By Logan Braman

Paul Schwinghammer, president of Hallmark Homes Inc., was an integral part of the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” build. If you were on the site during the week the house was torn down and rebuilt from the ground up, you were sure to run into Schwinghammer. Schwinghammer said most of his time on the site was spent helping people by answering questions and solving problems when they came up. He was also responsible for making sure people were where they needed to be so the build would get done. All in all, Schwinghammer sums up the project in one sentence.

“[The project was] an intense month of preparation culminating to a fast paced, highly coordinated effort by hundreds during the week of the build,” he said.

The project also endured long days, because Schwinghammer still had the same responsibilities for Hallmark Homes as he does on any other week. The build did help in one aspect that one wouldn’t expect: family.

“It brought us closer together in working toward the common goal both before and during the project,” Schwinghammer said about the effects of the project on his family.

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By Dawn Fluhler

Six weeks after the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” reveal, the Wilder family is settling back into pre-build life – almost. It isn’t over quite yet. They’re still looking forward to the episode airing sometime in January.

Hallmark Homes CEO Derek Wilder and his wife, Jennie, have three teenage children: Kylene, Courtney and Connor. The entire Wilder family was involved in the Cowan-Brown house build.

Kylene, an Anderson University sophomore, was on site all week in between classes. She carried a phone and a walkie talkie, drove a Gator and helped her dad with whatever she could.

“She did whatever anybody asked her to do,” Jennie said.

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By Logan Braman

It’s Day Seven and everything on the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” build is coming together. All the hours that the builders, sponsors and volunteers have put into the Cowan-Brown family’s new home has come down to “Move that bus!” time. Hallmark Homes is almost done with its part of the build and ready to hand the keys off to the Extreme Makeover team.

Derek Wilder, CEO of Hallmark Homes, has been thanking volunteers, sponsors and everyone else involved with the build all morning. The build has been full of challenges, most of which came with the rain late last week, but so far all of them have been overcome. Wilder said the turnaround from being behind to getting back on track was the biggest accomplishment.

“I’ve heard people saying that they’ve never seen anything like that turnaround,” he said. “From that perspective, I’m really proud of the guys for it. Basically, that first morning was one that was very difficult. At 3 a.m. [Friday], I get a phone call and we have a foot of water and the foundation is totally flooded so I had to get on the phone and make a plan for how we’re going to get out of this.”

The plan is working. Volunteers are putting the finishing touches on the inside of the home while others lay sod in the front yard. Eventually, the keys will be handed off to the ABC Extreme Makeover team and Hallmark Homes will be finished with its part of the job. Wilder said most of the work is already out of his hands.

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Jason Ildefonzo, a local contractor from Sherriff-Goslin Company, was on-site helping to put siding on the house.  Jason went to school with Andy, the homeowner, and knows the family well.  We asked him for his thoughts about the family, and he told us that the family is well-deserving.  He mentioned that Kori, who struggles with a congenital blood disease, has donated over $35,000 to the American Cancer Society.  Jason said the progress is slow, and the project is running about a day behind schedule.  However he does feel that this project has benefited the community.  He said, “It’s been great to see all the companies working together.”

By Logan Braman

The sunny weather on the build site for “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” means Day Six is full of all kinds of projects. Workers and volunteers are putting the finishing touches on the house, a windmill is being installed and landscapers are standing by to start work on the outside of the home. The past week’s activities have all centered on one thing; communication.

Sam Kincaid, systems engineer with ERS Data Solutions Group, has been on-site since Day One. Kincaid and his company are responsible for making sure everyone from the build team is in constant contact via two-way radios and wireless Internet connections. ERS also worked on making communication happen on an “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” build in Indianapolis in March. Kincaid said this project has included obstacles he hasn’t encountered in the past.

“It posed unique challenges for us, as opposed to the previous event that we helped out on that was in downtown Indianapolis with plenty of services,” Kincaid said. “Now, we’re in the middle of a bean field with no services. Although it posed a challenge, it wasn’t impossible.”

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by Rhett Umphress

Despite all of the difficulties that have existed in this build, Hallmark Homes CEO Derek Wilder still feels that they will complete their part of the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” project tonight. They plan to hand over the keys to the interior designers at ABC tonight and complete some final exterior projects, such as landscaping this evening into Tuesday morning.

Some of the interior tasks that Hallmark Homes still need to complete on the estimated 3,000 to 3,500 square foot home today are painting, finishing the trim work and finishing the all hardwood floors.

The rain was a significant drawback in an effort to build a house in just over 100 hours.  A normal build of this size would take between 90 to 120 days.

“When you pour a footer and have a monsoon, it makes it rough,” Wilder said.

The rain, which turned the entire build site into a mud pit, required changes to building plans throughout the week. Equipment that would normally be used had to be scrapped after they were getting trapped. For example, lifts that were normally used to lift people to install siding would get stuck in the mud and have to be towed out.

At one point, Wilder predicted that the build was as much as 14 to 15 hours behind schedule. The ability to get back on task can be credited to dozens of laborers who are putting in full days, getting three hours of sleep a night during the build.

And what was the motivation to keep the workers at the site.

“Begging,” Wilder quipped.

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By Dawn Fluhler

Jennie Wilder is much more than “wife of Hallmark CEO Derek Wilder.” As she and other Hallmark employee-volunteers prepare for Family Day at the Extreme Makeover Home edition build site, it is apparent that she is deeply involved in the entire project.

She hustles and buzzes around from place to place answering questions and making sure things are going smoothly and turn out just right.

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Working on the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition build is a 24-hour a day task. Builders, volunteers, and spectators stay well into the night in order to ensure that everything is taken of.

Earth Link Geothermal Services of Ossian, Ind. dug a six-foot deep trench Friday night as a part of their project. Workers put in time over the night to keep the project on schedule.

Coordination is one of the biggest challenges that Extreme Makeover: Home Edition faces. Members of Extreme Security and the Miami County EMA help to direct the various vehicles and equipment to the right location. It is common for Extreme Security to coordinate with local forces.  Andy Michaels of the Bravo Team of Extreme Security has been working with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for the past two seasons.

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By Kyle Schroeder

Following the demolition that took less than an hour, Waste Management was on-hand waiting to remove all the debris. Truck after truck was driven in and loaded up with roofing, siding, wood, and old appliances that previously filled them home. In probably less than an hour or so, all the debris that previously comprised the Cowan-Brown home.

Ball State University photographer Liz McDonald spent a late night at the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition site. While we can’t show you what they are doing, we can show you the people who have dedicated their time and energy to the project.

Hallmark Homes is coordinating the build, which makes for a long 104 hours.

Tom Whitesell of Hallmark Homes Inc. saw the house before and said it was in need of demolition. “This is great for the family,” Whitesell said. “It’s awesome and they definitely deserve this house.”

Hallmark has teamed with Concrete Specialties to lay the foundation for the new home.

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