Ty Pennington
Lawanda Johnson: So how was your dinner [an event hosted by Sears to promote energy awareness]? Tell me more on about your involvement on working in the 'green' space on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
Ty Pennington: It was great! I talked to other people that were involved in that industry whether it's handling old appliances and recycling them. Getting more appliances that are 'green' and more energy efficient. We were talking about ENERGY STAR and what it does and you know…That's who it was about. With Extreme, we try to build homes that are ENERGY STAR. Obviously, we want to build them a beautiful home, but we also want to build them a home that is not going to cost them a whole lot of money. So going green is more than just something trendy, it's something that keeps the utilities so far down that the family only has to worry about just being a family and that's what we're trying to do.
LJ: Tell me more about your participation in the Sears event as part of the ENERGY STAR annual meeting.
TP: People have been going 'green' for a while and we're trying to spread awareness. When we do build, we try to place in whether it's radio heat flooring, geothermal technology—where down in the earth there is one constant temperature—so costs less energy to heat or cool your home…um, solar wind, all of these things are generic power that can go back into your home. The whole idea is to get your home to be more self efficient. When we build homes, we put the ENERGY STAR appliances in and it really does reduce the amount of water people use.
LJ: What do you like most about your job?
TP: The thing that I like most about my job is the fact that I can sort of use my creativity to build something cool and fun, but I think the greatest thing is really just the things we can do in one week that can change a family's life for the rest of their days. Yea, I've seen those people get together and make a huge difference. So, for me to be able to use that creativity to create something that can make a difference in their life It's great to be a part of something like that because at the end of the day, you feel proud about what you've done…But, my job is just to smile (laughs).
LJ: Right (laughter). What is one of your most memorable moments on the show?
TP: Wow, God there is so many…As far as simulation goes, I would say blowing up a house with 350 sticks of dynamite, that was explosive, to say the least. But, I don't know, you know there are so many of them. It's pretty tough to just say one. To know that you are not just giving the family a new beginning, but you've turned a page and that's really what it is. You get emotionally connected. I can't really say which one is my favorite because they are all different stories and different families.
LJ: What's in store for this season of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? What can we expect to see?
TP: For this season, we are going huge in the sense that we got a lot of big, big celebrities are getting on the bus. People are like giving back and volunteering. I'm talking from Mary J. Blige, Tyler Perry, to Patricia Heaton; there are so many big stars that have gotten involved. They want to give back and not only help us change the life of a family, but change their own life in the process.
LJ: That's amazing! I wish you the best success on this season and everything that you are getting involved in.
TP: Thank you sweetie, you too. Thank you very much.