Texas resident wins HGTV Green Home Giveaway 2012

NEW YORK, June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- An overjoyed Mary Jones of Katy, Texas said she and her husband Tom had just finished dinner, were eating cookies and trying to decide what to do for the rest of the night, when they saw a bunch of lights coming through their front window. When they opened their front door, HGTV's Monica Pedersen stood there and announced, "Mary you are the winner of the HGTV Green Home Giveaway 2012®!" Later, Mary shared that in that moment she thought, "Is this happening? This is a really good thing to do for the night!" Her grand prize package includes the fully furnished 2,300-square-foot home in Serenbe, an eco-progressive community in the Chattahoochee Hills of Georgia, $100,000 and a 2012 GMC® Terrain®. 

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A former substitute teacher, Mary said she tries to live a green lifestyle and make eco-friendly choices when she can.  She and her husband were considering retirement in Colorado, but now that she has won the HGTV Green Home they may be looking forward to a new adventure in Georgia.

"I can't even think right now," said Mary." "Everybody should enter because you never know — this is a great gift and a great adventure."

Mary said that she has already imagined herself walking around the home and is looking forward to spending time in its organic gardens.

Viewers will be able to see full coverage of Mary receiving the keys to her new home in the 30-minute special, HGTV Green Home Giveaway 2012, on Friday, August 17, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.  A 360-degree virtual tour of the home also can be seen at HGTV.com/greenhome.

"The HGTV Green Home Giveaway has inspired our viewers to embrace eco-friendly living and design," said Denise Conroy-Galley, senior vice president of marketing and creative services, HGTV.  "Mary was randomly selected from more than 35 million entries – the highest total number of entries for a HGTV Green Home to date."

This year's modern prairie-style HGTV Green Home was inspired by Southeastern culture and regional architecture, and is located 30 minutes south of Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.  The home features an open floor plan with three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, and is decorated with sustainable products including solar panels, concrete countertops and recyclable rugs.  It has received a Platinum LEED certification – the highest rating a home can earn within the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, as well as an Energy Star certification, which acknowledges its energy efficiency.

About HGTV Green Home

The HGTV Green Home Giveaway complements the network's annual HGTV Dream Home Giveaway, the most successful consumer promotion in cable TV history and the HGTV Urban Oasis Giveaway.  The HGTV Green Home Giveaway 2012 is sponsored by several national advertisers including: GMC, Moen, Shaw Floors, Bush Brothers & Company, Dasani, Garnier, The Sherwin-Williams Company, Char-Broil, Walt Disney Studio Motion Pictures, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Petco Animal Supplies, Inc., Rinnai America Corporation and TREX.

About HGTV

HGTV, America's leader in home and lifestyle programming, is distributed to more than 99 million U.S. households and is one of cable's top-rated networks. HGTV's website, HGTV.com, is the nation's leading online home-and-garden destination and attracts an average of 5 million unique visitors per month. 

About Serenbe: 

Serenbe is a 1,000-acre community located just 30 minutes from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, with a focus on balanced growth, sustainability, green building, organic farming, and smart environmental practices. Serenbe has private residential homes, commercial space, art galleries, original shops, stables, the 20-room Inn at Serenbe with conference facilities, and Serenbe Farms with CSA program and Saturday markets. The community is home to three restaurants, all pioneers in the farm-to-table movement:  Blue Eyed Daisy Bakeshop (the nation's smallest Silver LEED certified building), The Farmhouse (proprietress Marie Nygren), and The Hil (chef/owner Hilary White).  www.serenbe.com. 

SOURCE HGTV Green Home