Local builder happy to be part of constructing new dreams

WESTERN BRANCH

If you've tuned into the reality TV series "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," you know the drill. A wake-up call from Ty Pennington sends a family into a frenzy with the news they are the chosen ones for a complete home renovation, free of charge.

Pennington and crew are Hampton Roads-bound sometime this year to the delight of Western Branch resident Duane Cotton. Cotton isn't the one who will live in the new house, though. He'll be the one doing the building.

The Nationwide Homes builder specializes in modular homes, which are built in sections in a factory setting indoors.

Finished modules are transported to the home site where Cotton, owner of Harbor Point Builders in Chesapeake, places them on a pre-made foundation. The modules are joined and the work completed in often just a matter of hours.

Cotton volunteered his time and skills earlier this year in Greenville, Ga., when "Extreme Makeover" went modular for the first time.

"It was an amazing experience," he said. "Amazing is such an under-qualified word. One of the producers called it a modern-day barn raising of America. This is equivalent to that. It is such an inspirational thing to witness."

Cotton initially considered the tremendous marketing opportunity working on such a high profile project would be for the company he started in 2004.

Then he watched a video that showed the plight of the Williams family, the recipient for the modular home.

Father Jeremy Williams suffers from ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease and his 6-year-old son, Jacob, was born with spina bifida, which has left him in a wheelchair.

The Williams' current residence had a cracked and sinking foundation, mold-infected walls and was not conducive to Jacob's needs.

"When I saw that video, that's when it became about building for them," Cotton said. "Forget marketing. Forget publicity. It became about helping somebody out who you felt a connection with just by seeing him on a DVD."

What touched Cotton was the positive outlook Jeremy Williams maintains despite the daunting challenges ahead.

"He never said 'I' or 'me.' It was always about his son," Cotton said. "It was about his wife and his daughter and making sure when he can't provide for them anymore that they were cared for. It was selfless. It was totally about someone else and that's something we all need a lesson in."

The show will air at 8 p.m. May 16 on ABC.

The moving feeling Cotton experienced from the video only grew stronger when he got on site after a 10-hour drive south. It was a cold week when rain and snow made the work more trying. Cell phone use was almost impossible.

"It was miserable conditions, but everyone had a smile on their faces and you have to ask why," Cotton said. "I believe you took the one common thing of money out of the equation and you put helping somebody first."

Cotton spoke to the producers about bringing the show to Hampton Roads. He's modest about taking any credit for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" announcing in March that it is seeking nominations from families in Hampton Roads.

But he's flattered the producers have spoken to him about being one of the possible builders. The details are still being finalized, but Cotton is looking forward to bringing the enthusiasm and support he was part of in Georgia to his hometown area.

"I want the people here to experience what I did," he said. "For a lot of people they leave with a little more in their heart to go out and do good for somebody else."

Vicki L. Friedman, (757) 222-5218, Vicki.Friedman@pilotonline.com