The Remember Alex Brown Tour is hitting the road to promote the new song by Mark McGuinn called ‘Til You Got Home as well as the episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition airing on Jan 30th at 8:00 PM EST (7 Central) as a special two hour episode featuring Palm Harbor Homes’ second home built for Extreme Makeover. But the ultimate purpose of the entire tour is to raise awareness and money for the Remember Alex Brown Foundation to stop texting and driving. Come meet the Brown family and hear their story in person – and see up close what can happen when you text and drive.

Tour Dates & Times

• Tyler, TX, Tuesday January 25 – The Tour hits Bossier City, LA and Tyler TX on January 25th. The tour will be making a stop at our Palm Harbor Home sales centers in Bossier City, LA and Tyler TX.
  Click for schedule. Call 888-466-3718 for more info.
• Austin, TX, Wednesday January 26 – The Tour then heads to Austin on January 26th. The tour will be making stops at area Palm Harbor Home Model Centers in the Austin area.
  Click for schedule. Call 888-466-3718 for more info.
• Fort Worth TX, Thursday January 27th – The tour will continue Thursday with visits to all Fort Worth Palm Harbor locations then a concert at Fat Daddy’s on Thursday night @ 5th & Taylor Street in downtown Fort Worth, Texas 76102. Doors open at 7:00. Free tickets available at all area Palm Harbor locations.
  Click for schedule. Call 888-466-3718 for more info.
• Dallas TX, Friday January 28th – The tour will continue Friday with visits to all Dallas locations then a concert at the famous Gilley’s Saloon in Dallas on Friday night @ 1135 S Lamar Street Dallas TX 75215. Doors open at 7:00. Free tickets available at all area Palm Harbor locations.
  Click for schedule. Call 888-466-3718 for more info.
• Midland/Odessa & Abilene TX, Saturday January 29th – The Tour will continue in the Midland/Odessa area on Saturday January 29th with stops during the day at our Palm Harbor locations in Abilene and Midland and then a benefit concert co-sponsored by Lonestar 92 at Dos Amigos @ 4700 Golder Ave. Odessa, TX 79764. Free Tickets available at all area Palm Harbor locations.
  Click for schedule. Call 888-466-3718 for more info.
• Lubbock TX, Sunday January 30th – The tour then moves to West Texas to have an afternoon BBQ and one last benefit concert and a watching party with the Brown family and all of the West Texas Community responsible for making all of this happen. This concert will be a huge celebration for all!!! Starts at 5 PM at Blue Light Live in Lubbock TX with the BBQ, the concert will start at 6 PM with a break between sets at 7 PM to watch Extreme Makeover on the big screen with the Brown family. Space is limited and on a first come first serve basis. To get tickets in advance, simply donate $7 or more to the Remember Alex Brown Foundation and we will automatically add you to the guest list.
  Click for schedule. Call 888-466-3718 for more info.

Open House Promo at all Palm Harbor Homes Locations January 28-30

We will be hosting an Open House Promo at all Palm Harbor locations to show off the Brown family’s floor plan that we built for the Extreme Makeover episode airing on January 30th.

Move That Bus – The Song

Nashville recording artist Mark McGuinn wrote a song inspired by Alex’s story called ‘Til you Got Home. Half of the proceeds of each song will go to research to finding a cure for ALS.

As you may know, Palm Harbor Homes built a second home with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for the Brown family in West Texas in mid November. We are now inside three weeks from when the episode airs on January 30th at 8:00 PM Eastern (7:00 PM Central) as a special two hour episode.

The Brown Family View On Flickr

It seems like just yesterday that we met the Brown family of Wellman TX and to say that Jeanne, Johnny Mac and Katrina Brown captured our hearts would be a huge understatement. We never had a chance to meet their daughter Alex but we got to know her through her friends and family and even from strangers who had also grown to love her because of what her life meant to others both before and after her death.

Alex died while texting and driving. Sadly, eleven other teens died that day across America – and the next day and the next……eleven teens die every day from distracted driving. The Browns tell us that Alex’ dream was to change the world. They never imagined the circumstances but she is saving lives now!

Remember Alex Brown

Alex’s wrecked truck View On Flickr

The Browns started a crusade immediately after Alex’ death by traveling to nearby schools with Alex’ wrecked truck in tow, telling teens about the dangers of texting and driving. We were fortunate enough to see their presentation to about 600 teenagers the day we surprised them with the entire Extreme Makeover Design team. It became real clear real fast how important their work is when we saw 600 teens commit to never text and drive on the very roads where our families would be driving.

