January 2005
Carter Lumber Helps Family On Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Carter Lumber has always believed in giving back to its local communities. This conviction was proved when its Monroe, Michigan, store donated time, lumber and building materials to ABC TV’s "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to benefit an Oak Park, Michigan, family.
The Vardon family – parents Judy and Larry, who are both deaf, and their sons, Lance, 12, who is blind and autistic, and Stefan, 14 – are celebrating Thanksgiving early thanks to Carter Lumber, ABC TV, Fairway Construction, and others. The Vardons are recipients of a home renovation that was completed in August 2004 and aired in an "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" episode on the ABC Network on Nov. 7.
"Carter Lumber’s Monroe store was selected to provide the lumber and building materials because the store’s lumber manager, Kip Gleckler, and plumbing and electrical manager, Tim Clapsaddle, and their staffs are extremely customer-service oriented – we knew they could handle the job," David McCafferty, vice president of marketing for Carter Lumber said. The Monroe Carter Lumber store is located at 850 N. Dixie Highway.
The Vardons’ original 980-square-foot house was not only transformed into a dream home, but the renovated structure also features special communication and safety devices to help Judy and Larry communicate with their two sons while also helping protect Lance.
The family’s application to the show was submitted with a heartwarming school essay written by Stefan about his family and its special needs. He wrote, "I always have to sign to my parents in order to communicate, and always talk nicely to my brother for him to understand. I am so used to this life, it’s just that sometimes I wish I had a normal family and didn’t live this way. But the next day I am so happy that I have a loving family that treats me nice and loves me."
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" connects designers, architects, landscapers and contractors with a deserving family in need of major home repairs or renovation. Then, in just seven days the home is transformed, inside and out. The show’s team of designers uses the services of local suppliers and contractors, as well as hundreds of laborers, to accomplish a task that under normal circumstances can take four months or more.
In an "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" first, the builders who also donated their time and expertise finished this job 36 hours ahead of schedule. "It was truly a job well done and a partnership that worked extremely well," Adam Helfman, president of Fairway Construction said.
McCafferty said, "When ABC contacted us about this project, we were thrilled to be able to participate. We believe that it is important to be a good corporate citizen, and this show provided us with that opportunity. By donating lumber and building materials Carter Lumber could not have been happier than to help make life better for this family."
Because of the short time frame – the premise of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is a race against the clock, completing major renovations in just seven days – the show needed a dependable supplier. Designers and contractors had to be assured that the materials they needed would be on site, on schedule and high quality so that the job could be done right, on time, the first time. "Our reputation of working with builders and contractors, meeting their needs in a timely fashion, convinced the show’s producers that we were the best choice," McCafferty concluded. For information about lumber and building materials, call the Munroe Carter Lumber store at 734-242-6660.
Tune in to "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" Sundays 8/7c on ABC.
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Carter Lumber is one of the nation’s top building materials retailers with over 240 stores in ten states and employs more than 3,500 people. Carter Lumber stores offer customers top quality grade-stamped lumber and carry brand names in roofing, siding, windows & doors, insulation, plumbing, heating, and electric products from leading manufacturers. Additionally, each location provides design capabilities in new home, pole barn, backyard barn, garage, deck and kitchen projects. Established in 1932, Carter Lumber maintains its headquarters in Kent, Ohio.