Not a first, but. . .

From the AIArchitect This Week site: "Better Homes and Gardens, the country’s leading “enthusiast” magazine reaching more than 39 million people monthly, and Wells Fargo & Company announced the 2008 Home Improvement Challenge on April 14. The annual contest continues an 86-year tradition of seeing first-hand how America tackles home improvement projects. (And one question entails whether they employed an architect!) Better Homes and Gardens editors award the most innovative efforts in nine categories. Entries for projects of any size and scope are accepted in the following categories: additions, bath, decorating, exterior face lifts, green improvements, kitchen, outdoor improvement, projects under $5,000, and renovation. One winner in each category will be awarded a $2,500 cash prize. The Grand Prize Winner will receive $40,000 in cash and will be featured in Better Homes and Gardens. Entries are accepted through January 31, 2009. Visit the magazine’s Web site for details and entry forms.

E.T. Meredith, the founder of the company that publishes BHG went into publishing as a teenager. He was the Secretary of Agriculture under President Woodrow Wilson. He ran for senator and governor of Iowa, but lost. In 1928 he was considered as a Democratic nominee for president, but he died that year at age 51. His bio at his Iowa archives reports, "He was a champion of farm relief, tax reform, prohibition, military preparedness, tariff reform, arid land development, the World Court, and the League of Nations. Fruit, Garden and Home published by Meredith became Better Homes and Gardens magazine in 1924 as more and more town folk wanted a home magazine, but didn't have farms. The first issue cost a dime on the newsstand, and a one-year subscription cost 35 cents.