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Behind ‘The Pedro Project’: Planners make a difference in Delaware

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Organizing a major home makeover and expansion is an unusual project for a veteran meeting/event planner to take on. But for Cher Przelomski, president and CEO of Wilmington, Delaware’s Planning Factory International (PFI), The Pedro Project was something her company had to do.

“We never intended for the project to take the course it did,” Przelomski says. “Our goal was to get ABC-TV’s ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ to take it on. When that didn’t happen … with our skills and experience in planning, coordinating and executing, we knew it was the right thing for us to do, even though we had never tackled anything quite like this.”

It all began in June 2006. Long-time Delaware Area Rapid Transit (DART) bus driver Pedro Toala ended his shift and parked his bus in the downtown Wilmington DART garage under I-95. He had a few minutes to spare before he had to leave and pick up his daughter Gale from school. He walked to the park next to the bus facility to use a Port-A-Potty.

While Pedro was inside, some teens playing on the park’s basketball court decided to play a prank. They thought it would be funny to tip the Port-A-Potty over with Pedro inside. And so they did … unintentionally breaking Pedro’s spine. In an instant, Pedro’s life changed: He was now a paraplegic, confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

The community was outraged. Pedro was one of DART’s best and most popular drivers. He knew all of his regular riders by name and had a cheerful greeting for everyone. Friends as well as total strangers sent thousands of dollars to a fund set up by DART at a local bank. Pedro’s wife Yira Graciano, his 12-year-old daughter Gale and four-year-old son Gregory supported Pedro through the months of rehab that followed and helped him adjust to his new life.

Pedro’s spirit was phenomenal. He realized the kids in the park intended no real harm. Publicly, he stated that he bore no ill will toward them, that he wanted to move on with his life and future, but that he hoped they would come forward and tell him they regretted their actions. To date, no one has stepped forward.

About the same time this was happening, Przelomski and PFI Vice President Susan Simmons were debating what they should do to celebrate Planning Factory International’s upcoming 25th anniversary. “‘Typical’ is not what we’re known for,” Przelomski says. That’s when they started thinking about Pedro.

Like most people in Wilmington, the staff at PFI had been following the Toala family story in the news and had donated money to the fund. But the PFI team couldn’t stop feeling that sending a check wasn’t enough. They knew an organization with PFI’s skills and capabilities could make a much bigger difference. So Przelomski and Simmons met with the Toalas to see how they could help.

Pedro’s home was a nicely kept, modest split-level in a Wilmington suburb. After the accident, however, it became a virtual prison for Pedro. He was limited to living in a small area on the ground floor — the kitchen, bedrooms, living room and dining room were all upstairs. Before his accident, Pedro loved to cook; now he couldn’t even eat a meal with his family. Without a handicapped-accessible bathroom or bedroom, it took Yira three hours to get him dressed and bathed in the mornings, and another three hours to get him ready for bed. Przelomski decided PFI should spearhead a campaign to get ABC-TV’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” team to reconfigure the Toala house.

After carefully documenting the situation and gathering clippings from newspapers, PFI submitted the initial request to ABC-TV in January 2007. Just in case they passed, PFI contacted a few business friends about The Pedro Project to see if they were interested in getting involved. The initial reaction was positive.

Months went by with no response from ABC-TV. Finally, in April 2007, Przelomski and her colleagues decided the Toalas had waited long enough. PFI set the gears in motion to get The Pedro Project off the ground.

Through hours of interaction with the family, Przelomski and Simmons had identified the family’s needs. The PFI team hammered out the logistics and recruited partners who could help them find solutions. One such partner was longtime PFI friend and collaborator Lou Rosenberg, principal of the Mitchell Associates design and architectural firm. Lou drew up plans for a 1,200-sq. ft. addition that would add a master bedroom, bathroom and wheelchair lift to the ground floor, as well as other modifications to make the whole house handicap-accessible.

Architectural plans for The Pedro Project were ready in July. The day before the building plans were submitted to the county for approval, the phone rang: It was ABC-TV. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” representatives told Przelomski, “We’re interested! Don’t do anything until we send a crew to do the required on-site research.”

PFI put the project on hold and went into support mode, investing many volunteer hours into doing background research for the show. The PFI team also helped ABC-TV’s production crew set up on-camera interviews with each family member.

Again, they waited. On Friday, Sept. 28, ABC-TV finally made contact. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” was passing on the project. No reasons were given. With winter fast approaching, Przelomski and the PFI team went into overdrive.

First, they alerted the local media about The Pedro Project and set up a Web site. Then, the PFI team used their industry connections to find companies to donate concrete, fixtures, T-shirts for volunteers, paint, furniture and other supplies; they used their event planning skills to coordinate carpenters, painters, plumbers, cleaners and other volunteer efforts. “Dave Brodie of Wohlsen Construction was one of our first partners,” Susan says. “PFI had worked on Wohlsen events, [and we] knew they also had networking contacts and would be able to help us out with suppliers. They sent us Jim Campbell as the full-time on-site project supervisor who ‘made it happen’ on a daily basis. He was absolutely key.”

On Nov. 5, the Toala family moved into an apartment provided by Pettinaro Relocation and construction began. PFI gave The Pedro Project a Dec. 15 deadline, so the Toalas could be living in their new home by Christmas.

On Dec. 15, a special DART bus delivered the family to their new and improved home. Community members were on-site to welcome the Toalas home, and television cameras captured the tearful, but joyous, reunion.

The Pedro Project — an event unlike any PFI had ever undertaken — proved the perfect way to celebrate a quarter-century of work within the community, planning meetings and events locally, nationally and internationally. It spotlighted what great works are possible when meeting/event planners put their heads, skills and resources together.

To celebrate its completion, Przelomski sent an e-mail to everyone who helped make The Pedro Project a reality. “What started as a small community project to help a family in need, became an enormous endeavor involving 87-plus businesses and individuals, and over 50 on-site volunteers,” she wrote. “A special thanks to everyone. We hope the holiday spirit you’ve spread to the Toalas is returned to you.”

J. Harry Feldman recently retired as Executive Director of the Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau. He is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers.