Posted 2:54 am Saturday, February 27, 2010
Volunteers Backbone Of Reality Makeover
By Steve Hallford
Special to the Tyler Morning Telegraph
Special to the Tyler Morning Telegraph
"Good morning Carr family!"
The man who blasts this life-changing phrase in front of millions of television viewers on Sunday nights is well-known. The Carr family, their family and friends, and all East Texans are blessed to have Ty Pennington and the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" design team in Mineola this week.
The man who blasts this life-changing phrase in front of millions of television viewers on Sunday nights is well-known. The Carr family, their family and friends, and all East Texans are blessed to have Ty Pennington and the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" design team in Mineola this week.
The construction of the Carrs' beautiful new home will be completed by Thursday, giving me only a few short days to give you a behind-the-scenes look at some incredible professionals that I'm blessed to work with.
These contractors, project managers, sub-contractors, production designers, manufacturers and other key volunteers are not quite so well-known as Pennington but just as vital to the job.
The contractor for this home -- Gary Bayless -- has not only poured over blueprints, set up pre-construction meetings, worked with subcontractors and the Extreme Makeover production team, but he also has "built" this house many times in his dreams over the past four weeks.
When asked if the dreams were nightmares he said, "Well, they sort of start out that way, because I see myself up on a scaffold working alone on the Carrs' home … and then all of a sudden thousands of people come marching down the street shouting, "We want to help!"
ALL GONE: Top, volunteers working with the reality TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” demolish the home of Katrina and Mike Carr on County Road 2223 in Mineola on Friday.
Well dear friend, sometimes dreams do come true. The 27,000 hits that overloaded Gary's Web site is a fine example of how East Texans were willing to step up to the plate and do what it takes. Bayless says he is incredibly thankful to every person that is involved in this project and wants to take this opportunity to thank everyone again for signing up and helping out. It's East Texans' can-do spirit of Philippians 4:13 that Bayless says he really appreciates … that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.
Bayless' wife, Vicki, a teacher at Robert E. Lee High School, has been known to call her husband a big ol' teddy bear. Everyone who meets her humble, happy husband would agree. Bayless says without hesitation that he "married up." Bayless is always professional, reasonable and kind.
Above, host Ty Pennington records a message to the Carr family while standing on the remains of their home.
Our team wants to complete this project safely and on time for two primary reasons -- because we have a great desire to build the best possible home for the Carr family, and because of our wish to bring the East Texas community together on this worthy project. (Me, I don't want to see a potential "teddy" to "grizzly" transformation.)
Bayless' partner Joe Runnels has played an integral role during this grand undertaking. Runnels can be seen quarterbacking a huddle of subcontractors, directing traffic for material handlers, driving a DynaPac or even passing out ponchos in the rain.
Runnels is the king of multitasking -- he is one of the few known human beings who can answer bulk e-mail, while carrying on an intelligent phone conversation, while giving instructions via walkie-talkie … while conducting a meeting!
Bayless and Runnels compliment one another, and that's why this project will continue to run so smoothly. Like several of their project managers, Runnels and Bayless are on the job site 24/7 until the job is completed.
A quick reminder to the late night media: Call Runnels before you knock on his trailer door -- he has been known to answer the door with nothing on but his 2-way radio and boxers.
On the first night of "The Big Carr Show," power lines had to be moved, plumbing re-positioned, trees removed and the front yard leveled. These contractors did phenomenal work into the wee hours of the morning.
One volunteer looked like a kid running away from home as he walked away from the site with the Carr mailbox and post over his shoulder. After the massive front yard trees were professionally topped, they were dispatched with great ease. Cobra volunteer Grady Rowland stayed late to back-fill the gaping holes and grade the front yard.
The men and women that are dedicated to this worthy project are many. I hope to give you a daily glimpse of this hard-working, fun-loving, faithful team.
Hallford is one of six project managers volunteering on the project to work around the clock under Gary Bayless and will be filing daily reports from the work site.
