Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010

Extreme Makeover family moves into new Horry County home

ALLSBROOK COMMUNITY -- Derrick and Amanda Suggs and their family stressed how thankful they are to those who helped build their house as they looked forward to their first night in the new home Tuesday.

"We really appreciate everything you've done for our family. Thank y'all for everything," Derrick Suggs said.

The family, which was chosen by the ABC reality show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to receive a new house on Jan. 11, saw the house for the first time on Monday. The episode about the Suggs family will air in late March or early April.

"So many people came out here and gave time and their effort," Suggs said.

"We really appreciate it, we've got a wonderful home now. ... You just can't say thank you enough."

He said he is having a hard time believing that everybody has been so nice to the family and have been so giving.

"It's hard to describe. It's better than a dream," Suggs said.

"It's amazing. You still wonder, is this mine, is this my home?"

It was hard to see the old house, which his grandfather built, come down, but it means a lot to him that parts of it are incorporated into the new house, he said.

"A lot of people put a lot of effort and a lot of love into making this home for us," he said.

While people were busy working around the clock for seven days to finish the house, the family was in Disney World.

"It was awesome to be on vacation. We've never really been able to do it," Amanda Suggs said.

She said the emotions she had walking into her new house Monday are indescribable but the house is beautiful and represents a place of complete safety and stability for the family.

"I just hope within the coming months, years, whenever, that we can do something to give back because this is just too much," she said.

She said while they miss the old house and all of the memories they shared within its walls, the new house provides many more opportunities.

"This is a whole new beginning...hopefully it opens more doors for us to help other people," she said.

It will take some time to get used to all the space in the new house and each of the kids having their own room, said the Suggs. They joked that in the old house there really wasn't any room for 1-year-old Mason, and that when he grew up and he might have had to stay in their bedroom until he was old enough to move out.

Amanda Suggs said she was blown away when they found out yesterday that all the kids would have scholarships to college. Both Charleston Southern University and Horry-Georgetown Technical College will provide scholarships for the Suggs' children.

"The fact that we don't have to worry about that is just amazing. That is just a dream come true," Amanda Suggs said.

Amanda Suggs' brother, who she and Derrick took in along with two other siblings when the Department of Social Services threatened to put them in foster care, said that the experience of getting this new home has helped him grow as a person.

"I know I have a future, and I have so many more doors open and I can further myself," said Jacob Carter, 17.

He is especially appreciative of the scholarships and that people would think to provide them for him and his brothers, he said. The house means a lot to the family, Jacob said.

"[It's] a safer environment for the future, it takes a lot off our minds," he said.

The four boys Jacob, Jordan, 10, Walker, 5, and Mason, 1 will have a lot of fun in the new backyard, which includes a BMX bike track, a go-kart track and several skateboarding ramps, Jacob said.

Amanda Suggs will start a new job as a nurse on Monday and was going to have to start looking for a daycare until she found out that the First Presbyterian Church Growing Tree preschool donated tuition for Mason.

The family also received gifts from the Darlington Raceway, which gave the family lifetime tickets to the Southern 500, a special VIP experience including behind the scenes access to this year's race and a piece of the asphalt from the start/finish line from before the track was redone last year.

Maximized Living, gave the family a year of chiropractic, health and wellness services and both Moe's Southwest Grill and Chick-fil-A gave them a year of free food.

For the show's staff it is always special to help the families and watch communities come together, said the episode's executive producer Brady Connell.

"I think what stood out was the decision that Amanda and Derrick made... I don't know for a fact I would have stepped up," he said. "We thought it was an extraordinary act of love to take them in and keep the family together."

He said the producers were concerned about getting the builder support necessary for the show in the economic downturn but that the community here came out in full force.

"The generosity of the people here just has no end," Connell said. "Even in these difficult times people still have huge hearts and will still come to the aid of a neighbor in need."

In a conversation with staff members from Horry County and the Department of Airports, Ty Pennington talked about the experience.

"We're proud of it. I think we did some good work out there," he told the employees as he waited for his private flight out of Myrtle Beach at the Horry County General Aviation terminal Tuesday afternoon.

While being on the show has definitely brought new attention to the Allsbrook Community and the Suggs family, Derrick Suggs said they won't change and don't consider themselves famous.

"We're the same people, we just live in a different house now," he said.