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Mark Roberson Wins the Dream Home GiveawayAug 27, 2012 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- Georgia resident Mark Roberson was announced as the winner of the Taylor Morrison 2012 Dream Home Giveaway. Roberson, an unemployed truck driver from Clarkston, Georgia, saw the fortunes of him and his wife, Gloria, change with a single phone call last week when he was notified by Taylor Morrison representatives that he had won a $200,000 dream home. As the grand prize winner, he was told he could select a home wherever Taylor Morrison currently builds. Roberson and his wife chose Houston, Texas, where they plan to begin a new chapter in their lives together. "It's still hard to comprehend," Roberson said. "It's something that we've wanted for a long time - a home of our own." Roberson said he couldn't believe his good fortune when the call arrived at his suburban Atlanta home. "The phone rang and my wife handed it to me, saying 'There's someone on the phone for you,'" Roberson said. "I wasn't quite awake yet so when they told me that I'd won, I didn't really believe it. I said, 'Ma'am, it's not good to play with people's emotions.'" Originally from Sumter, South Carolina, Roberson said times had been hard on him and his wife. After getting laid off as a truck driver for DeKalb County, Roberson said he had submitted more than 100 job applications to no avail. "We were living off a $100 a week," he said. "And that was getting ready to run out in two weeks." It was during his online job search that Roberson came across an ad for Taylor Morrison's Dream Home Giveaway. He entered the contest and almost as fast as he had found the giveaway, it slipped from his memory. "I just forgot about it," he said. "The phone call brought it all back to me. And now, we're as giddy as little kids." And ready to begin his new life with his wife in Houston, where a promising economy offers the hope of a new job, Roberson said. "It's wonderful to hear these stories every year," said Taylor Morrison CEO and President Sheryl Palmer. "We've been very fortunate that all of our winners have been such deserving people. It makes the whole contest that much more special to all of us at Taylor Morrison." The Robersons expect to move into their new home this fall. Their dream home will come equipped with Taylor Morrison's new Interactive Home system, which allows homebuyers to create a connected living experience with features like a front door video monitoring system, LCD command center, whole house audio system (with more than 70,000 internet stations and iTunes integration), Selective Call Intercom and camera monitors. Since it first started in 2008, the Taylor Morrison Dream Home Giveaway has been a runaway success, with $1 million worth of homes given away in the process. Past winners have included a Sacramento single mother, an unemployed father, a first-time mother and a Chicago grandmother. The Dream Home Giveaway is inspired by the Innoventions Dream Home exhibit located in Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, which was developed by the Disneyland Resort in collaboration with Taylor Morrison, Microsoft and HP. The 2012 Dream Home winner also receives a vacation to the Disneyland Resort. Taylor Morrison is a North American privately-owned homebuilder based in the United States. More information: http://www.taylormorrison.com ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) |