WZAR News

VIDEO: Final Words from Extreme Makeover Recipient

CORRECTION @ 2:23 - *the Kutztown representative presenting the scholarship is the Provost, Dr. Carlos Vargas, not the President, Dr. F. Javiar Cevallos.*

It all started with a pep rally… held at the Reading Phillies stadium, the ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition producer addressed an audience, telling them that somewhere in Berks county, a family that needed help would have their dreams come true, and beyond that.

From then on, hundreds of volunteers, individuals and businesses, stepped up and said they’d help, no matter where in Berks County.  On July 29th, the big announcement was made… Trisha and Cora Urban of Tilden Township, just outside of Hamburg were the lucky recipients.  Trisha’s husband died of heart problems just hours before their daughter, Cora, was born.  The crumbling home and property that the family hoped to restore became a far away reality, that is, until the Extreme Makeover Team came to town, ambushing the two while they were at a local carnival.

Seven days of round-the-clock work resulted in a beautiful home for the two… it was presented on August 5th when thousands of fans screamed “move that bus!”  The next day, a press conference was held outside the home and was also streamed live on our website, giving a chance for the build team and Trisha to share a few words.

There were also some representatives from local companies and organizations there to add to the surprises.  Little Cora, held in mom’s arms, is hardly making decisions of where she’ll be going to college in the future, but Kutztown University may have made that decision much easier for her, presenting her with a 4-year scholarship, all expenses, board, and other fees completely paid for when the time comes.

One of the biggest things Trisha noticed the first time she saw the property, was the lack of a backed up septic system.

The property was transformed into a beautiful haven for the family to live comfortably, well into the future.  It’s an incredible example of just what could be done in such a short amount of time.

“Well I can check, ‘worked as a martial arts stunt fighter on a major motion picture,’ off my bucket list,” Donnie Ellixson Jr. jokes as he recollects the events that took place last summer 2009. “It’s all pretty wild how it unfolded,” Ellixson comments.  “I was working at the dojang (Ellixson’s Tae Kwon Do Academy, Boyertown, PA), when I got a call from The Last Airbender Casting, three days later I’m in intensive 10 hour a day training sessions (which lasted about two weeks), two days following that I’m working aside Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire, Jackson Rathbone, Twilight, Aasif Mandvi, The Daily Show and getting direction under M. Night Shyamalan, who’s directing hits include Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense and Signs. Yeah, saying it was like a roller coaster is an understatement.”

As Building a Better Boyertown’s Main Street Manager, Heather Oxenford and Ellixson discussed the exciting activities, Oxenford asked, “No offense, but how the heck did a small town Martial Arts School Owner get involved in a $150 million dollar budget major motion picture directed by M. Night Shyamalan?”

Ellixson laughed and explained that no offense was taken. “What is it they say, when opportunity knocks, you got to answer the door and you have to commit 100%. One cannot hesitate… as they say, you snooze, you loose. That’s pretty much what happened in my situation.

“One of my Black Belts Cindy Parks, sent me an email on I believe it was a Wednesday night. It was in reference to Open Auditions for a movie, Avatar: The Last Airbender and that they were holding the auditions at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. The movie is based on a Nickelodeon cartoon that I had never heard of but I thought, wow, this could be something cool and fun that I could take my National Demo Team, Ellixson’s Elite to. This could be a great learning experience and that’s exactly how I posed it to them and their parents. So I called an emergency team meeting on that Thursday and discussed the idea. That Friday we all met at the dojang and created portfolios for each of the team members and then Saturday morning, we were off to the audition in Philadelphia. Due to arriving very early, we were fortunate enough to be one of the first in line, and thank goodness too, because soon after we got there, the line stretched to a couple thousand applicants. I had no idea what the outcome of all these auditions would be, but I knew if we had any chance at all, we had to look sharp, be professional, be early, and that’s what we did,” stated Ellixson.

“A few weeks went by and we had about ten students that received call backs for a second audition. That was way exciting; the students and I were thrilled! I think it was on all of our minds that if any one of us got in the movie, it was like all of us made it.  We are not only a team, but a family. Four of our students, Ben Rosenberger, Cris Zaharia, Braedon Walters, and Eric Nice all were accepted in the second round of auditions and made it into the filming. Then, three days before the crew began shooting the film, I received a phone call from casting.

