Utah Youth Education in Shooting Sports Begins Largest Season In Its History
SPANISH FORK, UT – The Utah Youth Education in Shooting Sports program (UTYESS), began its season with record-breaking attendance at the 2020 Season Opener, held February 8, 2020. The season opener had over 320 student-athlete entries in the 150-target competition, including participants from Utah and Idaho.
“Youth shooting sports today is the nation’s fastest-growing high school sport,” said Brian Beard, President of UTYESS. “The same is true for here in Utah as well”.
Statewide the UTYESS program has approximately 300 student-athletes; which is an increase of over 20% since the previous season closed in June 2019. Since June, UTYESS has added seven new teams statewide to meet the growing demand for youth shooting sports in Utah.
Many of the student-athletes participate in UTYESS events for far more than just shooting opportunities. UTYESS is a scholastic program in the state of Utah offering a USAYESS independent high school lettering program. Last year, 63 high school letters were awarded. To earn a letter, athletes need to maintain a pre-determined GPA in high school, maintain attendance at practices and competitions, achieve the required scores in shooting, complete four service projects, and meet the other objectives set forth in the lettering program.
For first-year competitors, UTYESS offers the Utah Rookies of the Year award. The Rookie of the Year is awarded to a first-year competitor in each category: Novice, Intermediate, Junior Varsity, Senior, Collegiate, and Ladies. In addition to attending the required number of UTYESS events, student-athletes must apply for the Rookie of the Year award and provide an athlete resume. The applying athletes are asked to submit information such as trophies and awards earned both in UTYESS events and other shooting avenues, a brief description of what they enjoyed most during their first year of competition, and a brief description of who inspires them to shoot and why.
UTYESS also offers a Utah State Team award. After attending the required number of UTYESS events, the athletes scores are compiled and the top five athletes in each category, a total of 25 student-athletes, are named members of that year’s Utah State Team. The highest-scoring athlete in each category is named Team Captain. The earning this award have their photos taken and will be featured on posters in many of the gun clubs throughout the state of Utah, along with their name and shooting average in State Shoot literature. The winners of the Utah State Team and Rookies of the Year are also posted on the organization’s website.
UTYESS is funded in large by fundraising efforts conducted by the teams throughout the year. Perpetual funding is also available through the MidwayUSA Foundation’s Team Endowment Program. The MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment Program gives a community the ability to financially support a competitive youth shooting sports program. Teams grow their Team Endowment through fundraisers and donations. Thanks to generous donations from Larry and Brenda Potterfield, 100% of each donation goes to team endowment of a donor’s choice. Each team can then request a grant of 5% of their endowment balance once each year. At the close of 2019, UTYESS had $1,100,928.80 in endowment accounts held at MidwayUSA Foundation, providing an annual grant of $55,000.00 for Utah’s youth shooters in the UTYESS program.
Support directly from Larry and Brenda Potterfield has also been outstanding. Between 2012 and 2019 Larry and Brenda Potterfield have given Utah just over $900,000.00.
“Without these donations, a lot of kids would be unable to participate in the sport they are passionate about. The MidwayUSA Foundation and the Potterfield’s support helps make our sport possible,” said Kyson M., age 18, Cedar Clay Breakers.
Support for Utah’s youth shooting teams also comes from numerous other sponsors and supporters. Some of these include the NRA Foundation, ACUI Clay Target Program, Vista Outdoors, Federal Premium, Browning/Winchester, Scheels, Sportsmans Warehouse, the ATA and AIM programs, and countless others that are supporting individual teams and, in some cases, individual athletes.
“We are very proud to be a part of the success of your program and to help fund the needs of these youth shooting teams,” said Jim Reardon, Friends of NRA Field Representative. “I cannot stress enough how important these kids are to the future of this country and freedom!”
