REOPENING SCHOOLS AFTER A TORNADO

C.J. Huff, 41

Joplin, Mo.

After a massive tornado killed 160 people and ripped Joplin apart on May 22, school district superintendent C.J. Huff kept a round-the-clock vigil at the North Middle School shelter, directing school buses to serve as ambulances and comforting those who lost everything. Weeping, he lay on a cot in the dark and made a vow. "I love these kids," he remembers thinking. "We've got to reopen these schools." And in only 87 days, he did. Thanks to thousands of volunteers and creative thinking, 4,200 students moved into 260 classrooms, with a warehouse becoming a middle school and a vacant department store turning into a high school. Says Huff: "Never underestimate the ability of people to accomplish anything." joplinschools.org