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NATIONAL CELEBRITIES & LOCAL EXPERTS ON FOOD, HOME & GARDENING TO PRESENT AT MILWAUKEE/NARI HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOW
January 17, 2012

Milwaukee, WI - Presenters from The Learning Channel, the Food Network, and local chefs and home improvement experts headline the 50th annual Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Show, Wisconsin’s largest home improvement and remodeling show.  The Show runs Thurs., Feb. 9, through Sun., Feb. 12, 2012, at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park in West Allis.

This year’s presenters include:

Mad Dog & Merrill each day of the Show
Doug Wilson, “Trading Spaces” on TLC on Fri., Feb. 10 at 11:00 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. and Sat., Feb. 11 at 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 6:00 p.m.
Jyll Everman, Food Network Star Contestant on Fri., Feb. 10 at noon & 6:00 p.m. and Sat., Feb. 11 at 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m., and 6:30 p.m.
Tom Feiza – Mr. Fix-It each day of the Show
Melinda Myers, “The Plant Doctor” on Thurs. Feb. 9 at 3:30 p.m. and Fri., Feb. 10 at 1:00 p.m.
Gus Gnorski on Thurs., Feb. 9 at 11:00 a.m. and Sun., Feb. 12, at 12:30 p.m.
Lis Friemoth, “The Garden Hoe” on Sat., Feb. 11 at 4:30 p.m. and Sun., Feb. 12 at 11:00 a.m.

What once started as a couple of pitch guys for a national grill company has turned into a cult following that has swept the Midwest.  For over 30 years, self-proclaimed “Grillologists,” Mad Dog & Merrill, have entertained and educated thousands of grilling enthusiasts.  Mad Dog & Merrill not only travel the country performing in front of live audiences, writing cookbooks and making videos, they also host the TV series, Mad Dog & Merrill’s Midwest Grill’n airing throughout all of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Behind the comedy and entertainment, the duo recently applied their years of grilling experience to create authentic blends of sauces and spices produced locally and distributed throughout the Midwest. “We want nothing more than to make everyone a better griller and show how easy it is to be creative and entertain in their own backyard,” said Gary Merrill.

Doug Wilson is a designer, author, television personality, and philanthropist.  While at the Home Improvement Show, he will discuss “Doug Wilson's Life In Television & Interior Design,” explaining what it's like to have a television and design career, while giving his tips and secrets on how consumers can create for their own home.

Raised five miles outside of Broadlands, Ill., Wilson claims that the purity and serenity of his childhood home inspires his melding of organic elements with an American sense of style.

Wilson has three television shows on TLC, “America’s Ugliest,” “Moving Up,” and “Trading Spaces,” and recently authored his home design book, “Doug’s Rooms,” which offers design ideas, how-to’s, and decorating advice.  He also writes a regular design column in “In Touch Weekly.”

He has worked with clients such as Barbara Walters and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and has been recognized by designers Jamie Drake, Albert Hadley, and Alexa Hampton.  Wilson has also been featured in national media, such as the “Today Show,” “The Rachael Ray Show,” “The View,” “The New York Times,” and more.

He is an expert in wall treatments and decorative painting techniques and often encourages homeowners to focus on a specific touchstone for each room – a swatch of fabric, a favorite trinket, or a thrift shop find – to create their space.

Growing up in Green Bay, Chef Jyll Everman was in for a major food shock when she moved to Los Angeles at the age of 19.  Never seeing or tasting foods from so many other cultures or cooking anything but Midwest comfort food, she immersed herself into the culinary world, putting herself though culinary school and also spending many hours learning what her own style should be.

Parkway Grill was the first kitchen she worked in after graduating, eventually becoming the Sous Chef at the Rose Bowl during the 2006 UCLA football season, catering to many celebrities and athletes.  She then became a private chef, starting with daily meals for busy families and moving onto cocktail and dinner parties.

After five years of being a private chef, Everman realized that most of her events were cocktail parties. After much soul searching, she decided to open Jyllicious Bites, a catering company specializing in finger and comfort foods that are recognizable, beautiful, and delicious.  “I pride myself on not making foods that are intimidating or pretentious, just delicious and familiar,” Everman said.  By combining her Midwest roots with a sophisticated California flair, Everman considers herself a finger food specialist.