UTYESS Team and their head coaches are:
JR Nostrom, Cache Valley Crushers, Logan
Tony Campbell, Ogden Clay Dusters, Ogden
Steve Savage, Phoenix Clay Target Shooting Team, Farmington
Kelly Waldron, Davis Clays, Bountiful
Mike Stuart, Riverton Shooting Club, Salt Lake City
Kirk Horinek, Wasatch Wing & Clay Youth Shooting Team, Cedar Fort
Jenny McGowan, Skyline X, Spanish Fork
Richard Nielson, Trigger Therapy, Ephraim
Paul Niemeyer, Wild Goose Clays, Richfield
Dusty Wiseman, Milford Young Guns, Milford
Kyson Muhlestein, Cedar City Hot Shots, Cedar City
Kyson Muhlestein, Cedar Clay Breakers (Collegiate Team), Cedar City
Brad Jolley, Purgatory Orange Crush, Hurricane
UTYESS is also governed by an Executive Committee. The success and progression of the program has relied heavily and will continue to rely on the Executive Committee and its oversight. Their combined experience in shooting sports and business management has proven beneficial in the growth of UTYESS.
The UTYESS Executive Committee consists of five officers:
Brian Beard, President, brian@utyess.org
Mike Stuart, Executive Vice President, rivertonshootingclub@gmail.com
Jenny McGowan, Executive Vice President, skylineshooters@gmail.com
Trent VanDam, Assistant Vice President, trent@diamondtreeexperts.com
Dusty Wiseman, Executive Director of Southern Utah, milfordyoungguns@gmail.com
The 2020 youth committee is led this year by Grayson Stuart and Haylie Peay.
For more information on how you or your student-athlete can get involved in a youth shotgun shooting team in the UTYESS program, visit www.utyess.org.
About Utah Youth Education in Shooting Sports
Utah Youth Education in Shooting Sports (UTYESS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to educating youth in Utah about wildlife conservation and firearm safety and promoting youth shooting sports on a competitive and scholastic level throughout the State of Utah. Our purpose is to provide training and guidance to the youth shooting programs of Utah, with the goal of developing self-confidence, self-esteem, self-reliance, respect, personal discipline, responsibility, citizenship, teamwork, and sportsmanship through regular practice and competition at local, state, and national events. For more information on UTYESS or to find a team near you, visit www.utyess.org.
About USA Youth Education in Shooting Sports
USAYESS is a non-profit organization and the nation's only all-inclusive youth program which introduces, grows, supports, and educates youth, and their families to firearm safety, shooting sports and wildlife conservation and habitat. For more information, visit www.usayess.org
Click to read the full PRESS RELEASE
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Washington, DC – February 13, 2020 – Today, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) introduced the bipartisan Modernization Centers of Excellence Program Act, a bill that will establish a program at GSA to facilitate the adoption of modern technology by executive agencies. This is a light touch codification of the CoE program, which will have the following responsibilities upon request by an executive agency:
(1) Modernize information technology and how a customer interacts with an executive agency
(2) Improve cooperation between commercial and executive agency information technology sectors
(3) Assist executive agencies with planning and adoption of a more efficient commercial cloud computing system, tools to help Americans receive support from and communicate with an executive agency; contact centers and other related costumer supports; efficient use of data management, analysis, and reporting; and optimized infrastructure, including for data centers, and to reduce operating costs.
(4) Share best practices and expertise an executive agency
(5) Other responsibilities that the Director of TTS may identify as necessary
“I am pleased to once again work across the aisle with my friend Mark Meadows to modernize our government agencies. I applaud the work that the Centers of Excellence have already completed and look forward to codifying this program,” said Rep. Khanna. “This bill and these centers will to continue to save money for the American Taxpayer and bring state of the art technology to our federal government. In such partisan times, this effort is a good reminder that there are many issues that we can still come together on for the betterment of our nation”
“Congress should take every opportunity possible to make government more effective and efficient as we work to better serve Americans everywhere,” said Rep. Meadows. “By bringing the best of private sector innovation to the federal government’s IT systems, these Centers of Excellence will allow agencies to better communicate with the Americans they serve, all while saving the taxpayer tens of millions by making agencies more efficient. IT modernization is increasingly important for innovations both within and outside government, and I want to thank Rep. Khanna of California for his bipartisan work on this critical initiative. I’m glad to join him.”
