Volunteers gathered to help finish a brand new home for Marine Corporal Tony Mullis on April 13, 2013 in Hawkinsville, GA. These projects depend on labor donated by contractors and skilled workers and from donated materials. Armstrong, as the exclusive flooring supplier to HFOT, provided floors for the Mullis home. Armstrong Distributor partner in the Southeast, William M. Bird, donated 50% of the cost of the flooring for this home. Local retailers Central Carpet in Macon, GA and Katz Floorcovering in Leesburg, GA also volunteered their services. All homes are built by HFOT at no cost to the veteran through the support of individuals, foundations and corporate contributors.

Cpl. Tony Mullis was on his 2nd deployment in Southern Afghanistan when on April 6, 2011, the day after the birth of this first child, a bomb exploded causing him to lose both of his legs and suffer severe injuries to his right arm.

Cpl. Mullis was on a mission to clear abandoned compounds and saw wires indicative of an IED (Improvised Explosive Device). He started moving his teammates out of the area and a footstep triggered one of the IEDs…the blast threw Cpl. Mullis into the air before he landed on his back on a pile of rubble. The medic on scene administered lifesaving measures. Cpl. Mullis was evacuated by helicopter to Camp Leatherneck and then transported to Landstuhl, Germany and three days to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (formerly Bethesda Naval Medical Center), in Bethesda, Maryland. Upon arriving in Bethesda, Cpl. Mullis was met by his wife and newborn son and he began his long road to recovery, which has included seven blood transfusions and more than fifteen surgeries to date.

Cpl. Mullis remains Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he continues to receive treatment and physical therapy. Cpl. Mullis enjoys spending time with his wife, Jeanie, playing with his son, Cason and visiting family and friends. He also enjoys baseball games, hunting and fishing. Currently enrolled in college, Cpl. Mullis hopes to one day work as a game warden in Georgia. Cpl. Mullis would like to thank all of the donors and volunteers who will make his specially adapted home from Homes for Our Troops a reality.

About Armstrong & Homes For Our Troops
Armstrong recently announced the 2013 partnership with Homes for Our Troops; a national nonprofit organization that builds specially adapted homes for injured veterans.

Armstrong products donated through this sponsorship include engineered hardwood and resilient floors that meet universally designed criteria. A portion of sales from a new Armstrong hardwood flooring product, American Scrape™, support Armstrong’s donation of flooring in 2013 to Homes for Our Troops. The specially adapted homes built by HFOT include many products that help the veterans participate in and enjoy daily life with their families. Each home is designed to provide maximum freedom of movement and the ability to live more independently after returning injured from service.

The efforts of Homes for Our Troops take millions of dollars of ongoing donations to build homes for veterans in need. There are hundreds of service members who will be needing its help from across the country and more coming home each day with life-altering injuries sustained while fighting for our freedom. For more information on HFOT, visit www.homesforourtroops.org. Consider donating supplies or labor or making a monetary donation. HFOT is one of the highest rated veterans/military charities rated by Charity Navigator, which awarded it with its highest rating of 4 stars for each of the last four years.

Photo Caption: From left to right, Back Row : Larry Truelove -W.M. Bird, Jeremy Dixon- FSR Armstrong, Joseph Patterson -D.M. Armstrong, Chuck Katz- Katz Flooring , Front Row Debi Truelove , Jeanie Mullis – Tony Mullis Wife, Caitlin Katz – Katz Flooring