Tech Home Builder & IT and Media Solutions
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Tech Home Builder & IT and Media Solutions
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IT and Media Solutions helps a wounded Marine.

Wounded veterans often have a hard time readjusting to civilian life, but organizations like the Gary Sinise Foundation make it a little easier by giving many of these heroes’ smart homes.
“A big part of what we do at the Gary Sinise Foundation is raising awareness for the issues that our servicemen and women face and engaging the community to support their hometown hero,” says Judith Otter, executive director of the Foundation.
Its Restoring Independence Supporting Empowerment (R.I.S.E.) Program recently gifted a specially adapted custom smart home, built by Legacy Custom Homes, to amputee and Marine Corps Corporal Mark Litynski and his family in Duluth, Minn.
During his second deployment in Afghanistan, Litynski volunteered to be the point man on a foot patrol. Nov. 19, 2010, he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED). He lost both of his legs and his left forearm. Two months later the hero was back to walking with his first set of prosthetics..

The customized house helped make this transition as seamless as possible.
Like other homes donated by the program, it includes features such as a retractable cook top, cabinets and shelving and elan g! home automation components that are all accessible via an iPad.
The system allows Litynski to control the lighting, door locks, temperature, Linear security cameras, home theater and whole house sound system with Niles and Sunfire speakers. A whole house backup generator also ties into to the automation system, so the technology features won’t be interrupted during power outages.

The home was built in a very, very rural setting on a 45-acre piece of property. There is no DSL, no cable TV, and so it’s all being done through satellite and it’s functioning well.
The $100,000 plus in smart home technology was raised by Joel Berrettini, Owner of IT and Media Solutions. He designed and installed the system to accommodate Mark and Heather’s daily needs. Joel said, “Everything is at their fingertips, from the 21 QMotion motorized window treatments, all 30 of the Lutron light switches, six Linear IP cameras (we painted the exterior ones to match the stone on the house), Kwikset door locks, a Kaleidescape Media Server, Denon surround sound with a 75” HDTV in the bonus room, and whole house audio, all controllable from iPads/iPhone/Android devices, (4) 7” touch screens and three ELAN remotes.”
Many national partners such as Core Brands provided key technology to help complete this project and provide Mark with as much independence as possible.
QMotion donated 21 Qadvanced motorized window shades. The ultra-quiet battery-operated shades have no external wires. They can be operated by remote control or manually. Additionally, the company donated two Qconnect systems that enable the shades to be connected with most home automation systems.
“We employ many veterans and we felt this opportunity was a great way to give back to those who served for us, even in this small way,” says Gene Demestre, vice president of sales and marketing for QMotion.
Thanks to those donations and the Gary Sinise Foundation, this home will serve the Litynskis for the rest of their lives as their family grows. The Litynskis are expecting their first child in November.

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