Ty Pennington returns to his Home Show roots

Ever wonder how all those home and garden tv personalities got their start? Turns out one of the biggest names in the business, Ty Pennington of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, got his on the home show circuit, and as of a few weeks ago, he's returned to his roots.

Pennington is the new spokesperson for 38 home shows across North America including three owned by BILD in partnership with Marketplace Events.

For many, many years, BILD has been the constant force behind the Fall, Metro and National Home Shows with various partners including Southex Exhibitions, dmg world media, and most recently, Marketplace Events.

Ty Pennington's very first paid public appearance was booked by Lisa Kropf, who now serves as senior vice president for Marketplace Events, at a home show in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The Akron Show was owned by Tom Baugh, who is now the CEO of Marketplace Events.

As the new spokesperson for Marketplace Events, Pennington will consult and provide content for the shows and on the web and will appear in the company's advertising campaigns. "He has an infectious, larger than life personality and you will definitely see and feel his energy and his influence on our shows," Baugh says.

"Tom, Lisa and I have kept in touch over the years, and it just made sense to partner with people I know and trust - people who produce quality events," explained Pennington.

"The partnership makes a lot of sense for me. People always ask me where they can buy the cool products they see on our show, and the truth is that the best place to find all the basics, plus all the hot new products - all in one place - is the type of homes shows Marketplace Events produces," Pennington says.

"Plus, I think there's something really cool about an event that brings together big brands we all know, along with small independently owned businesses, new companies trying to launch the next hot product, and local artisans and craftsmen - all willing to stand behind their products and explain what they do," Pennington adds.

Fall Home Show

That brings me to the Fall Home Show, September 18-21, at the aptly named Better Living Centre at Exhibition Place.

While I apologize for talking about the Fall when you're still trying to enjoy summer, the fact that the CNE opens this week-end means that Fall is just around the corner? And that means that homeowners will soon be turning their attention to renovating, decorating and generally rejuvenating their homes. And as Pennington notes above, the best place for one-stop shopping is the Fall Home Show.

We've got nearly 300 exhibitors, more than 50,000 square feet of booths, and lots of home improvement celebrities including Janette Ewen, Mary Dobson, Karl Lohnes, Mag Ruffman, Vicky Sanderson and others on our Entertaining Stage.

For BILD's part, we'll be presenting Destination Renovation, which offers homeowners free renovation conversations with our professional contractors as well as free renovation information and inspiration via our photo gallery of before and after photos of professional renovations of all types and budgets.

OK, enough talk about September. Mark September 18-21 on your calendar, book-mark fallhomeshow.com, enjoy the rest of the summer, and we'll see you at the Fall Home Show.

Author:  Michael Moldenhauer - newhomes.org

http://www.newhomes.org/articles_sun_detail_2008.asp?id=669