Oxenford asked, “Well, what did they say?”

Ellixson responded with, “They asked me if I was interested in a position of a stunt fighter. I asked what it entailed and they explained that I would have to clear my schedule for 6 weeks, I had to be prepared to work 10 to 16 hour days, and they were starting in 3 days. I knew that if I hesitated, my opportunity would be over, they would just go to the next person on their list so I took a couple of seconds, thought about what great and loyal staff I have at the dojang and how supportive my family is and said, ‘yes, most definitely!’”

Intrigued by the story, Oxenford continued with questions “What/Where were the sets? What part did you play? Did you research your role? OK, now for the dirt. the actors.. who was cool and who wasn’t?”

Ellixson, laughing and overwhelmed by so many questions at once replied, “There was a handful of sets. They even filmed at the Pagoda in Reading, but I worked on the main set in Philadelphia Naval Yard. The entire experience was intense! The buzz was that it was the biggest set on the East Coast. It was two football fields long and two across. They created this amazing ice castle with ice pagodas and courtyards, smack dab in the middle Philadelphia in the summertime. I thought, this is something only Hollywood could do. ”

“As for who I was and what part I played in the film, I was a Northern Water Tribe Soldier, we were the good guys.”

“With ‘researching my role,’ unfortunately not much, things happened so fast, I didn’t have time. I actually didn’t start watching the cartoon until after filming.

“OK, now for the boring answer… sorry but everyone was cool. Not a lot of pre-Madonnas or egos. Everyone was not only professional and easy going; there was a lot of humor and camaraderie on the set. In the movie you will see huge battle scenes where 200 hundred of us are going at it with swords, studded staffs, and spears. You wouldn’t know it but seconds before the director yelled ‘action,’ we were all doing ‘Monty Python Holy Grail’ slapstick, it was pretty funny,” stated Ellixson.

Oxenford curious and uncertain asked, “Like myself, a lot of people might be wondering, does this movie have anything to do with James Cameron’s Avatar?

With a chuckle, Ellixson explained “The concept and the story line are totally different. The only similarity is that they have the word ‘Avatar’ in the title. The cartoon that M. Night’s movie is based on is called Avatar: The Last Airbender, but during filming Mr. Shyamalan decided to just call the movie, The Last Airbender. I’m sure so it didn’t get confused with James Cameron’s film.”

“Now for the excitement,” said Oxenford, “Let’s discuss your part in the movie, let’s talk about the stunts. Are we going to see you flying through the air?”

“No not me, I was strictly in the battle scenes that involved hand to hand combat, sword, and spear fighting. There was an LA Stunt Team that did all of the hydraulic wire stunts. They were incredible! Just as cool was the computer generated images (CGI) that went into the movie post production. I believe that was a big chunk of the budget,” explained Ellixson.

“With Boyertown being fortunate enough to have the Boyertown State Theatre, is a Red Carpet Premier Party scheduled? Any celebs coming? Dev or Jackson stopping by?” asked Oxenford.

“Sorry, no I don’t think any celebs are coming,” stated Ellixson, but I did invite some of the stunt crew and the entire community is invited to attend! The Opening Night Red Carpet Premier Party for The Last Airbender will be Friday August 13th, 7pm at the Boyertown State Theatre, 61 N. Reading Avenue, Boyertown, PA 19512, 610-367-4737 or www.statetheatreboyertown.com. Some of my top students from Ellixson’s Elite National Demo Team will be performing as well, so everyone, come out and celebrate with us! Ellixson’s Elite will also be performing at Saturday night’s showing and then again at the matinee on Sunday.”

“What’s next for Donnie Ellixson?” asked Oxenford.

Ellixson responded with, “I had my 15 minutes. It’s most likely once and done for me but I’d like the opportunity to mentor and help more of my students get involved in these sort of projects if they come along. Besides that, I’ll be teaching at the academy and enjoying time with my beautiful wife Jana, our two year old son, Tristan, and our twin girls due August 4th, Piper and Charlie.”

“Wow! It sounds like you have your hands full! I know you experienced a set back with the academy collapsing in the snow blizzard earlier this year, and it sounds like your life is going to be very busy - any plans to rebuild?” Oxenford inquired.

