Ted and Yvonne Cummins of Morning Star Builders were presented with the Building Hope Award at the Southern Living Home Summit Conference held in New Orleans in early March. Kristen Bryan, Marketing Director of Southern Living, presented the award to honor the Cummins for their persevering efforts to host a Southern Living Custom Builder Showcase Home on the heels of Hurricane Harvey. Morning Star began construction on the 2017 Custom Builder Program Showcase home located in Bluejack National Golf Course in Montgomery TX in Summer of 2016 with plans to open the house in September 2017. The Custom Builder Program Showcase home was a popular Southern Living Plan, The Elberton Way, that the Morning Star team Tex-ifed to more than 6000 sq. ft.
Hurricane Harvey had other ideas and visited the Gulf Coast a week before the scheduled grand opening. The Greater Houston area was inundated with more than 50+” of rain during the hurricane.
Kristen Bryan had this to say about the award presented to the Cummins, “The Building Hope Award is our way of recognizing members of the Southern Living Custom Builder Program who go above and beyond to give-back to the community. Ted and Yvonne continue to exhibit the very best qualities of the Southern Living Custom Builder Program. Their perseverance to turn a challenging time into a benefit for those affected by Hurricane Harvey proves Morning Star Builders is deserving of this achievement. “
After conferring with Southern Living’s team, the developer, the interior design group and vendors the decision was made to continue with the 7-week home tour. Ted Cummins explained, “All of the efforts of our vendors and subcontractors to get the home completed were greatly appreciated especially considering the widespread disaster of Hurricane Harvey.”
Yvonne Cummins, president of Morning Star Builders, commented “We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Southern Living to showcase the best in southern styled architecture. Attendees came from across Texas as well as from Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia just to tour the Elberton Way. Several of the attendees whose homes had been flooded were faced with a remodel project and chose to visit the Showcase home to be inspired with new design trends.”
The proceeds from the Southern Living Custom Builder Program Showcase Tour were donated to HomeAid Houston and Operation Finally Home. Both organizations used these funds to provide housing assistance to those affected by the devastation of Hurricane Harvey.
Southern Living celebrates the essence of life in the South, covering the best in Southern food, home, garden, and travel. Reaching more than 23 million people each month, Southern Living connects consumers to the region’s rich culture through a variety of print, digital, mobile, tablet and event platforms. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the rapidly expanding Southern Living brand is part of Time Inc., one of the largest media companies in the world.