So Palm Harbor Homes joined the crusade and it actually became the focus of the build week, way more important than the house we were building. Our entire team had to come to terms with the fact that we also faced the risks of texting and driving every single day and we all signed the pledge and promised not to ever do it.

Day 1 View On Flickr

We started a fundraising campaign to help the Browns with their mission and we plan to continue for as long as there are people on the road texting and driving who need to hear Alex’ story. We want to help the Browns spread their message across the country in all 50 states. All they really need are two things: money and invitations.

It works out to about one dollar per person that they can reach.

So in a couple of weeks, we want to hit the road with them and raise awareness about the dangers of texting and driving. Would you be willing to help their mission? Whether you can give one dollar or one thousand or any amount in between, please consider joining the cause. You can click here and give any amount.

If it costs the Browns on average one dollar per person that they reach with the story of Alex’ death, how many people can you “sponsor” to hear about the dangers of texting and driving. It is a growing problem as more and more people feel compelled to send messages while driving. Recent studies suggest it’s more dangerous than drinking and driving.

Remember Alex Brown Tour January 24-30

During the week of January 24th thru the 30th, we are planning a tour with the Browns to raise awareness for the Remember Alex Brown Foundation – which exists solely for the purpose of telling everyone about the dangers of texting and driving. We will hit as many cities as possible but the Browns need your help. Will you consider being a sponsor? It’s as simple as going to www.extremephn.com and clicking on Donate.

Song for Alex called ‘Til You Got Home by Nashville Recording Artist Mark McGuinn

Nashville recording artist Mark McGuinn has written a song for Alex called ‘Til You Got Home. It has not yet been released but everyone who sponsors the Remember Alex Brown Tour will receive a free download of the song. Simply donate and we will email you a free download of the song which is not yet available to the general public. Again, give any amount you can afford to give and you will receive the song.

We will be releasing tour dates soon.

I hope this letter finds you nice and relaxed and hopefully all alone finally – or with close friends and family – and not around a bunch of cameras and builders bugging you non stop I have a few things I wanted to pass on about this past week in West Texas.

It seems like just yesterday and somehow it seems like six months ago that we first met you when we surprised you at Seagraves High School with the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition design team rolling up on you in the Extreme bus. We showed up during one of your presentations you give to teens about the dangers of Texting and Driving. As we now know, eleven teens die every day in America from distracted driving and tragically, your daughter Alex was one of them a year ago. Over the following seven days, a series of miraculous events took place and I just wanted to recapture the experience for you as best I can.

Day By Day Summary

Now I’d like to walk you through a day by day summary of what happened. There is NO way to capture the energy and the spirit of everything we all experienced but I feel compelled to try my best because it was such an amazing experience for all that were there in Wellman, whether for one volunteer shift or for the entire week. We announced by Press Release to the West Texas Community on Oct 27th. We announced the Pep Rally Details on Nov 2nd. We asked people to help with Changing Lives on Nov 5th. We were first blown away by What a response from West Texas on Nov 15th. Then when things got really fun and exciting…..

The Brown Family at Seagraves High School during their presentation to the students about the dangers of texting and driving. Day 1 pictures on Facebook. View On Flickr

Day 1 – November 16th – Congrats Brown Family

As you know we surprised you at Seagraves High School during your presentation to roughly 600 high school students about the dangers of texting and driving. What you didn’t know is that we had pre-arranged for all the students to surprise you with a stadium size banner letting you know you had been selected to receive a home from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Palm Harbor Homes. While the event was overshadowed by all the cameras and celebrities, the message about the tragedy of Alex’ death was not lost on any of us. See pictures. And as if this day wasn’t already special enough to all of us, it was also my birthday.

Day 2 – November 17th – Out With The Old

As you know from watching the show, typically we demolish the existing home but this week was different in every way, it was all about giving. Rather than demolish your previous home, we donated it to Habitat For Humanity. We know you wanted to preserve Alex’ bedroom and now some other really lucky family will be in a new home hopefully before the holiday season ends. After we pulled your existing home out, we immediately started working on the foundation for the new home. We sent out an email update to all your friends in West Texas and Colleen and I did one of our soon to become infamous videos. See pictures also.

