NAMES IN THE NEWS : ‘Home Show’ Comes to Town

THREE RIVERS, Mich. — When Tammy Chamberlain wrote a letter to talk-show host Gary Collins, she didn’t expect a reply--much less a personal visit.

The host of ABC’s “The Home Show” was to do a portion of today’s show live from this small southwestern Michigan town.

“I didn’t think the letter was that big a deal,” said Chamberlain, the city’s official hostess.

In the letter, Chamberlain told how the recent shutdown of a General Motors Corp. plant hit the town hard. She said Three Rivers’ 7,000 residents needed a morale boost as they prepared for their 34th annual Water Festival.

Chamberlain said she was stunned when Collins called her on his live show June 4 to tell her he would be coming.

“In my wildest dreams I never thought he’d come,” she said. “This is big news here.”

Collins believes that the visit might be the beginning of an “outreach program to American towns that are going through hard times,” said Paul Nichols, Collins’ publicist.