Although Home Town star Erin Napier’s hometown of Laurel, Mississippi, was spared from the devastating tornado outbreak on March 15 and 16, 2025, the nearby town where her best friend, Mallorie Rasberry, grew up was not as fortunate.
According to WDSU, an “extraordinary tornado event” occurred when two powerful twisters struck the same path just minutes apart, causing widespread destruction.
In an Instagram Story on March 15, Napier reassured fans that Laurel is safe from the storms, but added, some of our neighboring towns to the west were destroyed today.
She also announced that the businesses she and her husband, Ben Napier, co-own— including Laurel Mercantile and Scotsman USA—would be organizing donation collections.
Urging her followers to support those affected, she encouraged them to help people who have lost their homes.
On March 16, Mallorie Rasberry—who co-owns multiple businesses in Laurel alongside Erin and Ben Napier and frequently appears on Home Town—took to social media to share the heartbreaking news that nearby Tylertown had been devastated by tornadoes the previous day. Both Erin and Ben reshared her post in their Instagram Stories, amplifying the call for support.
“I’m so thankful that my little family is safe from the devastating storms yesterday,” Rasberry wrote, sharing multiple photos of the destruction in her hometown. “My parents, my brother, and his young family were right in the middle of both large tornadoes that ripped through Tylertown—it’s truly a miracle that everyone survived with very little damage.”
However, she acknowledged that many others were not as fortunate. “So many others can’t say that—family, friends, and neighbors are left with slabs instead of homes and debris instead of farms,” she wrote. “But there’s a spirit that no tornado can shake.”
To assist those affected, Rasberry announced that donation collections had begun at the Laurel Mercantile and the Scotsman General Store, where they were gathering essential supplies like water, diapers, and cleaning products on behalf of Jones County Baptist Disaster Relief.
For those outside the area who wish to help, she provided details for monetary donations, which can be sent via Venmo to JCBA_Pay or by mailing checks to:
Jones County Baptist Association
Memo: Disaster Relief
206 S 11th Ave, Laurel, MS 39440.
Who is Erin Napier’s Best Friend, Mallorie Rasberry?
Fans of Home Town recognize Mallorie Rasberry as Erin Napier’s creative and crafty best friend, often lending a hand with DIY projects on the show. From cooking jambalaya with friends while Erin was pregnant with her daughter Mae to restoring an antique lamp for a client’s home, Mallorie has been a familiar face and a trusted collaborator. 
The duo’s friendship dates back to their college years at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi. As fate would have it, Mallorie later married Erin’s first cousin, Jim Rasberry, and relocated to Laurel.
“He and Erin are first cousins—their dads are brothers,” Mallorie shared with Gulf Coast Woman in 2018. “Erin was my roommate in Oxford and was doing her senior art exhibit on Jim and Danny’s First National Bank Building. She created the ads, promos, and the entire marketing package for the business opening, so naturally, Jim came up to Oxford that evening to see the exhibit. I met him there, and within two years, I had made Laurel my new hometown!”
Today, Mallorie and Jim run Rasberry Financial Services and are co-owners of Laurel Mercantile, the go-to shop for Home Town merchandise and the Napiers’ favorite home goods. Their charming Laurel home, where they’re raising their daughters, Lucy and Lottie, has been featured in multiple media outlets, including Country Living, showcasing their impeccable taste and love for small-town life.