Day 3 – November 18th – In With The New

Day three is when the new home showed up. We say “showed up” because it was already built. As you now know, your home is a factory built modular home so the home was fully constructed to local code in our building facility in Fort Worth, TX and shipped to your location to be set by crane once the foundation was ready. We built three modules for the home and two more modules for the garage/office. This was also the day we started getting some real traction with our fundraising and our campaign to have people sign the pledge to not text and drive. It was the day where we started seeing a house and a movement materialize before our very eyes. See pics and video where we all started really wondering about Colleen.

Day 4 – November 19th – Hardcore Construction Day

Our voluteer coordinators at opposite shifts – for seven days they only saw each other at shift change…..and they both got the job done in amazing ways! Day 4 pictures on Facebook. View On Flickr

Day four was simply hard work day. Not that every day didn’t involve major effort but it was the day all hands were needed on deck finishing the house on the inside and outside as well as prepping the grounds for landscaping. If there was a day I worried about our team and/or the volunteers, it was day four. My worries turned out to be for naught. No one flinched. No one slowed down. No one skipped a beat. You can tell by the pictures from day four, it was simply a hard working day and it was also the day we got back on schedule from the previous wind and frigid temperatures slowed us down on day two. Day four is the day we were most grateful for all the people involved. It was a great day.

Day 5 – November 20th – We Have A House

Day five is when the house was finished. Not the HOME, the HOUSE. The structure. The modules. There was a structure in place and fully set and finished out from a construction standpoint. It would be become a HOME over the next couple of days but day five was the completion of the house. It was also the day the spectator area started filling up as well as the fundraising buckets. Since it was Saturday, we set up a tailgate party with five TVs of all the college football games for all the football enthusiasts. The most people I ever heard being gathered there was three. It’s just one of those kinda gigs, no one cared about anything but doing their thing to finish your home and raise all the money possible for the RAB fund. You can tell by the pictures that it was another day of amazing people doing amazing things in an amazingly short period of time. We sent out a newsletter update and did a quick video but then got right back to work. Today is when the banner started getting real full.

Day 6 – November 21st – We Hear the Browns are in Town

More than 900 people signed the Remember Alex Brown Pledge. Day 6 pictures on Facebook. View On Flickr

Day six was awesome!!! The House became a Home and we got a chance to say hello to you at the little mini rally we had at the school Sunday evening. We announced a public event at the school early that day and by the time the doors opened, there were over 900 people lined up to get into the school. All signed the pledge, got their thumb ring and heard the news that 50 schools in 50 states also took the pledge. We also heard the news about the RAB fund goal of $25,000 as well as some news about your trip. We have some choppy video of the event as we were attempting to report everything on live streaming video. The signal strength in the area wasn’t great but we tried anyway but we also have some good pictures.

Day 7 – November 22nd – Move That Bus

Move That Bus! Day 7 pictures on Facebook. View On Flickr

Day seven doesn’t require much of an update although it is by far everyone’s favorite day. But hey, you were there It was simply an awesome day, beautiful weather, gigantic crowd and full of emotion. But also a day where it all came together beautifully. We had a great day of fundraising – see video and a great day of pictures.

Brown Family,

We are so excited about you now being a member of the Palm Harbor Homes family. It’s hard to express how we feel about you, your extended family and your amazing community. West Texas is an amazing place filled with great people and they all feel the same about you that we do – that you are an amazing family committed to saving lives in remembrance of Alex and we plan to be with you every step of the way as you continue to tell her story and educate teens and adults about the dangers of texting and driving.

We will continue raising money for the Remember Alex Brown fund thru the Donate button at www.extremephn.com and we encourage everyone to visit your new website called http://www.rememberalexbrownfoundation.org and to join the Facebook Groups called:

• http://www.facebook.com/RememberAlexBrown
• http://www.facebook.com/pages/Please-Dont-Text-And-Drive-Near-Me-or-My-Family

And a special thanks to our sponsors.

And as Ty says, Welcome Home Brown family, welcome home. See you soon.

It seems like just yesterday and somehow it seems like six months ago that we first met the Browns when we surprised them at Seagraves High School with the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition design team. We showed up during one of their presentations they give to teens about the dangers of Texting and Driving. Eleven teens die every day in America from distracted driving and their daughter Alex was one of them a year ago.

The Browns started their own campaign to tell every teen in America about Alex’ tragic death in hopes that other teens won’t die over something as simple as a text message. We want to help them tell their story. They have a flatbed truck with the wrecked truck that they tow around to other schools. We want to fund their mission to make sure every teen in America hears their message.

Again, eleven teens per day die from distracted driving. That ends today!!!!