The Centers of Excellence (CoE) sits underneath Technology Transformation Services (TTS) at General Services Administration (GSA), and was established in 2017. Depending on its current engagement phases, it is a 50-150 person enterprise integration consultancy with a mission of accelerating IT modernization by leveraging private sector innovation. It centralizes best technological and modernization practices and expertise for the transformation of executive agencies.
It currently has the following six “centers”: artificial intelligence, cloud adoption, contact center, customer experience, data and analytics, and infrastructure optimization.
The CoEs are currently working or have worked with the following agencies: USDA, HUD, OPM, CSPC, DoD/JAIC. The partnership with USDA saved the agency an estimated $43 million in cost savings.
Read the Modernization Centers of Excellence Program Act here.
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About the Office
Congressman Khanna represents the 17th District of California, which covers communities in Silicon Valley. Visit his website at khanna.house.gov. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @RepRoKhanna.
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USDA program helps develop the next generation of agriculture
USDA Names Participants in 2020 Future Leaders in Agriculture Program
WASHINGTON, February 13, 2020 ─ The United States Department of Agriculture announced the selection of 30 university students who will attend USDA’s 2020 Agricultural Outlook Forum as participants of the USDA Future Leaders in Agriculture Program. These undergraduate and graduate students will participate in a weeklong trip to Washington, D.C., capped off by their attendance at the Forum, USDA’s largest annual meeting, held February 20-21, 2020 in Arlington, Va.
Since 2007, USDA has hosted undergraduate and graduate students at the Forum to enable real-world learning opportunities in contemporary agribusiness, scientific research, and agricultural policy. The program selects 20 university undergraduates and 10 graduate students based on essays on agricultural careers and challenges. These students major in agriculture-related studies, including business, economics, communications, nutrition, food science, and veterinary studies. Finalists are selected from land-grant universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and non-land-grant colleges of agriculture.
During their visit to Washington, D.C., students will take part in a USDA briefing and discussion of career opportunities with agriculture leaders in academia, government, and industry. They will tour the nation’s capital, attend the Forum, and will meet with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
The Future Leaders in Agriculture Program is supported by academic institutions, corporations, and government institutions dedicated to promoting the education of the next generation of agriculture. This year’s sponsoring organizations include the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Farm Credit.
This program is one of many partnership efforts among USDA, 1862 Land-Grant institutions, 1890 Historically Black Land-Grant Colleges and Universities, 1994 Tribal Land-Grant Colleges and Universities, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions. These partnerships support capacity building initiatives that bolster education and career opportunities for students and faculty, and recruit new talent for USDA and agriculture.
USDA Future Leaders in Agriculture Program
Undergraduate Participants
Name University
Jaevien Akinmola South Carolina State University
Jailynn Britt University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Bobby Brooks North Carolina A&T State University
Holly Enowski University of Missouri
Mariana Gonzalez Castro San Diego State University, Imperial Valley
McKenzie Greene Clemson University
Kyle Jacobs Virginia State University
Christopher Jennings Prairie View A&M University
Gretchen Kuck Texas A&M University
Sadie Keller California State University, Stanislaus
Michael McGill Oklahoma State University
Ivi Mitchell Virginia State University
Isaiah Nance University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Edwin Sanchez University of Maryland College Park
Andrew Skidmore California State University, Fresno
Natalie Sturm Montana State University
Maya Sullivan Tuskegee University
Cassandra Tice California State University, Monterey Bay
Monae Wilmore University of Maryland College Park
Trevor Wingett California State University, Stanislaus
Graduate Participants
Name University
Christina Bradshaw North Carolina A&T State University
Emily Carlson Oregon State University
Alejandra Celio California Polytechnic State University
Mikayla Dolch Oklahoma State University
Stephon Fitzpatrick University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Megan Hughes Purdue University
Cathy Keeler Tuskegee University
Taylor Price Oklahoma State University
Ashley Toney University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Charles Watt Montana State University
About the Agricultural Outlook Forum
The Agricultural Outlook Forum is USDA’s oldest annual meeting and the sector’s premier event, attracting around 1,600 attendees each year from the U.S. and abroad. The forum highlights key issues and timely topics affecting the agriculture sector, offering a unique platform for exchanging information and ideas among producers, processors, policymakers, government officials, and non-governmental organizations, both foreign and domestic.