“Yes, most definitely,” affirmed Ellixson, “For those that don’t know, on February 10th of this year the academy collapsed in one of the biggest blizzards to ever hit this area. Thank God not a person was hurt and yes we are rebuilding, hopefully breaking ground in September. Until the new dojang is built, you can find Ellixson’s Tae Kwon Do Academy (our temporary location) at 35 E. Philadelphia Avenue in Boyertown, PA and you can check out some pretty awesome class videos from our school at www.ellixsonstkd.com. For any information on our classes, just call 610-367-1670.”

Information about the performances at the Boyertown State Theatre: Ellixson’s Tae Kwon Do’s Elite Team is scheduled to perform demonstrations and announce the movie, The Last Airbender on Friday, August 13 - at the Red Carpet Premier, as well as Saturday & Sunday’s shows, including Sunday’s matinee.

Individuals will need to arrive early (doors open 30 minutes before the shows) as seating is limited. The demonstrations will be approximately 15 - 20 minutes long, prior to the scheduled show time.

Heather Oxenford, Building A Better Boyertown’s Main Street Manager says, “This beyond a doubt is thrilling news for Donnie Ellixson Jr., his academy, staff, and students, as well as the Boyertown community! The Boyertown area communities have been so encouraging of Donnie since his misfortune in February and have opened their arms to lend a hand in any way they are capable, it is always pleasant hearing a negative turn to a positive! BBB believes strongly in developing Boyertown, promoting local businesses and enhancing the small-town feel that makes Boyertown so special. It is a community like ours that make our town “A Special Kind of Place.”

This article is a submission from Building a Better Boyertown.

The lucky family that was selected for the famous home makeover lives in Tilden Township, Berks County, near Hamburg.  We will publish any information we learn throughout the week, however since this is extremely out of our coverage area, we will likely not be on-site for coverage.  We invite you to follow WFMZ 69 News for video coverage:  http://www.wfmz.com/.  Thanks for staying with us to find out who was selected!

The First Energy Stadium in Reading, Pennsylvania is well known in Berks County for the Reading Phillies Baseball Team that calls the stadium home.  But on July 21^st there was a different team and a different group of fans occupying the stadium.  A team of producers from Extreme Makeover Home Edition was playing to the fans of their popular show Sunday nights on ABC.  The show is coming to a lucky family somewhere in Berks County to be announced on July 29^th.  The Home Builders Association of Berks County and Extreme Makeover held a pep rally at the stadium to bring awareness that the show was coming to the area and they would need help from volunteers to make this a successful build.

The Home Builders Association (HBA) has never built a home in a week and is looking forward to the challenge even though it’s going to be the biggest they’ve ever faced.  Several members of the group spoke to spectators about how this build came about and that it’s all been happening very fast.  Ron Rohrbach, Executive Director of HBA, was first called by producers of the show on June 10th and on the very next day representatives from the show flew East to put plans into place.

Extreme Makeover’s senior producer, Milan Vasi, addressed the crowd with information regarding the show’s history and what they do along with a few inspirational videos of prior builds.  Milan also introduced design producers and project management team members who spoke about what they do and how the community can help.  The actual build will take place between July 29^th, when the family is announced, and August 5^th when they “move that bus.”

Volunteers and donations are needed to complete the build and you can find a complete list of items and services, along with information on how to volunteer, at www.hbaberks.org.  Click on Extreme Makeover or you can get updates by going to http://abc.go.com/shows/extreme-makeover-home-edition.  Spectators are welcomed during build week and can find spectator information on the same website after the family is announced on July 29^th.  Come on out on August 5^th and let’s “MOVE THAT BUS!!”

Emergency responders were called to Sawmill Road, just off of Route 73 and Funk Road in Colebrookdale Township, after the report of a 7 year old falling 8 feet from a tree.  Berks authorities stated that there was a possible fracture to her right arm and that she was unconscious.  Once EMS arrived on scene, they confirmed a head injury and requested a MedEvac chopper.

The chopper landed in Gabelsville Ball Field, just up the road.

