‘Extreme Home’ helps organic farmers go green
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| The Stott family thanks volunteers in front of their new home. (Shaw News Service) |
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LENA – Leukemia survivor Joey Stott choked back tears as she tried to explain what she felt when she first saw her bright new home and the thousands of people, most total strangers, who helped build it.
“When the bus first moved and I saw the house it was ... Wow! It was hope. It was rejuvenation,” she said.
“Seeing the house for the first time was like seeing a dollhouse. I have a feeling it’s going to take us awhile to grasp how this has touched our lives.”
Standing under an old shade tree just yards away from their brand-new, white, yellow and “green” home, the Stott family talked Thursday about what it was like to be a featured family of ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
“We’d liked to thank everybody who was dedicated to volunteering and taking time away from their families and their lives to help ours,” Joey said. “We have a home thanks to this community. Thanks to Extreme Makeover and thanks to Hasken Construction. Oh, good Lord, there’s just not enough words to thank everyone.”
Fresh off a weeklong vacation in San Franciso, courtesy of Disney Vacation Club, Joey embraced her husband Philip, daughter Kaila, and sons Jonathon and Michael, as she recalled Wednesday’s “reveal” of the new 3,000-square-foot home.
“We took our blindfolds off, and it was just a sea of smiling faces and a huge wave of love,” Joey said.
The Stotts are organic farmers, and Philip was excited about the home’s many “green” qualities.
“It’s surreal,” he said. “The geothermal heating and cooling and wind energy will run our heat pump and all of our appliances ... The craftsmanship and quality of what our community has put together is just amazing.”
The Stott children also were impressed.
“I was blown away,” Jonathon said. “You’ve been on vacation and you know it’s been going on, and then you see it for the first time and all the efforts of all the people coming together to make this beautiful house for us ... It’s just the most amazing thing ever.”
Organizers estimated that more than 3,000 volunteers – tradespeople and others – built the house in 106 hours.
The effort was led by Rick Hasken, owner of Hasken Construction, in Freeport.
“There are those who say that the spirit of community is a thing of the past,” Hasken said. “I’m proud to say that’s certainly not true in northwest Illinois.”
Larry Moring of Forreston, owner of Moring’s Disposal, provided containers for the debris and trash hauling services for the project.
“I was glad to be a part of it,” Moring said.
Don’t forget your hanky
The Stotts’ “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” episode is scheduled to air on ABC in December or January.
