SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB) — The episode of ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition featuring the Walker family aired all across the nation Friday night.

“Tonight is the night it is a big night I think we are going to touch a lot of lives,” said Sirdeanor Walker.

Sirdeanor’s son Carl took his own life after being bullied.  Since his death she has worked to end bullying.

“There are so many other children out there so many other families that have been effected like our family has been.  So I’m speaking for all of those families out there,” said Walker.

The episode focused on how bullying can be prevented if everyone comes together and treats each other with respect.  Walker is hoping someday legislation like we have here in Massachusetts to prevent bullying is passed nationwide.

The Walker family watched the episode at the Sheraton in Springfield with volunteers and contractors who made her new home possible.

“We saw it from the beginning to the end of the project it’s pretty exciting,” said Alan Petsche, volunteer.

“We are really happy for the family it was kinda hard to see them go in and be on the outside we have been dying with anticipation all these months,” said Laurie Pesche, volunteer.

For a closer look at the Walker’s home or to watch the entire episode, click here.

Nick Riley Builds His First House — in One Week

Nick Riley, president of N. Riley Construction, during the build week at Sirdeaner Walker’s home.

Nick Riley launched his construction company about five years ago, focusing on residential remodels but eager to move into total home builds. He’s not likely to forget the first house he finished from the ground up, because he — and a large crew of volunteer builders and tradespeople — managed to complete it in one week. Riley said the opportunity to tear down and rebuild a house for ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is one he’s glad he didn’t pass up — not only for the experience, but for the chance to impact the lives of a very deserving family.

Kate Riley said her husband had a few goals when he planned his career — “to have his own business, to have his name get big, and to build houses. This is his first house.”
She — along with several other Riley family members and dozens of area builders and tradespeople, all volunteering their time — stood on Springfield’s Northampton Avenue, absorbing what had happened in the first few days since Ty Pennington and his team of designers from ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition knocked on the door of Sirdeaner Walker and informed her she would have a new house by the following week.
“The Extreme Makeover producer contacted me about four weeks before we started the project,” said Riley, president of N. Riley Construction in Chicopee, noting that he was recommended by the Home Builders Assoc. of Western Mass. and other contractors. “I ended up meeting with them the day after. I sat down and spoke with them, and they told me the story of this family.
“That’s when I made my decision,” he continued. “Being able to do this for this family … you never get a chance like this, to be able to do a project like this. It’s not too often that you can say you were able to gather an entire community to help one family.”
Walker is no stranger to the spotlight, but it’s a light she never would have asked for, obviously. Her 11-year-old son, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, took his own life in 2009 after being incessantly bullied by peers at the New Leadership Charter School in Springfield.
In the months following the tragedy, Walker became a strong advocate against school bullying, successfully pushing for anti-bullying legislation in Massachusetts, meeting with federal lawmakers and President Obama, and establishing a foundation in her son’s name that raises awareness of the bullying issue and scholarships for area students.

Nick Riley’s wife, Kate, and mother, Lisa, were among many family members pitching in with Extreme Makeover.

Her house, in the Upper Hill neighborhood close to Springfield College, was run-down and riddled with plumbing and electrical issues, according to ABC producers. She lives there with two daughters, a sister, her mother, and her grandmother.
“We started planning about four weeks before the build week,” Riley said. “I approached a couple of good friends of mine in the trades to help me. I also started planning right away as far as gathering materials, manpower, and tradespeople. The Extreme team sent in a couple of project managers to help us do that, but it was ultimately my responsibility to provide the help.
“I had, at the beginning, some very good responses. I had a lot of people who wanted to participate, but didn’t think they could at the time because of how everything has been” with the economy, he told BusinessWest. “So it was a little bit of both: I had people who were very positive about it, saying, ‘yes, we’ll do it,’ and on the other hand some who wanted to do it but couldn’t afford to at the time, or were just too busy.”
Riley’s glad he wasn’t too busy, though, calling the experience one of the most rewarding of his life.

