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If the opportunity to see a North Dakota family
benefit from a network television program isn't enough incentive to watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition this October,
you may also want to tune in to see the fruits of two West Fargo companies.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is an ABC TV show that finds a deserving family and builds them a new home in seven
days.
Bill and Michelle Bliven, Minot, are the parents of three teenagers, and their middle son suffers from cerebral
palsy. He is dependent upon a wheelchair to get around, so while the family spent the week on a Disney Cruise,
more than 3,800 volunteers, construction workers and tradespeople flooded to their neighborhood to build a wheelchair-accessible
home.
Located at 601 W. Main Ave. in the Mid-American Aviation, Inc. building, Roll-A-Ramp sells a ramp system constructed
of aircraft quality anodized aluminum that supports between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds and is intended to benefit wheelchair
and scooter users by giving them building and vehicle access. Of particular interest was their MiniFold, an automatic
ramp for vehicles.
The MiniFold was installed in the Bliven's min-van. It supports up to 1,000 pounds and has a one-wire hook up with
remote control and the option of manual operation.
Roll-A-Ramp General Manager Tim Capouch talked about why former Air Force and Air National Guardsman, retired Colonel
Tom Kenville, the company's president and CEO ultimately decided to get involved.
"When we heard [Extreme Home Makeover] was coming into Minot, we had our marketing firm contact whoever we
needed in their marketing department. We thought we'd do our part by donating a system."
Capouch said it was well received by both the family and the Extreme Makeover crew.
The other item from West Fargo was the Skeet-R-Gone, a product that was introduced to the market in August. It
consists of a device for injecting ecologically friendly, anti-mosquito concentrates into a sprinkler system. The
makeover included installation of an underground sprinkler system.
"We were told by the person who donated the installation of their sprinkler system that he thought this would
be a wonderful addition," Dewey Miller, Director of Operations for Skeet-R-Gone, said.
He presented it to the family and made the following comments about them: "The family is really neat. They
have given back to the community."
The Minot show aired on ABC on Oct. 15, 2006.
forrest@midweek-pioneer.com
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