It’s a day that all of America celebrates its independence, and Pottstown sure knows how to celebrate the July 4th weekend.  It’s an annual event that brings thousands to the area to take part in all of the activities at Pottstown’s Memorial Park, which is more than fifty acres in size.  Dozens of things go on throughout the day, including little league baseball, carnival rides and games, food stands, and as the afternoon set in, Pottstown Classics Car Club brought their finest to put on display.

A big attraction every year is held by the Pottstown Rotary Club.  It’s a rubber duck race down the Manatawny Creek… hundreds of folks line up down the banks of the creek to watch.  As entertaining as this might be without any incentive, the club sells certificates at five dollars a piece and sixty prizes are distributed, valued at $7,500.  First prize is an award of $1,000 in cash.  Second being a forty inch high def television.

As the evening set in, hot air balloon hobbyists took the stage.  Eight hot air balloons began the preparations for take-off around six o’clock.  The bright colors went from flat on the ground to fully inflated in just a matter of minutes.  The balloons then lifted off into the sunny skies, being seen for miles.

It wouldn’t be an Independence Day weekend, though, without Pottstown’s famous fireworks, lighting up the sky for miles around.

The events are put on every year at Memorial Park by the Pottstown July Fourth Committee, a non-profit volunteer group, funded primarily through donations and fundraisers.

Find them online at http://pottstown4th.wordpress.com/

June 16, 2010 -Building a Better Boyertown (BBB) has been accredited as a 2010 National Main Street Program for meeting the commercial district revitalization performance standards set by the National Trust Main Street Center®.   The BBB is one of 57 communities in Pennsylvania receiving this accreditation.

Each year, the National Trust Main Street Center and its coordinating program partners announce the list of accredited National Main Street Programs around the country that have demonstrated their ability to follow the Main Street methodology.

“We congratulate this year’s accredited National Main Street Programs for meeting our established performance standards,” says the director of the National Trust Main Street Center. “Rebuilding a district’s economic health and maintaining that success requires broad-based community involvement and support, in addition to establishing a solid organization with sound management that is committed to long-term success.”

The National Trust Main Street Center works in partnership with Coordinating Main Street Programs throughout the nation to identify the local programs that meet the National Trust Main Street Center’s ten basic performance standards. These standards set the benchmarks for measuring an individual Main Street program’s application of the Main Street Four-Point Approach^TM to commercial district revitalization. Evaluation criteria determines the communities that are building comprehensive and sustainable revitalization efforts and include standards such as developing a mission, fostering strong public-private partnerships, securing an operating budget, tracking economic progress, and preserving historic buildings. For more information on the National Main Street Program accreditation, visit www.mainstreet.org/nationalprograms.

The organization’s performance was evaluated by Pennsylvania Downtown Center (PDC), located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which is the coordinating organization for Main Street programs in Pennsylvania.

“Boyertown has progressed significantly in the past year (2009)”, says Jake Lea, BBB’s President, “and with continual effort and perseverance of our community and volunteers 2010 will demonstrate to be even better, as we continue to enhance an already Very Special Kind of Place through joint efforts of BBB and the Borough of Boyertown.”

“Facilitating positive change and expanding on the efforts that this strong community has initiated in recent years will continue, providing opportunities for local businesses, industry and the arts.” Boyertown will continue to develop while still remaining “A place where friends and families want to be,” says Heather Oxenford BBB’s Main Street Manager.

Since 1980, the National Trust Main Street Center has helped hundreds of downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts across the nation reclaim the unique quality of life that only a thriving community center can provide. Through the Main Street Four-Point Approach to commercial district revitalization, which combines historic preservation and economic development, the Center has forged a nationwide movement for the revival of America’s historic and traditional commercial districts. The Center provides a nationwide membership network, comprehensive on-site consulting services, in-depth seminars and conferences, technical publications and training materials, and national advocacy for commercial districts.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a non-profit membership organization bringing people together to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them. By saving the places where great moments from history - and the important moments of everyday life - took place, the National Trust for Historic Preservation helps revitalize neighborhoods and communities, spark economic development and promote environmental sustainability. With headquarters in Washington, DC, nine regional and field offices, 29 historic sites, and partner organizations in all 50 states, the National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education, advocacy and resources to a national network of people, organizations and local communities committed to saving places, connecting us to our history and collectively shaping the future of America’s stories. For more information, visit www.preservationnation.org.