Greensburg, Kansas Tragedy to Triumph, REBUILDING

Progress Pictures
Greensburg Rebuilding the Town

          Greensburg, the town, was destroyed by an EF5 tornado on May 4, 2007. But that was only the beginning of the story. Those few minutes of destruction are being energizing a lifetime of positive change for this town and the surrounding communities. FEMA, the National Guard, the State of Kansas and many volunteer organizations responded quickly and efficiently to begin the clean up process and then moved forward to the rebuilding. The local leadership of the school, city administrator and business community were strong and determined and have been working to plan and build a community that will be sustainable economically and more green than any other community in the United States. There are many projects including school, city, county government buildings, residential homes and commercial buildings.

          There has been a lot of work this year, hundreds of meetings, long days and anxious moments, but we have also had a lot of fun. CBS had a fantastic party for us with REO Speedwagon and rebuilt the Big Well Park with design from our architects, BNIM. We will never forget that amazingly wonderful week. It was a dream come true.