Palm Harbor Homes, Nationwide Homes and ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Inspire Mark McGuinn’s New Single and Raise Awareness of ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease

 

DALLAS, May 2, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) – On Sunday evening, May 16, on ABC at 8/7 Central, the season finale of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will feature the Williams family and the first modular home on the show, built by Palm Harbor Homes, Inc. (NASDAQ:PHHM) and its wholly-owned modular subsidiary, Nationwide Homes, Inc., in Pine Mountain Valley, Georgia. Jeremy Williams, the young father in this episode, is a successful local high school football coach who was diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease in 2008. This is a fatal, progressive disease affecting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord which interferes with the brain's ability to control muscle movement. More than half of those affected with ALS live 3 to 5 years after their diagnosis. The timing of this particular episode, however, is serendipitous in that May is also ALS Awareness Month. Its airing on May 16 will draw national attention to Jeremy’s story and the need to find a cure for this disease.

 

Palm Harbor and Nationwide Homes are coordinating on several different projects leading up to the airing of the show to help raise awareness and donations for The ALS Association. First of all, a Jeremy Williams Tribute Site has been set up for those wishing to donate to the ALS Association in Jeremy’s honor. Secondly, the company’s 55 stores across the country will be focusing on ALS Awareness during May and distributing informational materials about the disease to customers.  

 

Perhaps most importantly, however, is Mark McGuinn, a Nashville recording Artist who, came to know about Jeremy, his wife Jennifer, 8-year-old daughter Josie and 6-year old son Jacob who was diagnosed with Spina Bifida before he was born.  Mark was so impressed with the positive attitude and perseverance of Jeremy and his family in the face of this seeming calamity, that he wrote and recorded a song about Jeremy and the Extreme Makeover event, titling it, “Move that Bus.”  Mark has committed to donating a portion of all earnings from the song to The ALS Association. He will be touring with associates of Palm Harbor and Nationwide and cast members of the show to raise awareness of ALS and promote sales of the song in the week prior to the airing of the show on Sunday, May 16, 2010.

 

This season finale of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will feature Ty Pennington, the design team, Nationwide and Palm Harbor Homes, and the entire Pine Mountain community working together to build the Williams family a brand new, 4,000 square foot, energy efficient home. The home is fully equipped to be handicapped accessible and to accommodate the special needs of Jeremy and Jacob. Like all of Palm Harbor and Nationwide’s homes, this home was built inside environmentally-protected building centers by skilled and experienced associates of the company and set on site in one day.

For more information about this project, the family and information on how to donate or get Mark McGuinn’s song, please visit www.extremephn.com.

 

About ABC-TVs Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The Emmy award winning reality program Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, now in its 7th season, is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. It's executive-produced by Anthony Dominici. David Goldberg is Chairman, Endemol North America. The show airs Sundays from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET on ABC.

 

About The ALS Association: The ALS Association is the only non-profit organization fighting Lou Gehrig’s Disease on every front.  By leading the way in global research, providing assistance for people with ALS through a nationwide network of chapters, coordinating multidisciplinary care through certified clinical care centers, and fostering government partnerships, The Association builds hope and enhances quality of life while aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure.  Find out more at www.alsa.org.

 

About Mark McGuinn:  A native of Greensboro, NC, Mark McGuinn is best known for his breakthrough Top 5 Country Single “Mrs. Steven Rudy,” which debuted in 2001 and dominated and rose to number one on the charts.  He also wrote other hits such as “She Doesn’t Dance,” Unusually Unusual,” and the emotional tribute to the attacks of 9/11, “More Beautiful Today.” He has recently written songs for both Uncle Kracker and Lonestar.  Find out more at www.MarkMcGuinn.com.

 

Palm Harbor Homes is one of the nation's leading manufacturers and marketers of multi-section factory-built homes. The Company markets nationwide through vertically integrated operations, encompassing manufacturing, marketing, financing and insurance. For more information on the Company, please visit www.palmharbor.com. For more information on Nationwide, its wholly-owned subsidiary, please visit www.nationwide-homes.com.

 

SOURCE: Palm Harbor Homes, Inc.

Palm Harbor Homes, Inc.
Dan Goodin, 336-210-0504
Vice President – Nationwide Marketing

Or

Maury Kennedy, 972-764-9393

Vice President – Palm Harbor Sales and Marketing