Group of Taylorville residents seeking to bring HGTV program to town

TAYLORVILLE (Heartland Newsfeed) — A group of residents is seeking to bring a rare once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to Taylorville, but that next step doesn’t move forward without the broad support of the community.

An upcoming HGTV television series called Hometown Takeover is accepting submissions, where hosts Ben and Erin Napier will help “communities revitalize the place you call home,” according to the show’s website.

Jan Phillips, who recently got word of the program, is leading the group in hopes to sway the network into selecting the city by showcasing their rich history, unique architecture and most importantly, a much-needed facelift in the wake of the December 2018 EF-3 tornado which struck portions of central Illinois.

Time is running out and Phillips has worked on getting support from the school district, Taylorville Park District and the Greater Taylorville Chamber of Commerce. It will take a massive undertaking for Taylorville to be in the running for the program.

The submission process is quite simple: you can go to their website and submit a proposal as to why the city should become a contender. It takes a few minutes or longer, depending on how long your pitch is.

HGTV has hinted that they will be looking at photographic and video highlighting places that need a makeover and showcase the people who love their city.

Taylorville has been experiencing a slow recovery since the tornado and the long recovery can be helpful in helping get them into contention.

The deadline for submissions is Friday.

Jake Leonard, Executive Editor-In-Chief

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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.

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