News-Leader: Extreme Home Makeover offers inspiration to Joplin

Today's Springfield News-Leaders offers a feature on how the seven homes in seven days project the ABC program Extreme Home Makeover is doing in Joplin is helping inspire the community:

Five months ago, Tom Mourning was helping any way he could after his Joplin apartment was destroyed by a tornado.

This week, he is watching, supporting and enjoying the spectacle as seven new homes quickly rise up for a future episode of the television show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Mourning works for Metro Appliance & More at its Joplin office, which is warehousing the appliances that are going into the homes for seven Joplin families.

He described the May 22 EF-5 tornado as devastating. Sunday could not have been more different.

"I'm seeing people out here working with smiles," he said.

The home-building began Oct. 19, and the lucky families (who have been sent on a vacation to Walt Disney Resort in Orlando, Fla.), will see their new homes during an unveiling Wednesday, with the cameras rolling.