On a dare from her husband and mom, Everman went to an open call in August of 2010 for Food Network’s “Food Network Star.”  After three regional auditions, she went to New York for a final audition.  “After an entire day at Food Network headquarters, I was convinced I hadn’t made the show,” Everman said.  “Two weeks later, I received a phone call inviting me to be on Season 7.”

After a whirlwind summer, Everman continues to work at her business, teaches cooking classes at Village Kitchen Shoppe in Glendora, and doing demonstrations for various events all over the United States.  When she is not cooking, she enjoys walking her humongous dog with her husband, playing racquetball, and inventing recipes for her upcoming cookbook.

Tom Feiza will discuss “Just Fix-It – The Absolute Best Home Repair Tips” on Thurs., Feb. 9, at 1:00 p.m., Fri., Feb. 11, at 3:30 p.m., Sat. Feb. 11 at 12:30 p.m., and Sun., Feb. 12 at 2:00 p.m.  A NARI Certified Professional, Feiza’s public appearances combine down-to-earth information with a dash of humor, while his radio call-in show on AM620 WTMJ, which draws over 45,000 listeners each hour, allows him to provide practical solutions to callers’ questions on home repair and related projects.

A writer of a weekly question and answer column that appears in over 80 newspapers with total circulation reaching more than 600,000 homes, Feiza has also written two books on home repair.  In addition to radio and print, he regularly appears on television talk and news shows, where he shares his Mr. Fix-It tips.

A registered professional engineer with over 30 years of building management experience, Feiza obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Marquette University.  He consults in the area of home remodeling and construction, and he performs home inspections.

Melinda Myers, “The Plant Doctor,” is a gardening expert, TV/radio host, author, and columnist, with more than 30 years of horticulture experience.  During her two presentations on Thurs. Feb. 9 at 3:30 p.m. and Fri., Feb. 10 at 1:00 p.m. at the Home Improvement Show, Myers will discuss “Small Space Gardens.”

Myers has written over 20 gardening books, including Can’t Miss Small Space Gardening and The Garden Book for Wisconsin. She hosts the nationally syndicated “Melinda’s Garden Moment” segments that air on 89 TV and radio stations throughout the U.S. and Canada, including Today’s TMJ4 and WMYX-FM 99.1 in Milwaukee.

She is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and writes the twice monthly Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “Gardeners’ Questions” newspaper column.

Myers hosted “The Plant Doctor” radio program for over 20 years as well as Great Lakes Gardener on PBS.  She has a master’s degree in horticulture, is a certified arborist, and was a horticulture instructor with tenure at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Gus Gnorski, considered Milwaukee’s best-known handyman, began his broadcast career in 1966 on WTMJ-AM 620. The Milwaukee area first saw FOX 6’s “Ask Gus,” his weekly television show, in 1992.  More than 700 original episodes were produced and aired, and Gnorski in 2010 retired as a regular on “FOX 6 Wake-Up News.”  He will answer any questions on Thurs., Feb. 9 at 11:00 a.m. and Sun., Feb. 12 at 12:30 p.m., related to home improvement and repairs, offering attendees his experience of almost three decades and teaching them when to do it themselves and when to turn to the professionals for help.

Lis Friemoth, best known as “The Garden Hoe,” will conduct presentations on Sat., Feb. 11 at 4:30 p.m. and Sun., Feb. 12 at 11:00 a.m.  She has been passionate about and gaining knowledge of plants since childhood.  According to Friemoth, she’s been “rolling in the dirt since she was six months old.” She fondly recalls her formative years spent in the home garden planting, growing, and maintaining lots of flowers, fruits, and vegetables.

Her interest in the business side of life originally led Friemoth to the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, where science lured her away, resulting in a Bachelor’s of Science degree. She then pursued and achieved a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning.

Friemoth's love of healthy plants, her science background, and the alluring smell of wet dirt led her on a plant disease quest to expand her knowledge, understanding, and expertise. That quest resulted in a desire to work in the discipline she knows and loves, took her out from behind a desk in corporate research, and put her behind a shovel.  More than 10 years ago, she applied that burgeoning knowledge and expertise into the community service field as a county horticulturist. She then took her love of healthy plants, the lure of science, the pleasant challenges of analysis, and the risk of business, and put them all together to create and launch her own endeavor - The Garden Hoe.

