by Miranda G. McLeod
Staff Writer
There have been seven Builders Care television shows on the Jacksonville airwaves over the last two years and, if audiences keep up, the show could be aired on a national cable television network.
According to Builders Care Executive Director Bill Wilson, HBO has expressed an interest in the show that was designed as a flagship of the non-profit organization’s marketing campaign.
“It’s a cutting-edge way to get the word out,” said Wilson. “I don’t know why people watch construction on TV, but you can’t deny that it happens. People watch the show over and over again. They fell like they know us.”
Builders Care is the non-profit arm of the Northeast Florida Builders Association and it uses the show to increase donations for the various projects in North Florida. The organization helps senior citizens, the disabled and others, installing new water heaters or wheelchair ramps. On occasion they find a story that would make a good story, according to Wilson.
The show started after ABC TV’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” in Hastings, for which Builders Care was selected as the construction partner for rebuilding a home there. That show was the first time Extreme Makeover selected a builders association as the construction partner and it’s the first time that an outreach program had been implemented in conjunction with the show.
Each month a new episode of Builders Care TV airs on TV-4 initially, then reruns on Comcast Ch. 7.
A recent Builders Care show featured ICI Homes remodeling Melisa Page-Bailie’s home; she has nine adopted children, some with special needs and they were living in three bedroom home.
Not only did donations spike after the airing of the Dec. 23 show, but ratings were up also.
According to J. J. Currie, account manger at TV-4, Builders Care’s first 90 minute show - the others are typically 30 minutes - was No. 2 in its time slot, beaten by “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy.”
The show beat out “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Jaguars Weekend” and came very close to beating the movie, “The Sound of Music,” which was featured that evening, according to Currie.
“In the first quarter hour, Builders Care did 3.2. “The Sound of Music” did 3.5,” said Currie. “But when (the shows were) overall head-to-head, Builders Care beat it. You could estimate that 47,000 people saw the show.”
Currie also said that if the show were to be picked up by a cable network like HBO, it would most likely be a documentary type show about how the show came about.
As a station, Currie said TV-4 likes airing the show.
“It’s a quality program. As a locally produced show, we as a station are impressed,” he said.
The show is directed, written and edited by Mike Richards and the crew at Deep Light Productions, a Jacksonville production firm. Builders Care is the producer, making Wilson the executive producer.
“So many times we’re in over our heads,” admits Wilson. “I don’t even know what an executive producer does. We just genuinely have a good time.”
It takes 100 hours of video to make a 44-minute show and there are 22 commercials throughout. Wilson said each of the sponsors for the shows have contributed in various ways and the show has raised public awareness about the organization.
Builders renovate homes pro bono and many pay Builders Care to be a part of the production.
Donations increased sharply after December’s show, according to Wilson. Two weeks after the December’s show aired, Wilson walked into his office and saw an envelope on the floor.
“I thought, ‘Oh, no. It’s another bill,’” he said.
It wasn’t. Instead Wilson found a $5,000 check. Two more checks followed that week: one for $5,000 and one for $2,000.
“It’s a changed atmosphere of activism,” according to Rev. Chris Simons, director of operations for Builders Care. He said volunteers have come to Jacksonville from around the Southeast to participate in Builders Care events and then they take the project home with them.
“It’s people who catch the vision and go back and do it,” he said.
There are six markets in Florida that Builders Care has a hand in and Wilson said it’s quite an experience seeing Jacksonville’s Builders Care logo around the state.
For now, there’s no drive to market the TV show to the public; no store to buy the DVDs or other merchandise, because while there’s a mission to solicit money to help others, it’s not for capital gains. Wilson said the organization is not out to exploit the tragedy of others.
“We are past our original vision and now God’s at the helm,” said Wilson. “If the show went national as a flagship for national companies them we’ll answer the call, but there is no business plan to drive it there.”