From the Ground Up
Riley corrected his wife’s first-house assertion to a point, noting that he’s currently building a house in Chicopee, and his company, which he launched about five years ago, has done some major home renovations that were very close to whole-home jobs. But this month’s makeover was, indeed, the first house he has completed from the ground up.
The build week itself was every bit as long and intense as viewers of the show might imagine. “On Sunday, we knocked on the door and surprised the family, and on Monday we ripped the house down. On Tuesday we started the foundation,” Riley said.
By midweek, a newly framed house had gone up in its place, followed by repaving of the driveway, complete landscaping of the yard, and of course, all those personal touches the designers are known for. “On Sunday, they brought the furniture in and surprised the family with their new home.”
The days, not surprisingly, were long. “We had 12-hour shifts set up, but the nighttime shifts started to roll into the daytime shifts,” said Riley. “The demolition of the house went really well, and when we dug out the foundation, that went really well,” he recalled. “Framing went pretty well, too. We had framers there for 40 hours, then we started losing them, and it was a challenge to get people back there.”
Inclement weather, always a concern on these one-week builds, wasn’t a factor; temperatures were mild all week, with a little rain passing through on Wednesday, but nothing to slow down the progress, as the house was weathertight by that point. But the occasional unexpected challenge emerged during construction.
For example, “when we started to set the concrete walls, we noticed that we hit a little bit of water. That caused a bit of a problem; we had to set up a pump and pump out the water while we were setting these concrete walls.”
But any problems encountered during the build paled in comparison to the joy the Walker family felt at receiving so much community support. In addition to the army of volunteers and dozens of companies — in the construction trades, home supplies, marketing, and other fields — who lent their time and resources, Walker had more surprises coming at the reveal. Notably, UMass presented her with four-year scholarships — tuition, room, board, and fees at any of the four campuses — for each of her youngest children, now age 7 and 8.
Details about the home’s interior will have to wait until the show airs, at the request of ABC. But Riley said the designers came up with some special touches to match the work he and his crew did on the house itself.
“Seeing people come together to help other people in such a big way, giving up their days and money to help people they don’t even know, it was an amazing experience,” he told BusinessWest. “It just shows how good people are. And just seeing the faces of the family when they moved that bus — it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
He said he was also fortunate to meet many people from different businesses he might not otherwise have met, and the participation of his own family members was another personal highlight.
“I asked a couple people in my family to help me out with the planning process, and before I knew it, the whole family was helping out in some way,” particularly helping at the various support tents set up around the neighborhood. “That was rewarding.”
His wife agreed. “This is unbelievable,” Kate said that afternoon midway through the project. “It’s amazing to be able to help a family like this.”

Making a Name
If Riley’s goal was to make a name for his business, he’s well on his way. He started out in the construction business working for his uncle, Andrew Crane, president of A. Crane Construction in Chicopee.
“I ended up leaving because I wanted to start my own company, and things have been great the whole time,” Riley said. “I haven’t had one minute of downtime — it’s been amazing.”
That’s a striking account of success in what has been a decidedly downbeat atmosphere for builders, many of whom have struggled to keep employees busy during the past few years of recession and sluggish recovery. But Riley, most of whose work is residential, has focused largely on home remodels and renovation work, one of the few sectors of construction that has consistently shown some life.
“Right now, because of the recent disasters, we’ve done a lot of insurance repairs, from the ice damage from the winter to work from the tornadoes and the microburst.”
And he’s looking forward to plenty more work as the economy improves — with the experience of that one-week build under his toolbelt.
Still, “we don’t want to grow too big,” he said. “We want to stay a smaller company and keep it personal, make sure we continue to provide a quality product.
“I like the hands-on work of going into someone’s home and putting a smile on the face of the owners,” Riley continued. “There aren’t a lot of other jobs where you can do that, where you can go in make an impact by changing their homes.”
Or, in extreme cases, their lives.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at bednar@businesswest.com

“They’ll be doing the landscape today, the driveway’s done, the place is looking pretty good,” says lead contractor Nick Reilly.

Pretty good, eh? You can’t blame master builder nick riley for being modest. The guy’s barely had any sleep all week, too busy orchestrating a 3,800 square foot home for the Walker family.

Reilly adds, “Coming back to this home is going to be pretty exciting for them. It’s an unbelievable house and they’re going to love the interior.”

An interior we can’t show, but today cabinetry, trimwork, and painting wrapped up inside, while the outside took shape. “We were using the “endless summer,” which is the hydrangea, the oak leaf hydrangea, some beautiful inkberries, vibernums,” says Debra Bordenuk of Sixteen Acres Garden Center.

And red roses, hasta, and astilbe too. If that’s not enough latin for you, there’s Zumbathon tonight at the Polish Home in Chicopee, proceeds helping spread the burden of all the donated makeover muscle and material.

“It will also help the family start their new dream come true because you always have additional expenses. For instance, it’s probably going to be heating expenses, lighting expenses, things like that, that you don’t really think about,” says Marie Laflamme, lead coordinator.

Never heard of zumba? “It’s a form of dancing but it’s also fitness. I like to say it’s latin, hip-hop, flair, fitness dance. It’s amazing!”

Almost as amazing as the house here on Northampton avenue.

