While Rib is new to the show, he is not entirely new to television. He has appeared in various TV shows, including Model Citizen, Get a Grip, Ugly Betty, CSI and CSI: Miami. He will also appear in a starring role in the feature film Propiedad Ajena, which is due out in November.

Rib Hillis talks with one of the production crew at the Extreme Makeover site in Holt last Friday

Rib is very much at ease with the camera, talking with the media and interacting with his fans this past week. At the same time, he didn’t look or act famous at all. He was very simple and humble. If I didn’t know who he was (and if not for the fact that he’s very tall), it would have been very easy to pass him by in the crowd.

Rib has worked as a model for publications like Uomo Vogue, GQ, Esquire and Men’s Health. He has also appeared in countless national and international commercials. Rib lends his time and skills to several charities, including the Los Angeles Childrens Hospital, Habitat For Humanity, The Jimmy Johnson Foundation and The Hendrick Marrow Program. This past week, he took part in a local blood drive.

Being a part of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team brings together Rib’s handyman skills and his desire to help others. “This show changes peoples’ lives. It brings so much good and happiness to people who are so deserving. I am humbled and honored to be a part of it.”

Rib is the proud father of boy/girl twins, Dane and Hannah Rose. He enjoys chasing the twins around in Southern California. His other interests include bull riding, rock climbing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, cooking, motorcycles, and studying classical Greek history.

Rib’s bio provided by ABC. Image from personal collection, M.Macalincag, ©2008. Do not use without permission.

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Michael Moloney is one of the members of the design team that worked on the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition house for the Nickless family in Holt, Michigan last week.

Michael started out in the fashion industry. In 1990, he started to apply his unique and luxurious design concepts to homes. He combines a modern style with practicality and vintage charm. Michael has opened two home design stores in the Los Angeles area. He has worked with various celebrities, as well as the Walt Disney Company and the NFL.

Michael’s TV credits include Good Morning America, The View, Entertainment Tonight, Designers’ Challenge, Fashion Wrap, Access Hollywood and more. This season is Michael’s sixth with the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. This year, he hopes to incorporate more ‘green’ elements into his design.

“This show is truly amazing in that it gives people hope and a new lease on life. I am so grateful to be part of something so special. My job as a designer is to make each home reflect these families’ personalities and lifestyles. It is so rewarding for me to use my design skills to make dreams come true for them,” he says.

Michael’s bio provided by ABC. Image from personal collection, M.Macalincag, ©2008. Do not use without permission.

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Paige Hemmis, of course!

At the site of Extreme Makeover home in Holt, Paige was easy to spot. There was simply no losing her pink hard hat in the crowd.

Design Team member and carpenter Paige Hemmis with a volunteer at the Nickless family home

Paige Hemmis is a self-taught carpenter from Chatsworth, California. She has also worked as a sales manager, substitute teacher, and wedding planner. Paige volunteers her time to Keep America Beautiful’s ‘Great American Cleanup’ and Habitat For Humanity. She owns Tuff Chix, a line of books, tools, work wear, and accessories for strong, capable and feminine women. Paige’s famous pink toolbelts, boots, and gloves are available for purchase at www.tuffchix.com. Paige has also published a book called The Tuff Chix Guide to Easy Home Improvement.

When she’s not working, Paige, whose father was a drag racer, enjoys spending her time on the race track. She participated in the Toyota Pro Celebrity Race in 2005. Her other interests are dining out, hiking, rock climbing, and curling up with a good mystery book.

Paige’s bio provided by ABC. Image from personal collection, ©2008 M.Macalincag. Do not use without permission.

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Ty Pennington, the host of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, combines an art education (specifically graphic design, painting and sculpture), carpentry skills, modeling and acting in one package. He attended Kennesaw College before transferring to the Atlanta Art Institute and then the Atlanta College of Art. His modeling after college took him all over the world, working for clothing companies and appearing in TV commercials.

On TV, Ty first gained popularity as the hunky, sometimes-shirtless carpenter of TLC’s Trading Spaces. He has since added to his TV credits as the design team leader and host of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and as the author of New York Times bestseller Ty’s Tricks, published in 2003. Ty also has his own line of home accessories. He recently signed an exclusive multi-year contract with Sears, and is the ambassador for the Sears American Dream Campaign.

At the “Move that Bus” reveal of the Home Makeover for the Nickless family, Ty led volunteers in unloading some of the new furniture for the home. I also heard that Arlene’s room was Ty’s special project for this show. Much of the rest of Ty’s time last Friday, however, was spent in the production aspect of the show. During filming, Ty was a bundle of energy. There was a lot of running, and waving of arms, and this was even before the family arrived!

Ty’s bio provided by ABC. Image from personal collection, M.Macalincag, ©2008. Do not use without permission.

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London-born Ed Sanders brings his skills in cabinet-making and acting to ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Ed studied carpentry in a technical college in the U.K. He specialized in advanced joinery and high quality finishing carpentry. In between classes, he performed in theaters and appeared in television commercials. He continued balancing his acting and working at construction sites, a practice, he says, which would always keep his feet firmly on the ground.

