Twenty-three people started the annual Hands on a House competition Friday at the Brownwood Reunion Celebration, and Sunday afternoon one winner, Mike Helms, outlasted them all to win the Texas Cabin being given away. The contest lasted nearly 45 hours.
Helms, a 39-year-old father of 7, was happy to win the contest and will take home the cabin as his “man cave/workshop.”
Helms outlasted all of his competitors through not only holding his hand on the house all weekend, but through other tough mental and physical challenges. The final challenge was to hold trays in each hand filled with canned goods.
At approximately 2:40 p.m. Sunday, with his hands going numb, 21-year-old Cecilio Chavarria’s left hand leaned and the trays holding canned food fell to the ground ending the contest. He won a fire pit donated by TexasBank.
“I heard something fall and I looked down and I thought, oh dang it!” said Cecilio. “I was happy it was over, but kind of sad. I’m very competitive.” He stated that he was happy for Mike, as they used to be neighbors and he considers him a friend.
Helms was surrounded by his wife Marlene and three of their kids at the end of the contest. She stated that he scared her at the end when his tray began to lean. His son stated that he was proud of his dad and offered him a drink of his slush.
When asked what he will do first, Mike gave a tired smile and stated, “I’m going to get something to eat, take a shower and then get to sleep.” He was too tired to name a specific meal he would want. Mike has to report to work at Danhil Containers, in the maintenance department at 8:00 a.m. on Monday.
Mike and his family moved to Brownwood in 2002 from Wonder Lake, Illinois. They were married in 2006 at the Depot Civic and Cultural Center, a second marriage for both of them. “We love it here, we have been here since 2002.”
Cecilio’s wife Daniela was also present to cheer him on and offer support. Cecilio was planning if he had won, to sell the cabin to his friend Cliff Crouch who was also a contestant in the event.
With the proceeds he planned to pay the remaining bill for his wife’s citizenship papers. According to Daniela, citizenship costs approximately $4000 with attorneys and governmental fees. Cecilio and Daniela were married on Valentine’s Day this year. She is from the state of Coahilla, Mexico. She moved to Dallas when she was 7 and later moved to Brownwood. She met Cecilio as a high school student and they married about a year later, on Valentine’s Day.
Cecilio planned to just walk around and get the feeling back in his arms and legs. During the contest he joked about getting a Whataburger or going to Chili’s.
Of the contest, Cecilio said, “It was just an amazing experience. I was hoping I would make it all the way, but I had my doubts. Just the fact that I was in it was amazing.” He explained his strategy at the end. “I was just trying to breath. Had my eyes closed to concentrate. My arms were numb, my feet and hands were numb.” He had stayed up for over 44 hours, and was relieved that it was over, but disappointed when he was so close.
Many friends are made during the contest each year. “It is really a blessing, more like a family thing. You are going through the struggle with them,” Cecilio explained. “I guarantee you, I am going to hang out with these people a whole lot more.”
Contestant Chuck Gebhardt won third place in the event. This was Chuck’s fourth year to compete in Hands on a House.
Owner of the local Coldwell Banker office and event sponsor Mark Campbell stated that he thought the contest went better than ever, in fact, he stated it was “fantastic.”
“They were as strong a group as we have ever had,” said Campbell. “Boy we had some real unselfish acts out there. Mike at one time talked about quitting to allow another guy to win and had to be talked into staying on. We had some really good stories behind the whole competition, with Cecilio especially.”
Of the contestants he further explained that they were a very strong group and that everyone involved in the contest really had a great experience.
“Man, we started with 23, I believe, and I have never seen 23 stronger, more determined people than we had. We ultimately had as much fun as ever. We met some people that we never dreamed we would get to be friends with over the weekend, which is always special,” said Campbell.
He stated that this was the first year with no “hostile problems.”
“This is probably the first year that we had zero hostile problem moments with anybody. We did have a full time security officer here, Mark Johnson, who volunteered his time, which was really cool,” Campbell said. “He was in badge and uniform to protect. We did have a guy who wandered up to the house and put his hand on it trying to compete, which was weird. But it was fun, it turned out great.”
The canned food drive was a huge success. Behind the Texas cabin were two trailers packed full of canned foods for local food banks.
“We now know we are over 10000, maybe more,” said Campbell. “We have two trailers equally divided for Good Samaritan and the Episcopal Food Bank, a great cause for the food.”
Each year, the contest is fun but exhausting. Campbell stated that everyone is looking forward to next year’s event.
“We won’t think about it, we’ll just plan on doing it again next year,” he said with a smile.
Helms is pictured at top with his family. Click the photo gallery below for pictures from the final hours of the Hands on a House competition.
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