WILBRAHAM, Mass. (WGGB) — The ABC Extreme Makeover Show came to Wilbraham & Monson Academy on Monday, September 12th.

The opening segment of a future show was taped outside the academy using students in a skit that delivered an anti-bullying message.

The show that was being taped involves building a new home for Sirdeaner Walker of Springfield whose young son Carl committed suicide.

The Wilbraham & Monson Academy segment also included a concert by teen Pop singer Cody Simpson which also featured an anti-bullying message.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB) — In the words of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” host Ty Pennington, “Welcome home Walker family. Welcome home.” After a week in the dark surrounding their new home, Sirdeaner Walker and her family to see the surprise hundreds of volunteers help build.

The address is the same, 124 Northampton Avenue, but the house is different, the trees, the landscape, even the sidewalk. Might as well rename Northampton Avenue “Hollywood Boulevard”.

“I can’t believe they’re coming home today,” says designer Tracy Hutson. So much has changed for the Walker family since last Sunday, when they jetted away for a Hollywood vacation.

“It’s good to see everyone come out to support the family,” says Amelia Dyson of Essex, Conn.

Two-and-a-half years after Sirdeaner Walker’s son Carl — a victim of relentless bullying at school — committed suicide at just 11 years old.

A house of so much sorrow replaced by a dream home. The excitement of the big reveal, equaled for the roughly 4,000 on hand by their compassion. 

“There’s no reason an 11-year-old boy should have to go through something like that. It’s so sad. It’s not worth it,” says Special Olympian and volunteer Alyssa Neil.

“I was bullied but not that bad. It wasn’t a great experience for me,” says Sarah Shephard of Chester, Conn.

The bullying, no, but today’s exhilaration, the experience of a lifetime.

“It’s just an amazing feeling, helping the family. They really deserve it,” adds Shephard.

Matthew Charpentier, Special Olympian and volunteer, says “What does it mean to you, to be part of this? To support others and have a great time.”

Hutson says, “Oh my gosh, it’s been amazing. Springfield has been phenomenal. We’ve had such an amazing response to this anti-bullying mission that we’re on with the Walker family.”

Including Carl’s little brother Charles and sister Gloria, when they outgrow their new bedrooms after high school years from now, a full scholarship at UMass awaits them. “Education transforms lives; it transforms families, and here’s a family that really needs help in that transformation, so it’s always a good feeling to make those doors open up and make those things happen,” says UMass President Robert Caret.

But, first things first — the big reveal — and an eager crowd. “I’m glad it’s the last day because the family can finally see it,” says volunteer Matthew Townsend.

What? No sadness that a week like no other is over? “It’ll be good to sleep again!” adds Townsend.

Recharge those batteries fast. We just might see Ty and company in these parts again some day.

Hutson hints, “We’ll come back to Springfield any time you guys want us!”

Hard to imagine whether this neighborhood will be the same after Extreme Makeover Home Edition, but things will never be the same for one grateful family.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB) — Being a buddy and not a bully. Runners and walkers took to the streets Saturday morning for the 2nd annual Anti-Bullying Back-To-School Road Race and Walk in honor of Carl Walker-Hoover Jr.

The team from ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition brought the Walker family back one day early for the walk before the reveal of their new home.

“When you see this collective group of community coming together you know different backgrounds different cultures you know different races you know from the city to suburbs its really overwhelming,” said Sirdeaner Walker.

The Walker family joined more than a thousand people including the designers from the hit ABC show and Boston Celtic Ray Allen.

“This is awesome. We are so excited to be here,” said Michael Moloney, designer Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

“This message really just speaks to everyone this week, so we are very impressed with Springfield and this entire community. I’m excited to bring the Walker family here and show them what we accomplished this week,” said Tracy Hutson, designer Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

The show is also hoping to get people around the country to pledge to “Stand Together Against Bullying.”

The Commerce High School football team took the pledge and the walk.

“We try to do it off the field and on the field in the school, but we can’t bring everyone together it’s a slow process but we are trying,” said Hassan Graham, Captain Commerce football team.

Sirdeaner Walker said the events of this past week are strengthening her ability to spread the word to end bullying.

“You want to reach people so that they can in turn talk to their senators and their representatives and say hey you need to sponsor you need to sign onto the Safe Schools Improvement Act,” said Walker.

Money raised from the event goes towards scholarships given in Carls name.

You can help the cause by taking the pledge to “Stand Together” against bullying by logging onto : www.standtogether.tv

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB) — They tore down a house Monday in Springfield. Now, as they build a new one, the Extreme Makeover Home Edition crew is trying to tear down bullying for good everywhere. However, both goals require strategy to get the job done.