Visit the Agricultural Outlook Forum website to register. Follow the conversation at #AgOutlook on USDA’s Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Biggest Cloud Breaches of the Decade: What Did We Learn so Far?With more companies and individual users transitioning to cloud environments, the number of data breaches grows. And although the past decade brought new developments in the cybersecurity sector, it also showed that the industry has a long way to go fighting emerging cybercrimes.
February 13, 2020. The last decade accounted for over 4 billion records tampered and stolen. Ten of the 15 biggest data breaches of all time took place in the 2010s. The industry expert Vincentas Grinius, CEO of Heficed - the IP address infrastructure service provider introduces the major cloud data breaches of the past 10 years and discusses how similar crimes could be avoided in the future.
Data breaches are more advanced than ever, and even tech giants like Facebook, Apple, or Adobe fall into hackers’ traps.
“Advanced data breaches are difficult to spot, not to mention, to investigate and find suspects. It might take years before a breach is detected, and by then it could’ve already caused millions of accounts to be affected.” - says Vincentas Grinius.
One of the unfortunate examples was the Apple iCloud breach in 2014, when many accounts were hacked and their information was leaked, including private photos of celebrities. The accident resulted in Apple strengthening its cloud security and introducing two-step verification, which is still commonly used in finance, legal, and data storage sectors. While the event caused public indignation, now the company is considered to use one of the highest user security and privacy measures.
At the beginning of the decade, Adobe faced a data breach that caused over 150 million users’ records to be compromised. According to Adobe officials, hackers mainly attacked invalid or inactive accounts and accounts with weak protection. Although the company contacted affected users and solved the problem rather fast, they recognized that hacks like that could be avoided with better encryption and increased user data security.
In recent years, the social media giant Facebook wasn’t in the best light. After the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the company jeopardized their users’ trust, but even bigger data breach occurred in 2019, resulting in 540 million Facebook users’ records being illegally stored on Amazon Cloud. Half the billion identification numbers, comments, reactions, and account names were available for everyone. The breach caused users’ outrage and pushed the company to increase security and investigate its third-party applications and networks.
“Heficed works with various client accounts, ranging from big to small businesses. It’s easier to protect smaller accounts from cybercrimes, as it’s more obvious when something is impaired. Then it comes as no surprise when large incumbents like Facebook or Apple take months if not years to detect breaches.” - shares Vincentas Grinius.
While the decade marked one of the worst cloud breaches of all time, 2019 was the worst year of all. Last year, KrebsOnSecurity found that 885 million mortgage deal documents were leaked since 2003. First American Financial Corp was responsible for leaking such information as bank account numbers and statements, mortgage and tax records, Social Security numbers, wire transaction receipts, and driver’s license images. This data was used for phishing and scams, and identity thefts, as everyone who knew where to look could access the information.
Although these crimes affect billions of people, they are a hard lesson that needs to be learned. It also shows that companies and public organizations have a long way to go to improve cloud security.
Vincentas Grinius has been working in the field for years and in his opinion, data breaches advance together with improved cybersecurity. “It’s impossible to fully eliminate data breaches because whenever a new security system enters the market, hackers are challenged to take it down. The only thing organizations can do is to constantly work on improving security measures and covering blind spots that are usually how hackers compromise data.”
Cybersecurity is not a private issue anymore, and many governments around the world are recognizing the need to improve the sector. More financing, implementation of smart technologies such as artificial intelligence, automation, and blockchain can significantly benefit the industry and help fight and minimize the aftereffects of data breaches. And even though the scope of cybercrimes is rising, so does cybersecurity.
