Williamson Herald
Mindy Tate
news@williamsonherald.com

The St. Jude Dream Home, located in Southern Land Company’s Westhaven community in Franklin, will open for free tours on Saturday, May 17. The house will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. every Sunday, May 17 until June 15.

Visitors to the house can register free for a chance to win a $5,000 shopping spree with American Signature Furniture. A limited number of $100 tickets for a chance to win the $700,000 home, constructed by SLC Homebuilding, will also be available during free tours of the house.

The campaign kicked off in February with a party at The Factory in Franklin, hosted by Amy Grant and Vince Gill, co-chairs of the campaign for the second year. Since then, almost half of the tickets available have been purchased.

“Vince and I have enjoyed being a part of this campaign for the second year,” said Grant. “We can’t wait to go see the home now that it is complete and open for tours. This home is spectacular and will make one lucky ticket holder’s dreams come true while contributing to an organization that is very dear to our hearts.”

According to Chris Bove, EVP of Homebuilding for Southern Land Company, this year’s home is very special. Each St. Jude Dream Home has been built with tremendous attention to detail and craftsmanship, but this years’ home goes one step further, incorporating several cutting edge, environmentally friendly elements.

“Building Green is revolutionizing the industry and our way of life,” said Bove. “The tie-in with St. Jude makes building an environmentally friendly home even more significant. Our goal was to build this home smarter, more efficiently and healthier.”

Tickets are available at Nashville area Regions Bank locations, American Signature Furniture and the Westhaven Residents’ Club. For more information about the St. Jude Dream Home giveaway or to reserve a ticket with a major credit card, call 1-800-746-6713 or visit www.stjudedreamhome.org.

Organizers have set a limit of only 16,000, $100 tickets for this year’s giveaway, potentially raising $1.6 million for St. Jude, which is dedicated to the eradication of life-threatening childhood diseases. Winners of the St. Jude Dream Home house and other prizes will be drawn during a live broadcast on WZTV Fox 17 Sunday, June 22.

In addition to the house, local sponsors have donated prizes for the give-away, including a Game Table Set courtesy of Legacy Billliards, $1,000 gift card courtesy of The Factory at Franklin, his and her watches courtesy of Crown Jewelry, Two Masters series tickets courtesy of the Nashville Symphony, a Spa and Home Fitness Package courtesy of Watson’s and many other prizes.

The Middle Tennessee St. Jude Dream Home campaign started in 2004 and has quickly become one of the leading St. Jude Dream Home campaigns in the country. In four years, Southern Land Company has helped raise more than raising more than $3 million for the hospital. In 2007, Southern Land Company Homebuilding was named St. Jude Builder of the Year. After reaching this year’s goal of $1.6 million, Middle Tennessee will be host to the largest St. Jude Dream Home campaign in history.

Located on 1,500 acres off of Highway 96 West, Westhaven is a master-planned community developed by Southern Land Company. At completion, it will include over 2,600 homes with a town center and numerous recreational activities and amenities.

Constructed by Southern Land Company Homebuilding, the 2007 home is valued at $650,000, and marks the company’s fourth St. Jude Dream Home to be raffled in the Nashville area. To learn more about Westhaven, visit www.westhaventn.com.