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| Mindy with Jennifer Bertrand and Art Edmonds |
This Friday morning, May
31 at 7:30 a.m., the Lifetime TV channel will begin another edition of the
television series, “Military Makeover with Montel”. According to the website,
this series, “offers hope and a helping hand here on the home front to members
of our military and their loved ones. Talk show legend and military advocate
Montel Williams, a veteran of both the Marine Corps and the Navy, leads the makeover
team’s mission.”
The website also states,
“this special series enlists conscientious designers, contractors, landscapers
and other home improvement professionals to transform the homes and lives
of military families across the country.”
It just so happens that
local business owner, Mindy Zink of Half Moon Décor and Design Studio will use
her expertise with Chalk Paint®, a Decorative Paint by Annie Sloan will be among the many conscientious home improvement
professionals you’ll see in this Lifetime’s latest series.
“I wanted to give back in
some way,” began Zink, whose father is a veteran of the Airforce. “I don’t
watch much television, but I did see a “Military Makeover” episode and I
realized that I could volunteer my experiences with chalk painting. So, I
simply emailed them to see if they could use my services.”
The response from the
show’s producer was immediate, Zink said and before long, she was accepted to
be a part of the next series. But a family emergency created a minor setback
for Zink and her husband Stephen. “My mother-in-law had brain cancer and we
decided to be with her and declined the offer.”
Although they feared the
show wouldn’t invite them back for another opportunity, Zink and her husband
felt it was the right decision to remain home with his mother as she faced her
final days. But their concerns were unfounded, and the show invited them to
their next project for a military family in Ashville, NY.
And just two weeks ago,
Ashville is where Mindy and Stephen spent six days painting the two bathrooms in
the home of Airforce veteran, Cody Willett and his wife. Willett was injured
during a tour of duty in Afghanistan and was sent to a military hospital in
Germany. This is where he met his wife. He currently experiences PTSD (Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder).
The Zinks, who donated their time, travel, product and
hotel stay, were among many of the home improvement professionals who worked
together on this project – all under a deadline – with “together” being the key
term of the experience. “There was every contractor under the sun in the house
at the same time,” stated Zink. “There was a specific window of time and we all
had to do our projects together while television crews were filming.”
That is no easy feat when you are painting. “The
insulation guy was running behind and was installing insulation while I was
painting. I was literally standing in a foot of insulation. Add in the fact
that there was dust from sanding made painting under a time constraint
difficult. Oh!,” Zink recalled something further. “It was cold in New York,
too. This delayed the time for the paint to dry.”
But despite the difficulties, the Zinks and the other
contractors felt very little stress. “There was a sense of camaraderie among us
and no one felt discouraged even as we were working elbow to elbow,” she said.
“It was an uplifting experience. Everyone was happy. No animosity and no
negativity.”
negativity.”
When asked if she got to meet Montel Williams, Zink
stated that she, her husband along with other crew members and contractors sat
with him as they ate a meal together. But because he is known to very reserved,
the contractors were asked to respect his privacy. As a result, no conversation
occurred between the well-known host and the Zinks. Did this disappoint Zink.
“No. It wasn’t the reason why I was there.”
The real purpose of giving back to those who served will
continue. The Zinks will be traveling to Florida in July for another “Military Makeover”
episode - where the paint will dry slowly once again. This time, instead of the
cold – it will be the heat. But Zink would quickly point out that these
challenges are small compared to those experiences of the brave who serve.
The “Military Makeover” series consists of five episodes.
The following is a list of the dates and times of the Willett family home
makeover -where one will get to spot our local celebrities in action:
Episode 1 – May 31 and June 7
Episode 2 – June 14 and June 21
Episode 3 – June 28 and July 4
Episode 4 – July 5 and July 11
Episode 5 – July 12 and July 18
