Extreme Makeover Home Edition comes to Salem  

You’ve likely seen the Emmy Award winning television series on ABC named Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.  In early September Eoff Electric Supply had the honor of participating in an “Extreme” project for the Oregon School for the Deaf. The episode aired on October 31 on ABC.

Eric Wiesmann, the Branch Manager of Eoff Electric Supply’s Salem, Oregon branch, was approached by Mike Davis, the President of Northside Electric, about participating in the project. “We were given little information about the project when Mike approached us,” Wiesmann said. “I was told that it was for an organization that was a good cause, but was not told who the recipient was. We committed to the project because of our relationship with Northside Electric, a desire to make a difference in the local community, and trust in the show since many of us have seen several of the episodes.”

After weeks of preparation with multiple volunteer subcontractors and suppliers led by Rich Duncan of Rich Duncan Construction, The Extreme Makeover team came to Salem on Labor Day and surprised the Oregon School for the Deaf staff.   They worked on 2 projects for the school with volunteer laborers working 24 hours per day for a full week. They built new modern boys dormitory and great room, with renewable resources and high tech communication devices. “We had about 30 electricians and staff voluntarily working about 20 hours each on the project,” Davis said. “It was a great experience to work on a project that will have such a positive impact on people in our Salem community for years to come.”  The “Extreme” team also updated one of the school’s primary means of fundraising, the Nightmare Factory Haunted House.  There were several electrical subcontractor volunteers on this portion of the project including Distinct Electric, First Choice Electric, AC&E Electric, and ME Electric. 

Wiesmann and Eoff Salesperson Larry Miller got to work on the project installing recessed lighting trims on lighting that was donated by the Juno Lighting group and Eoff.  “We worked about 3 hours on the dormitory mid-day on Day 6,” Wiesmann explained. “I would run up a ladder, throw the packaging on the ground, put the trim in place, and before I got to the bottom of the ladder, the garbage would be picked up by one of the volunteers. Working amidst multiple trades on a project can be challenging, which was not the case in this situation.  All the trades were working together for the common cause and made room for each other often sharing the same space while installing their respective materials.  Being a part of so many community members working together for a great cause was an incredible experience.”

Eoff Electric went to many manufacturers to get materials for the project. Les Williamson, Eoff Electric President, stated, “Our manufacturer partners really stepped up with us to make this project happen. We are very grateful for their enthusiastic participation in this great project for Salem and all of Oregon.” The following manufacturers donated material for the project:  GE, Pass & Seymour, OnQ , Juno Lighting Group, Beghelli, Lithonia Lighting, Encore Wire, Raco, Sylvania, Genesis Wire, and others.

Through the support of their manufacturer partners, Eoff Electric Supply donated approximately $20,000 in materials to this Extreme Makeover: Home Edition project.