By Brooke
Barker
October 16, 2006 | Bright and
early Sunday morning, a Logan family received
possibly the biggest surprise of their lives--
a new home courtesy of ABC-TV's Extreme Makeover:
Home Edition.
"It still doesn't seem
real; it's a lot at one time," said Lame
Pauni, a member of the family selected for the
new house.
The 22-year-old described a
lot of "pushing, shoving, screaming and yelling"
as he and his siblings excitedly made their way
to the front yard to greet Ty Pennington, the
show's host, around 9 a.m.
"I just can't explain what
I feel in my heart. We knew that today was decision
day and we didn't know what was going to happen,"
said Janet Pauni, the family's mother. "We
didn't expect anything to happen this morning."
Janet Pauni and her husband,
Danny Pauni, moved to Utah from Tonga in 1991.
In 2004, Danny died of a heart attack, leaving
Janet to care for their nine children. Although
Ati, her oldest daughter, has since married and
moved out of the house, the loss of Danny led
the family to run four businesses to keep afloat.
They have also been involved with numerous community
activities.
"Projects like this help
to bring a community together," said Ed Sanders,
a member of the show's design team. "It's
like a barn raising in modern days, and we hope
that when we leave, neighbors stay friends."
After signing some paperwork
and eating some lunch, nine of the 10 family members
made their exit for a vacation in the Virgin Islands.
"They all work so much
that they never get to spend time as a family,"
Sanders said. "They've taken on so much in
the past few years that some of them have forgotten
that they're kids, and hopefully this vacation
will give them a chance to remember."
While the family is off on a
much-needed vacation, thousands of volunteers
and crewmembers will step up to the plate and
work around the clock to create a home beyond
the Pauni's expectations by Sunday, Oct. 22.
Kartchner Homes was selected
as the construction company for the project and
was responsible for finding several other crews
to help out on the 106-hour project.
"I was obviously nervous
initially, but with the support from the city
and the trade contractors, we will get it done,"
Troy Kartchner, the project leader, said. "Besides
the overwhelming joy when the family comes home,
it's been good to see everyone come together and
get involved-- for me that's fun." |
A
LIST OF EVENTS, ONE DAY AT A TIME!
Tuesday "College Day":
--Demolition kicks off at noon
--On campus there will be Lunch for the Bunch
sponsored by the Latter-day Saint Association
at 11:30 on the TSC patio.
--Students will have the opportunity to put together
books for children in Tonga at 2 p.m. in the TSC
Sunburst Lounge.
--Students will also be collecting summer clothing
to send to Tonga
Wednesday "Polynesian Day":
--Pre-show party with games and activities for
families beginning at 5 p.m. on the HPER field.
There will be a cookout and appearances are expected
by members of the Salt Lake Real and Utah Jazz.
--A benefit concert will begin in the Spectrum
at 7 p.m. Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band and Isaac
Hayden are scheduled to perform. There will also
be Polynesian dancers and raffle prizes. |
