It all comes together - a wonderful
cause, a beautiful home in a premier
location, and plenty of unselfish
volunteers – to make the 2012 St.
Jude Dream Home a perfect thing. On
June 17, one lucky person will win
this brand new house built by Elliott
Homes in The Village at Tradition in
Biloxi. Proceeds from the sale of the
7,500 tickets at $100 each go to St.
Jude Children’s Research Hospital in
Memphis, Tenn.
In addition to Elliott Homes and
Tradition, this community service
project is sponsored by WLOX-TV, The
Sun Herald, K99-FM, Margaritaville
and national sponsors Brizo and Shaw
Floors. A number of local businesses
are also involved, including First
Bank & Trust, Edgewater Mall, Allen
Toyota, Mississippi Coast Coliseum,
American Factory Direct, Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Sorority, Ocean Springs
Lumber and AT&T. Coast leaders Tom
Brosig and Bill Holmes are serving as
co-chairmen.
St. Jude’s Director of Dream Homes
Alan Johnson says the organization is
excited to be back on the Mississippi
Gulf Coast. “We have been truly humbled by the response of the local
community. In the midst of a housing
crisis, the construction trades have
been working eight-to-ten-hour
days at their normal jobs and then
sacrificing their nights and weekends
to build the Dream Home,” he said.
“This will not only be one of the most
impressive St. Jude Dream Homes
across the country, but it will also be
built with one of the lowest costs to St.
Jude.”
He expressed appreciation to
Tradition for once again donating
a beautiful lot, Elliott Homes for
building a must-see home, and to
WLOX and K99 for promoting the
campaign. “I have no doubt local
residents will, again, do their part
buying tickets and ensuring another
sellout,” he added. “It is a testament
to the spirit and character of the
Mississippi Gulf Coast and why it has
endured.”
Elliott Homes owner Brandon Elliott
is proud of the way the community
came together to build a $430,000
home for $21,000. “We are honored to
do it for an incredible cause,” he said.
“It was built for the lowest cost in the
history of Dream Homes. The people
on the Mississippi Coast are like
no other. It’s businesses like Ocean
Springs Lumber that donated $80,000
in materials and many more that made
it possible.”
Elliott and his wife Adrienne, an
interior designer, had planned to build
a charity house on the Coast before
getting a call from St. Jude asking
them to build the 2012 Dream Home.
They went to the hospital for the
Dream Home Builders’ Summit and
toured the facility. “It’s as amazing as
people say it is,” he said. “It doesn’t
feel like a hospital; it feels like a
home.”
While there, they heard stories from
former patients and current patients.
They spoke with the mother of a baby
from Biloxi. The baby, less than a year
old, was connected to many tubes. “I
didn’t know what to say. I told the
mother about building the Dream
Home and she started crying,” he
recalls. “That experience made us want
to do amazing things for the hospital.
We told that story to our suppliers and
workers. They started giving and it’s
been unbelievable.”
Construction kicked off last
November, and the 3,269-square-foot
home is now complete. It has four
bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms,
a third-story tower with a view of the
lake, covered breezeways, a screenedin
porch, private porch off the master
suite, an outdoor kitchen, and an open
floor plan with traditional details of
the early 1900s.
“It was a big task but instead of
complaining, everyone just bore
down and worked,” Elliott said. “I
offered to pay the workers but they
all stuck with it. It’s much more than
an ordinary house. We just asked and
people did it.”
He regrets that the large number of
people involved makes it impossible
to name every person who worked
on the project, but wants each one to
know that the hard work is greatly
appreciated.
A number of prizes will be given
away. One out of every 500 ticket
buyers has a chance to win a prize
valued at $1,000 or more. Those
visiting the house can register free to
win a $5,000 shopping spree courtesy
of American Factory Direct.
