(L to R) interior designer - Steve Chambliss, Troy Ball, Charlie Ball, winners of the Whisper Creek Cabin - Penny and Ken Hawkes. The picture is taken inside of the winning Whisper Creek Cabin.

Charlie and I are so excited that Whisper Creek was selected to be the winning home of the 2009 Southern Living Choose Your Home Giveaway. It makes us feel very good that so many people voted to win our beautiful cabin at Whisper Mountain. Over 5.4 million entries were cast in this sweepstakes. Whisper Mountain had the most email subscriptions of any of the other houses and was the second most viewed community on MyHomeIdeas.com and Southern Living’s websites. That tells us this cool mountain air, stunning location and dedication to doing it right resonates with many people. We want to thank Bill McDougal and the rest of the Southern Living and MyHomeIdeas.com, Steve Chambliss, our outstanding interior designer and Haven Custom Homes for making this dream a reality for us and for the winner Penny Hawkes.

Birmingham, AL (August 4, 2009)  – Penny Hawkes from LaPlace, La., has won the vacation home of her dreams in the Southern Living Choose Your Home Giveaway presented by MyHomeIdeas.com.

“I didn’t think it was real when I got the phone call, I thought one of my friends was playing a joke,” said an excited Hawkes. “Then I started crying when I got off the phone, I was so shocked.”

Hawkes, who turns 50 in August, entered everyday, and chose the home plan Whisper Creek located in Whisper Mountain near Asheville , N.C.

“I’m originally from North Carolina , and my parents are still there. I never entered to win the other homes, only the one in Asheville ,” added Hawkes. “My husband and I have talked about retiring and going back there, so this really is a dream come true.”

Southern Living and MyHomeIdeas.com partnered with local developers to build four beautiful homes in four distinctly different communities across the South: Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga.; Habersham, outside of Beaufort, S.C.; Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas; and Whisper Mountain near Asheville, N.C. Each community was chosen for its unique style and the variety of family activities and cultural opportunities offered in the area.

Readers can still tour the communities, online at Southern Living or My Home Ideas.