Ed appeared in the lead role of Eddie Moliano on the U.K. TV series Dream Team, a drama about a premiership soccer team. He also hosted several television programs, ranging from dating shows to live music shows. In 2002 he became the host of Fear Factor U.K.

In 2004 Ed moved to Los Angeles and eventually joined the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition design team. Ed was part of the design team for the Nickless family’s home this week.

Ed’s bio provided by ABC. Images from personal collection, ©2008 M.Macalincag. Do not use without permission.

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This week, at the Nickless family home in Holt, Michigan, the design team was composed of host Ty Pennington, Paige Hemmis, Michael Moloney, Ed Sanders and Rib Hillis. They are the team who worked with Mayberry Homes and teams from Michigan State University to make the home modern, comfortable and beautifully decorated.

Here are some photos of the team as they prepared for the “Move the Bus” reveal last Friday:

From left: Michael Moloney, Ed Sanders, Rib Hillis and Paige Hemmis

As they worked on the Nickless home, the design team also got involved in the Lansing community (Rib Hillis led a local blood donation drive), and interacted with fans and viewers of the show. 

Image from personal collection, ©2008 M.Macalincag. Do not use without permission.

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images from personal collection M. Macalincag, ©2008. Do not use without permission.

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Today was the day! At the site of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in Holt, the crowd was huge, excitement filled the air, shouts of “Move that bus!” rang periodically. And then the Nickless family got to see their new home for the first time!

Arlene Nickless and her young sons Aaron, 11, Noah, 9, and Andrew, 7, returned from their show-sponsored vacation at Walt Disney World to a 3,300 square-foot, 4-bedroom house where their crumbling 1860s home once stood. Builder Mayberry Homes, area contractors and suppliers, Michigan State University and hundreds of volunteers came together for 1 week to do this for them.

I stood in the crowd for hours, watching the show’s production team direct the crowd and film segments for the show. Volunteers finished up the last little details in the home, including unloading and arranging furniture, setting up accessories for the interior designers, and sprucing up the yard and driveway. Meanwhile, the watching crowd was coached and filmed to clap and shout “Move that bus!” several times. Appearances by the show’s design team, Ty Pennington, Michael Moloney, Paige Hemmis, Rib Hillis and Ed Sanders, drew some of the loudest cheers.

Arlene’s family was gathered at a special area right across the street from the home. They’ve witnessed the project from the beginning, interacted with the volunteers and enjoyed watching the house go up day by day. They gathered in full force today to welcome Arlene and her young sons home.

“I’m gonna tell her (Arlene) how much I’ve missed her”, said Blake Engstrand, 22, one of Arlene older sons. “And how exciting it’s been to be able to see all these people come out and contribute and be a part of this. And, just tell her that it’s a new beginning and that we’re ready for all this to settle down, and we’re just ready to live our lives the best that we can.”

Roger Conley in front of the house earlier this week

Arlene’s father, Roger Conley, 69, of Warsaw, Indiana, also had some special words for his daughter as the family anticipated the big reveal.

“Honey, you know we haven’t always agreed. But I still love you, you know that. And I’ve been through a lot, some which you’d gone to, and my best advice: I know I’ve learned to look up, turn everything over to the Lord, relax in Him and really enjoy what has been given to you here, which is amazing.

“So, honey, you know I’m here for you. And the Lord is always there for you. So just look up and enjoy the greatest thing that could ever happen to you.”

When the limousine carrying the family came into sight at around 4:00 p.m., the hooting and hollering really ramped up. The Nickless family got off the limo, waving to the cheering crowd. They  were briefed by Ty about what they needed to do. The crew filmed them shouting “Driver, move that bus!” a few times, before the driver actually moved the big bus that was blocking their view of the home.

They walked up the driveway slowly, taking everything in. When they finally got the chance to go to the front door, they ran! I’m looking forward to seeing the looks on their faces, when the show airs in 4-6 weeks. Oh, to be a fly on the wall of their home!

I took lots of photos today, and I’ll be posting them right here on this blog for you to enjoy. Lots of goodies for the fans of the design team.

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The new home of the Nickless family as it looked on Wednesday morning:

Volunteers lay asphalt on the driveway:

images from personal collection

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Today, this was what I saw:

24 hours after demolition, there’s an actual house standing on the site!

It was a hive of frenetic activity; there were people doing something or other everywhere. There were more volunteers, more spectators, more trucks and buses coming and going.

(10-01-08 Update) Schedules: Spectators are welcome to visit the site. Shuttles will be available on Thursday, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., from the K-Mart parking lot on South Cedar St. On Friday, the shuttles will run from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. ‘Move the Bus’ is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. Spectators are urged to get to the site hours before the 2 p.m. reveal. “Up to 6,000 people are expected” according to this LSJ article.

images from personal collection

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