By K.O. Jackson

NHI Media Service

BUNKER HILL — Late Thursday evening, Randy Fletcher made his way from Peru down U.S. 31 headed toward the Bunker Hill build site for ABC-TV reality show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

Fletcher knew he was in the right location long before reaching his destination.

“I was by Grissom [Air Reserve Base] and you could see the whole area was lit up. It looked like a little city from 31,” said Fletcher, owner of The Kreole Kid, an on-site catering business. “It was something to see.”

So was the site itself.

On-and-off rain showers made the work area and the spectator/vendor area a muddy mess Friday afternoon.

Anderson-based Hallmark Homes Inc. and hundreds of volunteers started construction Thursday and are working around the clock for 106 hours until Tuesday to build a home for the Cowan-Brown family at 11040 S. 100 West in Miami County.

The Cowan-Brown’s 12-year-old daughter, Kori, suffers from a congenital blood disease. She has raised $35,000 for the American Cancer Society, honoring a friend who suffered from cancer.

The family is currently at Disneyland in California while volunteers build a home in 106 hours — an endeavor that Hallmark Homes said normally takes about six months.

The episode of the Cowan-Brown build is tentatively scheduled to air in January. The show, which is in its seventh season, airs from 8 to 9 p.m. Sundays on ABC.

Fletcher’s was one of more than 35 businesses with banners in the VIP tent.

“I am glad I came down Thursday, otherwise my trailer would had never made it out here,” said Fletcher, who was feeding workers and volunteers more than 200 tenderloin sandwiches Friday.

“It’s a little sloppy out here, but I am glad to be out here.”

In addition to his tenderloins — which Fletcher seasons before he breads and cooks them — Fletcher is feeding more than 1,000 people his Louisiana specialties: Blackened dishes, pork entrees and fried catfish.