We just announced a major donation and we need more to grow. Click here to donate online. Give one dollar and tell your friends. We all have cell phones and we all face the risks of distracted driving so we all bear the burden of telling the world not to text and drive.

Three modules of the home and two modules for the garage have been set so now the finish work begins. Paint, landscaping, drywall, trim, stonework and the list goes on. Day five is half way over and we are on a roll.

You can be a part of the Brown family history! As you know, we started a fund for the Browns to help them continue their mission to stop other teens from Texting and Driving. Eleven teens die every day in America from distracted driving and the browns want to tell Alex’ story in every corner of America. You can help make that happen.

We want to ask everyone for at least one dollar. Imagine how many teens the Browns could reach if 100,000 people gave one dollar each. In this age of social media, all it takes is for you to donate and ask all your friends to do the same.

We are going to give the family a banner from this week and EVERY person’s name who donates will be written on the banner. Click here to donate online. Whether you give one dollar or one thousand dollars, we will add your name to the banner. PLUS, you can see it happen on live streaming video along with a real time update on the amount raised.

In a word, the last 36 hours has been amazing!!!

We met the Brown family – Johnny Mac, Jeanne and Katrina and we learned all about Alex, their daughter who was tragically killed a year ago in a single car accident – caused by texting while driving. We met Alex’ family, we met her friends and we met her community and again, all are simply amazing!

I was told by radio host Gwen McCown in Midland, TX a week and a half ago that I better brace myself for being overwhelmed by the size of the hearts in West Texas. I had no clue how right she was. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for the family, the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition TV show and for us as the builder. Everywhere we turn, someone is standing at the ready, asking, often begging if they can help us, the show, the family and/or the community.

We are doing everything we can to let every person help in some way.

Here are some options on how you can get involved:

• Volunteers - if you have registered to volunteer and have NOT been contacted about a specific shift, hang tight, we are finding additional spots and notifying people as fast as we can.
• Donations - we need to help the Browns spread the word to teens across America so we have created a Remember Alex Brown fund and we are asking everyone who is capable, to donate, even if only a dollar. Donate here. Everyone who donates $100 or more will be invited to be my special guest to the VIP tent right next to the build site. Donate and then email me for details.

Spectator Viewing Area View On Flickr

Spectator Viewing Area View On Flickr

Spectator Viewing Area View On Flickr
• Public Spectator Viewing – the general public is invited to view the build process starting tomorrow morning. Starting at noon Thursday you can see the build up close by coming to Wellman High School in Wellman TX to the check in tent by the football field and taking a shuttle to the Brown’s property.
• Spread the Word – we need to tell the world about Alex Brown’s story to prevent other tragedies. Tell your friends and family to join our Facebook page for constant updates on the build cycle and to join the Facebook group we created for the Browns called: Please Don’t Text And Drive Near Me or My Family

Tumbleweed! View On Flickr

Hey, Guys! Well, it’s my first time to come out to the vast, windy plains of West Texas! But no one warned me about the tumbleweed! COMPLETELY VICIOUS!! Take a look at this photo I have to warn you of the tumbleweed dangers in case you are ever out here! This wild thing came out of nowhere and nearly did me in while Tom and Maury just stood there, paralyzed with fear, and did nothing to save me!!! Good thing I can run fast!

Having fun at our second Extreme Makeover build. Wicked cold when we started out this morning, but the Browns are such a great family and I am so glad we are finally MOVING forward with this build for them! We surprised them this morning and then sent them off to New York while we rebuild their house and set up a fund to help raise awareness for not texting while driving, which killed their 17-year old daughter one year ago on December 1. Such a tragic loss!

Cannot wait to see the house delivered on Wednesday and Thursday! I hear the Ft. Worth team has done an amazing job! Once again, it is great to be part of something great with some REALLY great people. C’mon out to Wellman and watch us! We’d love to see you there!

And thanks to everyone who is donating to the Brown Foundation!!!! Love watching the Texas people do what Texas people do: Take care of their neighbors! Your donations will make it possible for them to travel further, more often to tell their story to help save lives! Check back soon!

Seventeen-year-old Alex Brown epitomized the traditional All-American girl: beautiful, smart, vivacious and beloved by everyone who knew her. Tragically, her dreams of a career in broadcast journalism and a life filled with so much promise were cut short. In November 2009, she was killed in a single car accident. Those left behind include Alex’s brave parents and her amazing younger sister. To ensure that no other family suffers such a heartbreaking loss, they turned their tragedy into opportunity. Today, they travel around Texas hauling Alex’s wrecked truck on their flat-bed trailer to local high schools, reminding young people of the dangers of distracted driving. Their goal is simple: they want to save lives.

