Tim Nickless spent his life giving to others, whether it was his wife of 18 years, Arlene, their three sons or the many lives he touched working as a nurse.
After graduating with a degree in nursing from Grand Rapids Community College in 1991, Nickless and his wife moved to Lansing, Mich., so he could attend Michigan State University and pursue his dream of becoming a cardiovascular surgeon.
But after starting a family, Nickless decided to put school on hold. Busy with 12-hour shifts and kids to raise, he still managed to find time to teach at Lansing Community College as a cardiac life support instructor.
One day, while working on a patient, Nickless was infected with Hepatitis C. He died in January 2008.
Arlene and the children were left living in the family’s 148-year-old farmhouse, which became impossible to maintain after Arlene lost her job in 2007.
She sent her story to the producers of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” and it wasn’t long before host Ty Pennington showed up on her doorstep with a promise to give the home a complete facelift.
As the family vacationed for a week in Disney World, more than 75 workers from companies that belong to Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC)
Central Michigan Chapter helped bring the project to fruition.
Steve Russell, ABC Executive Committee member and president of Lansing-based A/C Electric, took the lead on the home’s electrical work after hearing about the project through good friend Bob Hedlund, co-owner of
Hedlund Plumbing, Grand Ledge, Mich.
“The builder called me on the Monday before they were scheduled to knock on the door,” Russell says. “In less than a week, we had to pull together 40 electricians, donations of all of the materials, set up all of the materials and put a plan of attack together. We did it and it was awesome.”
With such a large project to complete in a short time period, Russell’s connections with area electrical contractors paid off.
“This was familiar territory for us because we work with a number of electrical contractors by trading our electricians back and forth,” Russell explains. “We roughed-in and built the electrical service in six hours—and that is incredible.”
Hedlund, who became active in the project through a professional relationship with general contractor Mayberry Homes, was proud of how the community came together for one cause.
“It’s hard to put into words what the experience was like, especially the energy of the community,” Hedlund says. “The excitement level and the overall hype of the common goal of taking care of this family were amazing.”
Rob Dillenbeck of Lansing-based B & D Electric echoed Hedlund’s sentiments after working on the jobsite and seeing the transformation firsthand.
“It was one of the smoothest running projects I’ve ever worked on,” Dillenbeck says. “It ran like clockwork, and it was an honor to be a part of something like that.”
When the “Extreme Makeover” bus moved and revealed the new house, Arlene says it was like a weight was lifted off her.
“To know that was our home, it was beautiful. It was absolutely everything I always wanted,” she says. “It was a new beginning for us.”
ABC members provided more than $100,000 in labor and materials. In addition to A/C Electric, Hedlund Plumbing and B & D Electric, participating Michigan-based ABC members included:
Capitol City Electric, Lansing; D.L. Kesler & Sons Construction, Bath;
Hosford Brothers Concrete, East Lansing;
MacKenzie Companies, Grand Ledge; McPhee Electric, Potterville; and
Premier Electric, Dewitt.