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ABOUT HEFICED
With its headquarters in London and server locations in every continent, Heficed is an IP address-oriented company offering flexible and custom IP address infrastructure solutions, cloud services and bare-metal servers. At the core of Heficed‘s business is its world‘s first automated IP address infrastructure engineering platform, which streamlines the process of leasing and managing IP addresses. www.heficed.com
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SLAY CANCER WITH DRAGONS
Tyler Robinson Foundation and Imagine Dragons
join together to raise funds for pediatric cancer
at seventh annual Rise Up Gala
Annual star-studded gala to feature host Joel McHale
and GRAMMY Award-winning band Imagine Dragons Friday, August 29
Suggested Tweet: Join in the fight to #slaycancerwithdragons & support @TRFdotORG with @Imaginedragons at the 7th annual Rise Up Gala!
Photo Credit: Gabe Ginsberg
LAS VEGAS (Feb. 13, 2020) – Today, Tyler Robinson Foundation (TRF), the non-profit organization of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Imagine Dragons dedicated to supporting children battling pediatric cancer, announced its seventh annual Rise Up Gala. The exclusive, one-night-only experience will welcome back actor and comedian Joel McHale as the host of the glamorous event which will take place at Wynn Las Vegas on Friday, Aug. 29.
Featuring an exclusive acoustic performance by Imagine Dragons, the Rise Up Gala offers attendees an exhilarating night of entertainment while celebrating the individuals who have made notable contributions to TRF through direct efforts, philanthropic support, or by raising public awareness about the challenges facing families battling a childhood cancer diagnosis. On the heels of a highly successful 2019 event, which raised more than $3.2 million, the seventh annual Rise Up Gala promises to be an extraordinary evening of inspiration and hope as TRF also honors the children whom the organization’s mission is built around.
“This year marks our seventh year supporting families around the world in their battle against pediatric cancer,” said TRF executive director Kim Gradisher. “A childhood cancer diagnosis is physically, emotionally and financially devastating to families. While the Rise Up Gala is an incredible evening, more importantly, the funds raised from the event have enabled TRF to expand its mission. As Rise Up has grown year over year, we have been able to significantly increase the number of families we support and help ease the huge financial hardship cancer treatment places on them. We hope this year’s gala will enable us to further extend our reach and offer the hope that one day, together, we can slay cancer.”
Individual tickets and corporate sponsorships are available for the 2020 event. The evening includes a cocktail hour, dinner, live and silent auctions as well as all-star entertainment. All proceeds raised benefit TRF, with 85 percent of every dollar raised going directly to support families in need. For more information, visit TRF.org.
About Tyler Robinson Foundation
Tyler Robinson Foundation (TRF) helps strengthen families financially and emotionally as they cope with the tragedy of a pediatric cancer diagnosis by providing grants specifically to offset out-of-pocket life expenses. TRF is the nonprofit organization of the Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum selling band Imagine Dragons. TRF meets a critical need in communities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Each year, one in 285 children are diagnosed with cancer. While many pediatric cancer organizations focus on growing awareness and support for families with the physical and emotional toll of a diagnosis, the huge financial hardship cancer treatment places on families is rarely discussed. More than 85-percent of every dollar TRF raises goes right to families in need. For more information visit TRF.org.
About Imagine Dragons
Formed in 2009, Imagine Dragons first revealed their limitless passion and genre-bending sensibilities with a series of independently released EPs that quickly earned a grassroots following. After hitmaking producer Alex Da Kid signed them to KIDinaKORNER/Interscope, the band made their major-label debut with Continued Silence, a 2012 EP featuring the double-platinum breakthrough single “It's Time.” With their full-length debut Night Visions arriving later that year, Imagine Dragons found themselves on a skyward trajectory that saw the album debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, selling more than five million copies worldwide. In addition, Night Visions’ diamond-selling single “Radioactive” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Rock chart and won Best Rock Performance at the 2014 Grammy Awards. From there, Imagine Dragons went on to see their 2015 sophomore album Smoke + Mirrors debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Released in June 2017, their third album EVOLVE was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album and spawned three No. 1 Alternative radio hits: “Believer,” which topped the Alternative radio chart for 12 weeks and also climbed to No. 3 at Top 40 radio; “Thunder,” which hit No. 1 at Top 40 and scored a Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammy nomination; and “Whatever It Takes,” which was Top 5 at Top 40 radio. The band recently released their fourth album, ORIGINS. The album includes the #1 single "Natural," which spent nine weeks at No. 1 at alternative radio.
