By By ERIN VER BERKMOES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Niles has another connection to ABC televisions's Extreme Home Makeover show.
On a recent episode of the show, Steve Rice, who grew up in Niles, helped to build a home for a family in South Central Los Angeles.
This Sunday, Niles residents can again feel a bit of a heartwarming connection to the hit series when former Niles resident David Richter, who is the son of Richard and Judith Richter, is taking part in giving a deserving family a new home.
Richter works for Beazer Homes USA, which is a national builder headquartered in Atlanta, Ga. The company has built more than 25,000 homes, in 40 different markets in different regions of the United States
Richter, who has been working for Beazer for about a year, is the company's vice president of land development.
According to Richter, the producers of Extreme Home Makeover approached Beazer to build a makeover home somewhere in the country. The company said it would and the Atlanta Division was chosen because Beazer's corporate offices are there.
By coincidence, Atlanta is the hometown of Ty Pennington, who is the host of the show.
He was involved from the start of the project, he added, as a member of the Operation Team for the Atlanta division.
He also helped in the logistics for deliveries, grading, landscaping, lighting, and traffic coordination.
Richter added everyone from the president of the Atlanta division to the CEO of Beazer homes to the truck drivers all worked as a team and there were no titles or egos involved, there was just one common goal and focus.
As general contractor for this project, Beazer was able to build a new home for the Harper family in Lake City, Ga.
The crew designed, demolished and build a brand new 5,400 square foot home in just four days and four hours. This home was the largest and most complex that has ever been attempted on the show.
More than 2,000 people were involved in the project, which was an amazing thing to see, Richter said.
Richter was born and raised in the community of Niles. He attended Eastside, Ballard and is a 1979 graduate of Niles High School.
After graduation, Richter attended Kansas State University for two years and then finished up his degree in Natural Resource Conservation at the University of Montana.