Despite some difficulty in the building since last night, these men and women are pressing on. If they could only end bullying so quickly – well, that would be better than building an entire city.

“I was bullied when I was young too, because I was real skinny and little, and I was bullied all the time because of that,” Extreme Makeover Home Edition volunteer Melissa York transcended that unfortunate rite she shares with so many peers and fellow volunteers.

It’s top-of-mind to so many, helping tear down and rebuild Sirdeaner Walker’s home, after her 11-year-old son Carl — a victim of relentless bullying at school — committed suicide there in 2009.

Volunteer Stacy Franklin says, “I heard all about the story when her son passed away, and it’s a tragedy, and what she’s doing to make changes in the country is where Extreme Makeover wants to be, is people who are making changes in the world, and that’s what she’s doing.”

What the Makeover mavens are doing, is amplifying the voice of the Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover Foundation to end bullying everywhere.

The new house is really a small part of the story. They brought in aussie teen singing sensation Cody Simpson yesterday — he’s a champion against bullying, and they’re launching a web site allowing anyone, anywhere to speak and listen.

“It’s not only going to be a place that they are just going to tell their story, stand together, and have a face. It’s going to be a place that we can educate the community, and hopefully end bullying and just help people be better people,” says Makeover Designer Jillian Harris, who adds that Ty Pennington is challenging everyone involved to put the wrecking ball to bullying.

Harris says, “I wouldn’t be surprised, by the time we get this word out there, everybody sees the show, they see how important it is to this family and to our entire community, I think we’ll be able to hit one million, no problem, hey, two million, three million — it’s all up to you guys.”

Oh, and about the house, Tuesday, a new foundation and floor pour, all after a glitch overnight. “We ran in to a couple of issues last night with the water table, but other than that we’re working on getting back on schedule,” says contractor Nick Riley.

Riley says they’re a half-hour behind which is a lot when your whole time budget is counted in hours and the toughest task of framing is still ahead.”there’s a lot of coordination involved, a lot of people involved, all in a small area.”

Making that happen is a little tough, but with such a good vibe in the air, it seems no task is insurmountable.

Each night head lights and flood lights by the dozens illuminate the endless work on Northampton Ave.

“It’s pretty much the same if not more chaotic,” said Nick Riley, Riley Construction.

Volunteers by the hundreds were doing their part to get the home done for the big reveal. Thursday night none of the volunteers were phased that they were helping build a home when the rest of the neighborhood is fast asleep.

“Middle of the night, yeah and it’s different than most construction sights I’ve been on. The enthusiasm is way up there. Everyone is having a great time,” said Dennis Cote, volunteer.

“It’s a really good experience. We are gonna be here tomorrow night from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. Saturday morning doing the wood floors so we are excited,” said Kyle LaPlante, volunteer.

“It’s awesome we got here at three-ish and will be here past two or three, so I’m just excited it’s fun,” said Marcus MacDonald.

Many volunteers are working 12 hour shifts without any sleep and they are staying awake anyway they can.

“Drinking a lot of coffee. They have a bunch of us that are runners and make sure people are staying alive,” said Nicholas Macy, volunteer.

Head contractor Nick Riley’s been doing all he can staying awake for days and loving every bit of it.

“It’s an amazing experience. I’m out here every morning till 2 a.m. for the last couple of days seeing all these people get together and make this happen,” said Riley.

Riley said Thursday night and Friday morning’s goals were to get the roof finished, tiles up in the bathrooms and to sand and paint all the walls.

The big reveal is set for Sunday afternoon.

It’s usually a lot quicker to knock down a house than to rebuild it, but not that much quicker when it’s “Extreme Makeover”.

In less than two hours time, the Walker family’s home went from a home to a pile of rubble – tearing down, not just a house, but scrawled bullying messages, like those 11-year-old Carl Walker-Hoover might have heard before his suicide in 2009.

“Extreme Makeover” carpenter and co-host Johnny Littlefield says the average re-build happens in just 105 hours, which is good because the Walkers will be back from Hollywood before long, hopefully to a much happier future.

“This week, the secondary thing is, they’re getting a house, because the tragedy happened in their old home and there were so many problems with the old house. We cannot only erase that house, we can erase those memories,” says Littlefield.

Littlefield tells us that the place will look like an ant hill with all the workers building simultaneously in the coming days.

Builder Nick Riley says the toughest part of it all will be the framing, but thanks to some super-fast work so far, he’ll have a clean slate in a matter of just hours.