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Alyssa Young
Two Rivers Marketing
515.557.2034
SUNBELT RENTALS PARTNERS WITH HGTV’S EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION
(FORT MILL, S.C. – February 12, 2020) Sunbelt Rentals is pleased to announce its participation in the upcoming season of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which begins airing Sunday, February 16, at 9 PM ET/PT, 8 PM CT on HGTV. The show pairs build and design experts to complete extreme, custom home renovations for deserving families who give back to their community.
"Each time our crew arrived at a build location, we saw dozens of beautiful, green machines. We knew that scores of people had worked long and hard to get everything ready for each of our ten extreme builds,” says Brady Connell, executive producer for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. “Sunbelt provided absolutely everything that was needed, as well as expertise throughout the process. Without Sunbelt’s exceptional support, there is absolutely no way we could have accomplished our extreme goal of ten homes in ten weeks.”
Local Sunbelt locations provided equipment and support for the home builds.
“We are committed to the philosophy ‘Make It Happen,’” says Joey O’Connell, district manager at Sunbelt Rentals. “Partnering with the show exemplified the spirit behind delivering value to our communities with our equipment and services — and it showcased teamwork in the truest sense.”
Sunbelt Rentals provided an array of equipment for this season’s builds, including forklifts, light towers, manlifts, concrete equipment, skid steers, and more. In addition to a staff of mechanics who ensured the equipment was job-site-ready, employees worked together to procure equipment and organize on-time pickup and delivery to all locations. Sunbelt Rentals had members of specialty services on site to keep power supplies running at all hours and staff to maintain equipment as needed at any time of day. The company also installed flooring in volunteer tents to minimize dust and made certain air conditioning was always running, offering a space for much-needed breaks during the builds. These contributions helped prevent project slowdowns under the extreme deadlines.
“It was an amazing spectacle to see how everyone worked together to accomplish this seemingly impossible task of building a home in five days,” says O’Connell. “Seeing how these families’ lives were completely changed in a matter of a week was something that we were thankful to be a part of.”
HGTV will air 10 episodes of the new reiteration of the popular Extreme Makeover series. Sunbelt Rentals provided equipment and service for every home makeover, utilizing resources from 14 locations across California and Utah.
The new episodes will be produced by Endemol Shine North America with Sharon Levy, DJ Nurre, Michael Heyerman, Brady Connell and Jesse Tyler Ferguson serving as executive producers. The company also produced the original version of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for ABC.
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About Sunbelt Rentals
We MAKE IT HAPPEN! With a passionate team of 14,000 rental experts, a growing network of nearly 900 locations, and an extensive equipment fleet that exceeds $10 billion, Sunbelt Rentals helps professionals and do-it-yourselfers get things done. With a highly diversified offering of equipment, solutions, and services available, we assist customers throughout North America extend their capabilities, complete projects on time, and support emergency response efforts. No matter if you are in commercial, industrial, residential, or municipal industries, we are constantly advancing the idea of what an equipment company can do for its customers. Visit sunbeltrentals.com to find out what we can do for you.
About Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on HGTV
HGTV’s spin on the iconic home renovation series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will showcase great stories, inspired volunteers, and mind-blowing home renovations for families who give back to their communities. The whole-home overhauls will include interior, exterior and landscaping – all completed in record time while the family is sent away. The 10 new episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will premiere on HGTV beginning Sunday, February 16, at 9 PM ET/PT and will be available on demand across all platforms and on HGTV GO. Fans can follow Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and updates. Online users can join the conversation by tagging HGTV and using #HGTVEXTREME.
