See a Boise family learn they’ve just won $25,000 for a backyard makeover

Hayden Homes held a big contest to give away $25,000 to one lucky local family for a backyard makeover. The contest was open to anyone. The winners were a Boise family who will soon build a new home in the Hayden Homes neighborhood of Antler Ridge on West Oneida Avenue.

Alex and Shane Hunter learned this week that they’d won the $25,000 prize at a special event complete with champagne, balloons, family members who had been tipped off ahead of time and a big check, even as snow fell.

“It seems funny with the snow to think about enjoying the warm weather outside with our family. We are so excited. The spring can’t get here soon enough,” said Shane Hunter, who works for Republic Services in Boise.

Alex Hunter, who works at Hewlett Packard and has been caring for her father who is contending with a terminal illness, called the prize the “best Christmas surprise ever.”

There are three Hunter children, ages 25, 22 and a 16-year-old who attends Mountain View High school in Meridian.

The Hunters were randomly chosen from among 6,600 entries from Idaho, Washington and Oregon. People could enter online, on Facebook or at any Hayden Homes model home.

The Hunters will be able to work with a designer who will help them decide between brick pavers, recreation areas, a gazebo or anything else they’d like for their one-of-a-kind yard, said spokeswoman Claudia Weathermon.

The new house has yet to be built. Construction on the backyard projects will be complete in May or June, Weathermon said.

Hayden Homes also operates First Story, its nonprofit wing that helps provide housing for people in need. Since it began in 1998, First Story has helped place over 65 families in new homes in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

This story was originally published December 15, 2016 at 11:12 AM with the headline "See a Boise family learn they’ve just won $25,000 for a backyard makeover."