The Browns will take a vacation to New York City. Meanwhile, “EM: HE” design team leader Ty Pennington and designers Paige Hemmis, Michael Moloney and Leigh Anne Tuohy, local builder Palm Harbor Homes and community volunteers will build them a real home on a stable foundation.

Please donate to help provide for additional needs for the Brown family.

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!” After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…”I made a difference for that one.”

Well, we have a strange twist to add to the story…..we have more people than starfish! That’s right, we have officially exceeded the number of volunteers we have space for on the build site. So let me re-phrase our challenge, we have more people than Starfish “on our beach”….meaning we can’t accommodate all the volunteers willing to help-specifically at the build site.

BUT that doesn’t mean you can’t help. It just means we need to relocate to other parts “of the beach” where you can make a huge difference one starfish at a time. There will be some openings during the week, there will be a spectator viewing area later in the week and there will be plenty of things to do away from the actual build site where you can make a huge difference. If you have not received an assignment yet, stay tuned and be patient, we want all of you involved.

So therefore what?

Over the next day or two, we will be announcing related events for the coming days and we will be posting directions & hours in which public viewing areas will be set up. So please, continue to stay tuned to learn more as we get closer to starting our Extreme Build and making a huge difference to every Starfish we can reach. One need we still have is the need for donations. All proceeds go straight to the family in some way. Help all you can and also spread the word.

Volunteers will be directed to an off-site parking area where there will be a check in tent – where Volunteers will sign in and recieve shirts/hats. We will announce details on this tomorrow morning around 10:30 AM by email, phone, web, Facebook and if I can find a carrier pigeon nearby I will put him to work too. LOL!

From the holding tent the Volunteer coordinators will dispatch you to your assigned duties. Because this project happens in stages, we will make sure to communicate with you, so when in doubt, check your email We may not be quick to reply to emails right now because of the overwhelming response but we will definitely communicate with you when we get the green light to start mobilizing.

West Texas, you rock!

But this time, I am staying in the moment and not losing sight of why we are doing what we are doing…..it’s about changing lives.  Yes we believe we change lives every time we build a home but I am convinced that the lives that change the most during one of these Extreme Makeover builds is the people who volunteer!

I met 1000 people during our last build and I still have hundreds of emails and blogs from them telling me how much the experience meant to them. Here’s a sampling of comments from Volunteers during our first build earlier this year:

There was Lisa Kerley who said: I will say that I have never in my 49 years ever experienced anything quite like this and I have done a lot of volunteer work in my day. Absolutely nothing has touched me the way being a part of this has. I do not know the family and live about 2 hours from the home site but the 3 trips I made down this week to work were well worth it, I would not have traded this week for anything!  Thank you Palm Harbor and Extreme Makeover Home Edition for this project.  I will be watching for more opportunities to participate!  Nothing I did or could have done this week even comes close to what I got out of it!

Neal Wilson said: This is one of my Bucket List items to do. To be able to help EMHE help a family in need.

And Charlotte Gunby said: I am blessed just to have been a part of it this week and it is a blessing that I’ll never forget!!! Thanks for the wonderful memories!!!

And Doreen Dimitri agreed: I was able to help yesterday and let me say that it was the best experience that I have ever had.

I love what Cindy Stinnette said: It has been such an awesome experience to volunteer for this project and see the Williams’ new home. Thank you so much EMHE and Palm Harbor Homes for choosing this family and Harris County…in the words of Ty Pennington, “Welcome Home Williams Family, Welcome Home!”

You can tell that Patty Hindsman loved the experience: Just got in from volunteering, man what a great feeling. All of the people are so friendly and all of the volunteers that I met were just ecstatic to be there. It is just a great feeling to know that such a wonderful family is getting a truly wonderful home. Our family has been out in full force and have really enjoyed being there and working in any way that they could. Thank-you so much Extreme Makeover and Palm Harbor Homes, they will appreciate everything that you did. I can’t wait to see the show. Hope to be there when they say, “MOVE THAT BUS!”. It’s going to be an awesome show. God bless everyone who had a hand in making this possible.

And maybe the simplest was to express it was by Steve Potts: This is one of the greatest things I have ever been a part of.

Kim Parks unfortunately said: I was so humbled by the outpouring of volunteers….and proud. And I  was amazed that even though I thought I signed up to volunteer rather quickly, I didn’t get a spot!

She missed out because shifts fill up fast!!!