Dennis Ashley Design and Events

Well it wouldn’t be a TV show without a Wrap Party, right? We transformed an empty banquet room and part of a parking lot at Pastarrific, a Kokomo Italian restaurant, into a hip, fun destination for the Hallmark Homes crew, VIPs and ABC’s EM:HE crew and designers to celebrate the successful build of the Cowan-Brown home. The theme in the band area was black and white with accents of glowing magenta, turquoise and green. The banquet room was filled with chocolate brown and beige furniture with teal, purple and magenta water pearl centerpiece accents. Casey Jamerson and her band performed for us and got everyone on their feet to sing and dance. After they wrapped their set, ABC’s very own Paul DiMeo and a few of the crew took the stage to perform. It was a night to remember…and we are honored to be have planned the event. Here are a few snapshots.

We had an incredible time at Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. We were thrilled to see the Cowan-Brown home come together with the hustle of the crews adding sod, mums, trees, water features and mulched walking paths to the front yard on the morning of the “Move That Bus” reveal. Our VIP tent was busy with people in from all over the country who had given monetary and time donations to make this build a success. The spectators shuttled in from Grissom Air Force base by the hundreds…and stood with “Welcome home” and “Move that bus!” signs and American flags. It was around 5 p.m. when Ty, the designers and builders lined up in front of the new home and waited in anticipation of the white stretch limo to pull down the street. And, then…it happened. The family arrived. They stood hand-in-hand as the crowd of spectators screamed, cheered, and chanted “Move that bus! Move that bus!” The looks on their faces when they saw their new home needed no explanation. It was pure joy. Shock. Excitement. Happiness.

We feel incredibly blessed to have shared in this event with Hallmark Homes and ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Here are a few snapshots from the final day on location.

Today was a big day…the final push to completion of the Cowan-Brown home. The exterior workers were visibly hard at work for spectators to see…but so much was happening inside the walls of the home. Hundreds of volunteers stained, painted, designed and built parts and pieces to the home. (I wish I could show you!) We are excited for the reveal day tomorrow! It will be a huge day for us…concluding with a Wrap Party sure to celebrate the successes of the Hallmark Homes Bunker Hill build!

We arrived to a gorgeous sunrise over the under-construction-Cowan-Brown home with excitement for Family Day. The shuttle buses never stopped. The wait at Grissom to arrive to EM:HE was two to three HOURS. Wow! Once families made it to the build site, they were entertained by magicians and clowns. We had a wonderful day!

Today we had a lot of spectators on location being shuttled from Grissom Air Force Base because the fields were too muddy to use for parking. Kokomo cheerleaders arrived early this morning and cheered on the crew with “Go, Workers…GO, GO WORKERS!” Anderson University Day was today. Several students and staff also joined us. The weather cooperated with not much rain. We are thankful for that so the builders can make up some ground from time lost during yesterday’s rain. Here are some snapshots from our day.

needs volunteers! TWO SHIFTS minimum of 10 people/shift: Tuesday, October 27. CREW ONE: 12 noon to 8 p.m. on site at the build. CREW TWO: 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. for the Wrap Party in Kokomo. Find DAshley Design+Events on Facebook to volunteer!

What an incredible day. We had an amazing crew of volunteers that came in via coach, car, van, truck…all with generous hearts to help us go from bean field to three tents geared to engage and pamper VIPs, cast/crew and spectators.

We are thrilled to be a part of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and encourage you to come out to support this event. Food drive, blood drive, donations, giving of your time to help behind-the-scenes…you name it, there are endless ways to be involved.

A special thank you to our volunteers today to help us make this a successful kick-off to what is sure to be a life-changing week for all of us.

Not able to help us behind the scenes at Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? We are welcoming monetary donations! $5, $25, $500…no donation is too big or small. Make checks payable to Hallmark Homes. In the Memo line, be sure to write “DAshley Design+Events.” Drop the check by The Flower Cart/DAshley Design+Events or send an email to dennis@dashleydesignandevents.com for other arrangements. We are so thankful for your generous hearts and hands!

EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION COMES TO CENTRAL INDIANA
DAshley Design+Events to lead event planning at building site

PENDLETON, IN (October 13, 2009) – Pendleton’s leading event design company, DAshley Design+Events, announced today that it will join the Emmy Award-winning television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition by facilitating all event planning as Anderson-based Hallmark Homes builds a new home for a deserving family in Central Indiana.

DAshley Design+Events will develop and oversee all event details such as volunteer, VIP, hospitality and builder/crew tents, catering, special on-site activities for crew, builder(s) and families and production wrap party after the unveiling of the home.

“Our family owned company is honored to help change and transform the lives of this family. Hallmark Homes has partnered with many great companies to make this possible and we are thrilled to be a part of such a great event,” said Dennis Ashley, Event Designer of DAshley Design+Events.

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If you would like more information about DAshley Design+Events, please contact Dennis Ashley, Event Designer, 765.778.4380, or at dennis@dashleydesignandevents.com

About DAshley Design+Events

Founded in 2008 as an extension of its 35-year-old parent company, The Flower Cart, DAshley Design+Events specializes in the art of event and floral design with emphasis on personalized service to develop a unique brand experience for its wide-ranging clients. DAshley Design+Events is based in Pendleton, Indiana.

About Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

The Emmy^R Award-winning reality program Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, now in its seventh season, is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. It is executive produced by Anthony Dominici. David Goldberg is Chairman, Endemol North America.The show airs Sundays from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. EST on ABC.

About Hallmark Homes

Hallmark Homes is one of the largest, on-your-lot custom homebuilders in the Midwest. Having built more than 1,000 homes since 1992, Hallmark Homes’ service, quality control, scheduling and warranty are second to none. Hallmark Homes is a proud recipient of the coveted 2008 Keystone Award and 2008 Residential Warranty National Award of Distinction. Hallmark is also a member of the Better Business Bureau and the National Association of Home Builders. For more information, visit www.hallmarkhomes.com.