I remember when I had my first job with a newspaper in Gaffney, South Carolina and I’d be giving tours of the newsroom to grade school children. I would tell them the journalism of that tiny newsroom was the exact same kind of journalism taking place in what some consider the center of journalism — the New York Times.
How so? One of the purposes of journalism, whether it is at the New York Times or Columbia Home & Lifestyle, is to uncover new and unusual happenings.
That’s the case in this article on the Smarr Home of Possibilities. Basically a model home, Randy Smarr is also using it as a venue for fund-raising for the Ronald McDonald House and for his subcontractors to hold classes on the wares they have installed in this house in the Cascades.
So what? Well, it is the first time anyone in Columbia, Missouri, has done something like this. And that’s new and unusual.
This is what I love about journalism — it can take place anywhere, in Gaffney, South Carolina, Columbia, Missouri or even in New York.
Learn more about the new and unusual features of the Smarr Home of Possibilities by reading this article, published in the June/July 2010 issue of Columbia Home & Lifestyle.
Home is Where the Heart Is – June/July 2010 Columbia Home & Lifestyle
By Dianna Borsi O’Brien
When the economic slump hit, Rusty Smarr of Smarr Custom Homes felt it. Yet, instead of complaining he looked for ways to bring the buzz back into new housing — and for a way to give back to the community.
His answer to both challenges is the Home of Possibilities, a 3,750-square-foot model home at 2304 Redmond Court in the Cascades. The house, outfitted with many of the newest, most buzzed about HGTV features, will also be used as a venue for Ronald McDonald House fundraisers.
Unveiled in May, the house features a long list of energy-saving features, from a tankless hot water heater installed by Air and Water Solutions to landscaping with native plants installed by Pleasant View Landscaping.
In addition to housing Ronald McDonald House fundraisers, Smarr is opening the home to vendors of the home’s featured products for classes on various Saturdays.
Click on the link below to see the entire article.
Dianna Borsi O'Brien, freelance writer 