Extreme Makeover crowns Galm 'big winner'

(Photo by Randy M. Cauthron) Dana Galm is all smiles, as is his wife, Kay, as they await a presentation from KCAU Channel 9 Saturday afternoon, naming her as the Extreme Home Makeover's "American Home Edition" grand prize contest winner. She earned First Christian Church (behind them) $6,000 towards its new sound system project. She also received $5,000 for herself. [Order this photo]

For Kay Galm entering the Extreme Home Makeover's "American Home Edition" contest was a no brainer.

"I habitually enter contests, so I entered this one," Galm said.

Winning however was an entirely new experience.

"I entered it, but then I kind of forgot about it. I never win," she continued. "Finally, I get a call from ABC, saying I'm a finalist. I just screamed . I was so excited.

"Then I had to wait, and wait, and wait. The Friday before Easter, I got a call from ABC saying I was the grand prize winner. I screamed again."

As the grand prize winner, Galm received $5,000 for a special project, plus another $5,000 for herself. All of the dollars are already spoken for.

The special project funding will go to her church, First Christian Church in Spencer. Those dollars will be used to help replace an aging sound system.

"It's exciting for all of us because we've been putting up with an ancient relic of a sound system that's had it's life extended too many times. We've been having problems with our little dinky system for quite a while now. Even in my year-and-a-half of being here, it's been a long wait," said Pastor Dan Mayes of First Christian.

"That put us right about what we needed," Mayes said, related to the $70,000 project cost. "That money put us at about $51,000 and we have pledges to meet the rest over the next three years. It was a pleasant surprise."

KCAU Channel 9, which airs the Extreme Home Makeover program on Sunday nights, added $1,000 to the project financing contribution.

The original system itself was installed in 1966 when the new church building was built on the property on West 18th Street.

Previous efforts to raise funds for the sound system were derailed when a roofing project absorbed the previously designated dollars.

Galm had been a long time giver to the sound system project, but recently she has been forced her to pull back on any extra giving. A battle with breast cancer four years ago left she and her husband, Dana, with extensive medical bills. Layoffs along the way created additional financial pressure.

"Now I can't afford to. I really wanted to give but I couldn't," Galm said. "Now I'm able to give to the sound system again."

Kay learned of the contest while online, surfing the Channel 9 website for evening programming. "It required that you be a volunteer, and that you had to donate the proceeds to a non-profit organization that had some kind of a need."

In the 500-word essay that the contest required, Galm laid out her church's situation and her inability to give any longer because of the financial constraints presented by her ongoing, still growing medical bills.

When Kay was initially contacted as a semi-finalist, she had to present facts verifying her story within 48 hours. A scramble ensued and the fax hummed to get the information into the proper hands. Similar scrambling ensued when she learned that she was a winner - KCAU required 19 pages of release information in that same 48-hour time frame.

Galm said that a portion of her $5,000 will also go to the church. "We always tithe," she said.

As for the rest. "I'm paying on these medical bills that have been hanging over our head. It's already spent on that."

Mayer said that construction on the building renovations to accommodate the new sound system will begin in May, and then Carey's Electronics is supposed to start installing the system in June.

Extreme Babyshower coming to Spencer

As part of Kay Galm's Extreme Home Makeover Grand Prize package, Extreme Babyshower will be at Southpark Mall on Saturday, May 9 collecting donations for people in need.