with Surry Wood, a former UNC-Chapel Hill basketball player. After hearing about the build through his friend, a worker for Evergreen Foam and Insulation, Surry quickly decided to volunteer his time for the...
Wanted: A Few Skilled Volunteers
Things are happening so fast at the site near Jamesville, NC that you miss something if you blink! Today (Tuesday), the builder tells us that he absolutely, positively needs more skilled volunteers immediately — especially FRAMERS — who can finish up the walls. The folks keeping the event running need general volunteers, too, usually about 30 per shift, 24 hours a day. They are...
The roof is up, and my face is very itchy...
The house is beginning to take shape. The roof has been added, and we are starting to see what the house will look like. The job site is controlled chaos; there have been some minor mishaps, but this is to be expected with an effort of this magnitude. I have stuck to my personal commitment of not shaving until Ty Pennington yells “Move that Bus” and the Cooper family’s new home...
Media Roundup... Yeehaw!
This EM: HE build has been big news in Eastern NC, so we thought we’d point you toward some of the media coverage of the build during the past few days. Expect more news stories as we approach “Move that Bus” day on Friday!
March 10
WITN News: Update: Extreme Makeover Hits Jamesville
WCTI 12 News: Makeover Volunteers Needed! (scroll down for article)
March 8
News 14...
A Police Escort... For the Cement Truck
Today’s progress was absolutely mind-blowing! Today was day two of construction, and the volunteers were hard at work all over the building site.This morning they poured the cement for the foundation of the house— the Extreme Makeover builders used their special quick drying cement. One of the builders told me that the cement dries so fast that the cement trucks had to get a police escort...
Tear Down, Build Up
Today’s theme is “Walls”— the walls came up today, and we are beginning to see a house come to life. However, the real story of EM:HE is behind the build. Tent city is overwhelming, and the logistics of pulling the build and execution of the show are just amazing. Eckel & Vaughan is very fortunate to be part of the logistics and communications for this effort, and it is...
Happy Anniversary, Honey-- Pass me a Hammer?
Today, I spoke with Dana Fink, a woman from Clayton, NC, who, along with her husband, David, decided to spend her six-year wedding anniversary volunteering with this build. She says that after years of praying and saving, she and David were finally able to buy their “dream home” for their blended family of six. She told me that after that great blessing, they wanted to spend their...
A City Comes to Life
In the past couple of days, we’ve witnessed an actual city emerge in the middle of a cotton field: white bigtop tents, scores of trailers and even generators. There are builders spsecializing in every type of construction, vendors from dozens of different companies, massage therapists, doctors, designers, and, yes, a man with a monster truck. The excitement of the day is building with every...
The Battle at Cooper Lane
Battle cries rang out across the build site earlier this morning— and, no, we hadn’t run out of coffee. A group of civil war reenactors, in full military regalia, staged a battle scene reenactment in the cotton field that stands across from the build site— complete with bayonettes, marching commands, and lots of cap-waving. These reenactors spent all last night camped out at the...
Extreme Heroes: Edenton Builders →
You’ll definitely want to check out this link— Edenton Builders’ build website has got all sorts of information about the Cooper Family, how you can volunteer on-site, and what donation needs still exist to make the build a success!