Aronson & Company Gets 'Extreme'

Reality TV addicts, here's an interesting nugget for you. Rockville, Md.–based Aronson & Company sponsored one of their clients, Dan Ryan Builders, in a project with ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition television show, which remodels homes of struggling families.

Dan Ryan Builders took the lead as the homebuilder on the project and Aronson & Company pledged $7,500 to go directly to the family – and donated accounting services to help them manage the financial obligations of their new home.

The lucky recipients of the new abode were Matthew and Blasia Drumm of Mont Alto, Penn. (roughly 20 minutes past the Maryland state line) and their three sons. The family fit right into the show's hero theme of this year as they are well-known within their community for serving the needs of disabled children. Unknowingly, the Drumm family purchased their former home even though the surrounding area and the structure were often used as a place to dump trash and other waste.

While the Drumm family was away on a trip to Disney World, volunteers razed their dilapidated home and rebuilt a new farm house from the foundation up. The Aronson & Company team of Zach Barker, Abba Blum, Dan Bures, Tom Cordrey, Maral Nakashian and Michele Raptosh all assisted the renovation team with a variety of tasks, including moving and arranging furniture, setting up the kitchen, cleaning up the site, helping the painters, and volunteering at the check-in tent to hand out t-shirts and nametags to the other workers onsite. As an added bonus, team members were given a chance to work and chat directly with Didiayer Myer and Eduardo Xol, two of the show's star designers.

"The entire experience was moving and wonderful," said Raptosh, an audit & accounting senior working with the firm's Real Estate Industry Services Group. "We got to meet Blasia's father and watch him go through the house and see what had been done for his daughter's family. I was also given the opportunity to tour the house with the owner of the company himself, Dan Ryan, and have him explain all the details to me. It was wonderful to know that a client of yours took such pride in helping a complete stranger."

Tune in to the show in January, to see a crowd of approximately 5,000 people brave the cold and fog to watch the show's "Move that Bus!" festivities, where the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition host, Ty Pennington shows the family their new home.

For more info about this event, as well as, photos and a project blog, check out www.drbextreme.com.

Zach Barker, Tom Cordrey and Michele Raptosh of Aronson & Company in Rockville, Md. get their hands dirty helping client Dan Ryan Builders during an episode of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."