The Countertop Pros will prominently feature on a future episode of the hit ABC home improvement show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition!  The show will feature neighborhoods and homes recently devastated by the tornado in Joplin, Missouri.  Our contractors–along with Silestone– will be fabricating two kitchens for two homes in the area.  The tornado last May was simply horrific:

The 2011 Joplin tornado was a devastating EF5multiple-vortex tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, USA late in the afternoon of Sunday, May 22, 2011. It was part of a larger late-Maytornado outbreak sequence and reached a maximum width of in excess of 1 mile (1.6 km) during its path through the southern part of the city.^[3

As of September 20, 2011, the death toll from the tornado is up to 162 known deaths directly linked to the tornado. In addition to the tornado deaths, a policeman was struck by lightning and killed while assisting with recovery and cleanup efforts the day after the storm.^[9][27] Shortly after the tornado, authorities had listed 1,300 people as missing, but the number quickly dwindled as they were accounted for.

Since then, many communities have banded together to offer whatever services they could.  Surface Center is no exception.

Last Saturday, we sent two install crews to Joplin.  Trucks were loaded with the Silestone Kitchen and Bathroom countertops and backsplash fabricated by SCI for House #1 and #4.  There was also enough equipment to make onsite adjustments if necessary.  SCI crews were scheduled to install between 6-8 pm on Saturday night. Countertops were fabricated from the Silestone color series.  The Reveal date is October 26^th 2011 with the air date to be announced.  It’s an exciting time not only for the recovery of the town of Joplin–and the psyche of the state of Missouri–but also for SCI and our fantastic professionals.

Check out a few videos about the big show below:

It is an honor to take part in this huge event.   We’ll have more about the show and the project later this week.