Also of note, the Heritage Baptist Church is collecting food donations to fill the Walkers’ new kitchen. You can drop off any food item, including perishables, at the church, at 640 Plumtree Road in Springfield Thursday from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

For information, call Sue Jensen at (413) 896-7267.

“I can’t really give too many specifics on the inside. Or you’d have to kill us? Yeah!,” said Nick Riley.

Master builder Nick Riley is a master of secrecy. As the Extreme Makeover of the Walker Family Home rolls on. In fact, no one’s tipping their cards, but they are playing with a full deck.

“We’re building a deck. Oh, there’s a deck? Yeah, there’s a front deck. That’s the most information we’ve gotten from anyone all week. Yeah!,” said Rick Averill, Construction Associates.

The volunteers’ hard work is just one show of their enthusiasm.

“Move that bus! — aren’t you a little early for that? I know it, right?!” said Wanda Coleman, Volunteer.

But you can’t blame them. For all their efforts they’re getting a once-in-a-lifetime experience including some great grub.

“The food is excellent. What have you had so far? Fish, chicken, and now rice. Favorite? Fish!” said Don Rostowski, electrician.

Even the servers are caught up in the excitement.

“I just want to say this is a good cause and i’m having fun being a volunteer. Are you sure you’re having fun? I’m having fun!” said Zealda Cameron, Volunteer.

And to soothe those aching muscles, here’s the rub.

“We’ve had good response. We have 65 therapists cycling in from Tuesday night to Sunday lunchtime at different times. We’re keeping the tent open pretty much all night.” said Ed Connor, “Touch of Comfort.”

Turning aches to butter, one massage at a time.

“She’s got good hands! Make you want to play hooky from work more often? Yes, I don’t even want to go to work tomorrow! It won’t feel much like work after she’s done, right? Absolutely!” said Britt Gagnon, Volunteer.

Such a blast, it almost makes you feel sorry for the walker family, missing out during their hollywood vacation.

Who’s having more fun, Sirdeaner and her family or you? I think I’m having more fun than them … I don’t know about them, what they’re doing!

But what makes the whole operation tick … Something called the “savage”!

“Try the savage!” said Nacy Carmen.

“What if we mixed these together? I think we’d have a muscle ice. And tons of energy? Yeah, we’d be wired up and build the house in two seconds. Can you flex with me?” said Laura Hull, Volunteer.

You can watch a live stream of the build from 12:30 PM to 4:45pm each afternoon.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB) — The Heritage Baptist Church is collecting food donations to fill the Walker’s new kitchen. You can drop off any food item including perishables, at the church, at 640 Plumtree Road in Springfield this Thursday, 9/15/11, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

For information call Sue Jensen at 413-896-7267.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB) — Queer… brain-dead… psycho…Just a few of the more than one hundred name-calling terms students of the Sabis International Charter School held on signs; a visual representation of what bullying can be. The personal touch these students have put on the anti-bullying movement will be featured at the beginning of ABC’s hit show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. On Sunday, the family of the late Carl Walker Hoover Jr., was chosen to have a new home constructed. 

“Bullying is real and it’s much more real these days because of the Internet,” Jeff Londraville says. Londraville is the Director of Student Life at SABIS. He’s also an author, speaker, and consultant on anti-bullying issues.

“What used to be five or ten people picking on someone, is now seen by hundreds or thousands of people on the Internet. Something like Extreme Makeover is making people more aware of this worldwide situation,” Londraville says.

Londraville says the visual display put on by students Monday is a representation of how harsh words can be just as intimidating as physical bullying.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB) — He’s become a symbol in the nationwide campaign against bullying and now a flag in his name flies above City Hall.

Eleven-year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover of Springfield committed suicide after being regularly bullied. Gwynnetta Sneed started a foundation in his name to raise awareness about bullying. The flag was her idea.

“I want people to think about the kids who are here, that are bullied everyday and the need for it to stop,” said Sneed. “Children shouldn’t go to school in fear. School should be a safe haven.”

Springfield School Superintendent Alan Ingram said there has been more training since Carl’s death about how to stop and prevent bullying.

“I want to make sure that our teachers and administrators are sensitive to the issue and that we’re responsible whenever there are cries from children about concerns or requests for help,” said Ingram.

Ingram said the number of reported bullying cases in Springfield schools is declining.

Carl’s family wasn’t at the ceremony. They’ve been chosen for the ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Their new home is being built this week and they have been sent on a vacation during this time.

They’ll be back this Saturday. Along with the Extreme Makeover designers, they will take part in a walk at Forest Park to benefit the Carl Joseph Walker Foundation. For more information, go to facebook.Com/carljoseph11.

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