The complete seminar schedule for both stages, which is subject to change, is as follows:

Renewal by Andersen Seminar Demonstration Stage

Thursday, February 9
11:00 a.m.: Gus Gnorski
1:00 p.m.: Tom Feiza – Mr. Fix-It
3:30 p.m.: Melinda Myers, “The Plant Doctor”
5:30 p.m.: “The Remodeling Process – From Beginning to End” Milwaukee/NARI Member Panel Discussion

Friday, February 10
11:00 a.m.: Doug Wilson, “Trading Spaces” on TLC
1:00 p.m.: Melinda Myers, “The Plant Doctor”
3:30 p.m.: Tom Feiza – Mr. Fix-It
5:30 p.m.: Doug Wilson, “Trading Spaces” on TLC
 
Saturday, February 11
10:30 a.m.: Doug Wilson, “Trading Spaces” on TLC
12:30 p.m.: Tom Feiza – Mr. Fix-It
2:30 a.m.: Doug Wilson, “Trading Spaces” on TLC
4:30 p.m.: Lis Friemoth, “The Garden Hoe”: “Plant Ideas for Your Home – Oldies by Goodies”
6:00 p.m.: Doug Wilson, “Trading Spaces” on TLC
 
Sunday, February 12
11:00 a.m.: Lis Friemoth, “The Garden Hoe”: “Plant Ideas for Your Home – What’s New in Plants”
12:30 p.m.: Gus Gnorski
2:00 p.m.: Tom Feiza – Mr. Fix-It

Wisconsin Granite Depot Cooking Demonstration Stage

Thursday, February 9
Noon: Mad Dog & Merrill
2:00 p.m.: Pat Buechs and Heather DuCloux, Healthy Cooking with the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee
4:30 p.m.: Chef Clifford Hull, Algauer’s Restaurant, Hilton Garden Inn – Milwaukee Park Place
6:00 p.m.: Mad Dog & Merrill
 
Friday, February 10
Noon: Jyll Everman, Food Network Star Contestant
2:00 p.m.: Mad Dog & Merrill
4:30 p.m.: Mad Dog & Merrill
6:00 p.m.: Jyll Everman, Food Network Star Contestant
 
Saturday, February 11
11:30 a.m.: Jyll Everman, Food Network Star Contestant
1:30 p.m.: Mad Dog & Merrill
3:30 p.m.: Jyll Everman, Food Network Star Contestant
5:00 p.m.: Mad Dog & Merrill
6:15 p.m.: Jyll Everman, Food Network Star Contestant
 
Sunday, February 12
11:30 a.m.: Mad Dog & Merrill
1:00 p.m.: Pat Buechs and Heather DuCloux, Healthy Cooking with the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee
2:45 p.m.: Mad Dog & Merrill
4:00 p.m.: Milwaukee/NARI Foundation Prize Raffle Drawing
 
Cosponsored by the Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Council, Inc., and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the 2012 Show will provide Milwaukee/NARI, celebrating 50 year's as the area’s leading home improvement and remodeling industry resource, with the opportunity to have its members demonstrate for consumers “Celebrating 50 Years of Ideas for Your Home,” the theme for the Show.

More than 700 booth spaces covering the entire exposition center will feature providers of thousands of home improvement products and services, including kitchens, decks, cabinets, windows, bathrooms, siding, lighting, landscaping, media rooms, wall covering, rec rooms, roofing, fireplaces, and more.

In addition, the Show’s Outdoor Living Area will feature a Northwood’s theme comprised of a variety of landscaping and hardscaping surrounding a log cabin by Cabintek. There will also be special attractions, including an Interior Design Room Display contest between area college students presented by Benjamin Moore Paints and Pekel Construction & Remodeling, the Schlossmann’s Automotive Group vehicle display, the Kohl's Color Wheel Mobile Arts Display, the Milwaukee/NARI Foundation fundraising raffle, with a grand prize of a Sunroom Kit from Cabintek, complimentary wine sampling, live music daily, a caricature artist, and manufacturer displays.

Hours on Thurs., Feb. 9, Fri., Feb. 10, and Sat., Feb. 11, are 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.; and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Sun., Feb. 12.  Admission is $6 in advance, and $8 at the door.  Tickets for seniors 60 and older are $6, with a special price of $4.00 at the door on Thurs., Feb. 9, for Senior Day presented by Callen Construction.  Children 12 and younger and all military personnel with a military ID card will be admitted free.

For more information, visit www.milwaukeenari.org or call 414-771-4071.