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EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION
Air Date: Sunday, June 10, 2007
Time Slot: 7:00 PM-8:00 PM EST on ABC
Episode Title: (#402) "Hawkins Family" (Repeat)
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

AFTER A TORNADO DEVASTATED A FIREMAN'S HOME AND PARALYZED HIS WIFE, A TOWN RALLIES TO PETITION 50,000 SIGNATURES FOR THE FAMILY TO RECEIVE HELP FROM "EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION"

Country Music Superstar Alan Jackson Performs at a Private Concert for the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" Design Team and Volunteers

Crystal Gayle, Hank Williams Jr., Cowboy Troy and The Oak Ridge Boys Send Special Greetings to the Hawkins Family

"Hawkins Family" -- After a tornado devastated firefighter Jerrod Hawkins' home and paralyzed his wife, Amy, their hometown of Hendersonville, TN collected over 50,000 names on a petition for help. Ty and the gang answered their call and will rebuild the Hawkins' lives and home in just seven days, on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," SUNDAY, JUNE 10 (7:00-8:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (Rebroadcast. OAD 10/8/06)

In early April 2006, a massive F-3 tornado tore through the Hawkins' hometown. While Jerrod was on duty and could only watch the storm from his fire station, the tornado hit his home directly, ripping the house from its foundation. Amy heroically saved her sons, Jair and Cole, by lying on top of them in the basement. But unfortunately the bricks, debris and concrete that hit Amy caused permanent injuries -- her vertebrae and ribs were crushed, her lungs were punctured, and she sustained serious head trauma. After the tornado subsided, Amy and the boys were found under a pile of rubble and called the fire station, where Jerrod had to instruct his neighbors how to give his own wife CPR.

Amy was left paralyzed by the destructive force of nature. She will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

The Hawkins' home was completely destroyed. A well-known family in their community, Jerrod has been a firefighter in Hendersonville for eight years and also coaches his son's little league team. Led by the Brentwood Fire Department, the community has rallied around the family with food, monetary and material donations � two hundred volunteers combed the remains of their house after the tornado to recover anything worth salvaging, and the local cleaners took all their remaining clothes and cleaned them for free. The family is temporarily living in a rental house that someone donated for their use, but it's not wheelchair accessible for Amy.

In this episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," a home that took seconds for a tornado to destroy will be rebuilt to keep this family together for a lifetime!

While Ty and the gang, local builder Capitol Homes and hundreds of workers and volunteers transform the Hawkins' life by rebuilding their home and giving them a new start, the family will go on vacation to Walt Disney World.

In addition Country Music superstar Alan Jackson performs at a benefit concert to raise money for the family, and does a video check-in with Ty to the family while they're on vacation. As a fellow resident of the Hawkins' community, Jackson is all too familiar with the many tragic stories of families who lost their homes in the tornado.

Country Music artists Crystal Gayle, Hank Williams, Jr., Cowboy Troy and The Oak Ridge Boys also send their own special greetings to the Hawkins Family while they're away during the construction.

The design team for this episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" will feature team leader Ty Pennington and designers Ed Sanders, Paul DiMeo, Preston Sharp and Tracy Hutson.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," which has won back-to-back Emmy Awards as Best Reality Program (non-competitive), is entering its fourth season on ABC. The program is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. Denise Cramsey is the executive producer and David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is broadcast with Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. This program carries a TV-PG parental guideline.

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