STYLE Media and Design

PVH’s team in charge of the nursery and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Dan Satterwhite, M.D., Neonatologist for PVHS, Barb Peters, Nurse Manager of PVH’s NICU, and Pat Bohling-Smith, Director of Women and Family Care at PVH.

The inspiration came from two dear friends, she says. The first was her friend, Wendy Smith, who fought and finally succumbed to breast cancer three years ago. Stroh had started participating in the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure with Smith. “My promise to her was that I would keep walking. So a lot of this was because of Wendy but also because we need to raise awareness.”

Another friend also influenced her involvement. Beverly Donnelley, a local obstetrician and gynecologist, who invited Stroh to sit at her table at the Hope Lives! Gala 2008. Once the auction started, Stroh rose to the challenge and finally placed the high bid.

While those two set the scene, Stroh’s commitment put the play in motion. “We need to find a cure. We need to be proactive. This is for my friends, my cousin, maybe my future granddaughter – anyone who might be diagnosed down the road. Once you’ve lost someone, it becomes very personal.”

The kitchen is just being finished this month and Stroh says it has taken a real community effort to make it all happen.

Kitchen before the remodel.

John Sinnett, senior estimator with Sinnett Builders, seconds that. “When Lydia (Dody) approached me and asked, ‘what do you think about auctioning off a dream kitchen remodel for Hope Lives!,’ I originally thought that was a very tall order. I said, ‘let me think about it.’”

But after he gave it a little time, he called her back. “I said let’s try it. Then I ran with it and started making the calls. I ended up with about 34 companies that chipped in to put together a complete remodel. They gave me everything from a dumpster and the demo to cabinets, appliances, plumbing, and electrical. We were given interior design work and painting. The icing on the cake included a personal chef that comes out to work with you in your kitchen for a night and a gift certificate for The Cupboard. We even had several hundred dollars at Albertsons to resupply the food lost when the kitchen was torn up.”

Everyone involved went above and beyond, Sinnett says. Part of the reason for the success was that so many people were involved, kind of like the old question of how to eat an elephant – one bite at a time. Sinnett Builders provided all the supervision and project management and Sinnett pulled in others. “I realized that if I was going to get people to donate, I’d have to break it down into small packages to ask for as little as possible and then pull everything again. That made it doable. And then, I got Whirlpool to give us a cost base price for appliances and I had our parent company buy us a refrigerator at retail. That gave us a little left over money that then went for a dishwasher.”

As it turned out, Stroh had the perfect kitchen for a remodel. “It was exactly what we hoped we would get in terms of size and location of utilities. It couldn’t have been more perfect and Donna was great to work with. God was watching out for us on that one.” “The timing went smoothly in terms of subcontractors coming in and doing their part. It took longer than we wanted, but Donna was very patient. What a blessing she turned out to be as a client.”

Stroh had the winning bid of $22,000 for an entire kitchen remodel at last year’s Hope Lives! Gala. Over 32 businesses and countless volunteers donated services and goods for a remodel valued at over $50,000. Poudre Valley Fire Department Station House 5 spontaneously volunteered to help move out Stroh’s old appliances and install the new appliances.

Jay Williams helped ensure that things happened. Williams was brought in to wrap up the project and, even though he was laid off from Sinnett during that period because of the local economy, he continued to work and donate his time. Not that it was all a walk in the park, Williams says.

“I found out the appliances were coming in but they would only drop them in the driveway so I called my wife, Shawn. She works in the administration office of the Poudre Valley Fire Authority and she made a request. They got together and sent out a crew.”

That surprised her neighbors, Stroh says. “Two huge hook and ladders pulled up with 15 men. They were here to move in the appliances and the drywall guys came back to help, so it became this community event right in my driveway.”

Stroh proudly stands in her new kitchen, thankful to all the volunteers that helped make it a reality.

Williams was happy to donate the extra time it took. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2003 and is now a survivor who is cancer-free. “So it was personal,” he says. “It’s easy to get caught up in such a great cause and everyone worked so well together.”

Sinnett praises everyone involved. “I didn’t have anybody that said no. Most of it came on a phone call. These are companies we’ve done business with, companies who have a presence in the community. Nobody turned me down. I certainly couldn’t have done this alone,” he says. “It was amazing and there were some hefty donations, $2,000 here and $4,000 there, but every piece counted.”

By the time the final tally was made, Sinnett says, “It was a $50,000 plus kitchen that didn’t cost Hope Lives! a dime.”

Marsha Petrovic, Executive Director of Hope Lives, says, “The remodel bought an added element of excitement and interest in our event and raised some really crucial funds for our organization so we can serve the women in Northern Colorado.”

This year’s event, set for October 17, has added a new approach, Petrovic says. “The twist will be the green component we’re bringing in as an indicator of our overall wellness effort. We’re promoting eco-green and social responsibility so, from the planning and execution to the items we solicit for auctions to the food, everything will be done with an environmental conscience. That includes paper we’re using or not using. We will be reducing waste.”

It’s a good mix, Petrovic says. “That idea has generated new energy for this year’s event.”

Any one interested in attending the event or donating items for the auction can contact Hope Lives! at www.hopelives.org.

Under the bookshelf, bottom, is a floorboard reading “Hope Lives 2008,” to commemorate the process that went into creating her beautiful new kitchen.

Thank you to all the businesses that donated to the Stroh kitchen remodel

• Advanced Caulking
• Albertsons
• Allen Plumbing/Heating
• Alpine Cabinets
• Avalanche Floor Coverings
• BJ’s Custom Cabinets
• Builder’s Appliance Center
• Chadwick Electric
• Collins Cashway Lumber
• Collins Door & Hardware
• The Cupboard
• Fort Collins Monument & Stone
• Front Range Roofing
• Green Cuisine
• Heimbuck Disposal
• Hixon Interiors
• Homolka Brothers Painting
• Horizon Sheet Metal
• K&L Contractors
• LBN Insurance
• The Light Center
• Loveland Design Center
• Prism Decorative Arts & Design
• Pro Design
• Quarry Direct
• Sew What?
• Sinnett Builders
• Supper Solutions
• Imagine That Design Build/Cutting Edge Construction
• Thermal Concepts Insulation
• Triple H Drywall
• Volk & Bell