Episode: North Pole, Alaska
Airdate: Sunday, September 24th
at 7 p.m. E.S.T.
Article form August 11th, 2006 - Athletic Turf News:
CLEVELAND — Pioneer Athletics recently finished a project that will be featured on ABC-TV’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The project, which must remain under wraps until the show airs, was a huge undertaking for the small, athletic field paint company, but an honor nonetheless. The show will air the season premiere on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 8 p.m.
Pioneer received a phone call from AstroTurf, LLC of Dalton, GA, asking if they would be interested in participating in the show that would take place in Alaska. However, with only a few days to organize and prepare their supplies to be shipped to the build site, the team had to hustle. “We received the call on a Friday, really late in the evening, asking if we wanted to help out,” said Pioneer’s Chris Fiore. “By Monday, we were packing up pallets of supplies and sending it to Alaska.”
The family who benefited from a brand-new, fully furnished home, was the Rogers Family of North Pole, Alaska. The 13 members of this extended family lived in an uninsulated, 2-bedroom and ¾- bath home. The house, which had no foundation and a hot water tank with only enough strength to produce one warm shower, had literally started to fall down around them.
Thankfully for the Rogers Family, the Extreme Makeover team was ready to help them realize their dream of a new home and Pioneer Athletics was more than willing to help out.
Pioneer put together a specialized crew which included Darian Daily, Head Groundskeeper for the Cincinnati Bengals and STMA Board Member, to ensure a high-quality and creative flare to their project. “Having Darian as a part of our team was incredible,” said Fiore. “We were in a bind and needed a guy who could drop everything, fly to Alaska and work under very tight time constraints and do a great job—which he did.”
Team Pioneer and the volunteers worked 36 hours straight on their portion of the project and completed it the morning of the reveal. “I was a little anxious about the schedule because it was very different from the one I try to follow when I’m working on the stadium field,” said Daily. “We had to hurry-up and wait for our project to get started, but once it did, the producers of the show let us work our magic. They trusted our judgment and knew we had as much riding on it as they did and it turned out perfectly.”
For everyone involved in the Extreme Makeover project, it truly was a once in a lifetime experience. “This was such a great opportunity for our company and we were so excited to be involved” said Pioneer President Doug Schattinger. “Knowing that we would be contributing to this amazing show and giving the Rogers Family something that would put a little fun in their life was worth it and we’d gladly do it again."
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Episode: Minot, North Dakota
Airdate: Sunday, October 15th
at 8 p.m. E.S.T.
CLEVELAND, OH, September 14, 2006— Pioneer Athletics traveled to Minot, North Dakota to work on their second project for ABC-TV’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The project, which cannot be revealed until the show airs, continued Pioneer’s goal of turning fields into dreams for every community and gave one deserving family and community a chance for that dream to be realized.
After successfully completing their first Extreme Makeover project in Alaska, Pioneer hoped they would get to work on another project for the Emmy-winning reality show in the future. Little did they know, the future would be sooner than later.
“Out of the blue, we got the call,” said Pioneer’s Chris Fiore. “Having done the Alaska project, we knew what to expect, so we got right to work.” Pioneer hustled to get all the necessary equipment and products together, make travel plans and come up with a plan of attack.
“Even with all of the prep we did, it was still chaotic and we were still checking off to-do lists and packing up little supplies the day before we left,” said Pioneer president Doug Schattinger, who joined Chris Fiore on the North Dakota project.
During the preparation process, Pioneer learned that they would be working at Minot’s Knights of Columbus Field to help with some much needed renovations. The field plays home to numerous baseball and softball teams, but one team in particular has a special bond with the field—the Dream Catchers.
The Dream Catchers is a team comprised of special-needs children, many of whom are wheelchair bound, and was created by Michelle Blivens. The Blivens Family were the deserving recipients of a new Extreme Makeover home that would better accommodate son Aaron, who has cerebral palsy and husband Bill, who suffers from heart problems.
When Michelle was informed that Aaron could no longer play on his little league baseball team, she responded to a need in the Minot community and created a baseball team that offers children with disabilities the chance to play just like everyone else.
“Knowing that our project would bring smiles and cheers from a group of deserving athletes made our purpose with the project all the clearer,” said Fiore.
With a crew of hardworking volunteers on their side, Team Pioneer fought the rain and storms that plagued their project and were able to finish in the early-morning hours the day the Blivens came home.
“The rain was relentless – we were all soaked,” said Schattinger. “We had some issues to work around concerning the field, but we thought on our feet and came up with a plan and it worked.”
With a second project Extreme Makeover behind them, Pioneer is looking to get back to what they do best – make great paint. “These past two Extreme Makeover projects have been a great experience,” said Fiore. “We certainly never thought we would be a part of anything like this, but I’m glad we were and we hope to do it again.”
The Minot episode entitled, “Blivens Family”, is tentatively scheduled to air on Sunday, October 8 at 8 p.m. E.S.T. on your local ABC station. |
