It happened again! Almost a year from the time seven tornadoes tore through the north Georgia/ southeast Tennessee area in April of 2011, a series of storms again caused tornadoes that ripped through the northern part of Hamilton County and on into Bradley County. Police and fire radios, commercial radio and TV, as well as HAM radios were alive with reports of heavy damage, although there were no deaths being reported at that time.
March 3 (a Sabbath) dawned, and daylight revealed how destructive the tornadoes had been. Terry Haight, Adventist Community Services Disaster Response (ACS DR) coordinator for the Georgia-Cumberland Conference, visited the Emergency Operations Centers of both counties to offer ACS DR help. Bradley County had no need to open a warehouse or distribution center this time, but Hamilton County was going to, and asked ACS DR to assist in locating a building and then managing it.
In the meantime, the Samaritan Center, the ACS thrift operation on Ooltewah, Tenn., came by the ACS DR warehouse with their truck, which was then loaded with items to distribute to victims and volunteers by mobile distribution. The Center did mobile distribution for several days, processed casework for victims, and was an active member of the Long-term Recovery Committee again, making sure no one went without the help they needed by working in tandem with other volunteer agencies and with local, state, and federal authorities to accomplish that goal.
A location for a warehouse was located at the Hamilton County High School, near the damage-struck area, and was operated for six weeks. The warehouse served two distribution sites; the Greenwood Baptist Church and Open House, and Adventist group who organized volunteers and matched them with victims’ needs.
The warehouse served for six weeks, closing its operations when the distribution sites closed.
A target day was chosen to close, but on the last day of operation, a call came from a lady in Hanover, Penn., saying a motorcycle club there had done a collection and was sending a truck to us with their supplies. After consulting with Bill Tittle, Hamilton County operations chief, it was decided that since we were still set up to operate, we would accept the things, sort them, and find a home for them. On the appointed day for the load to arrive, we had a contingent of 12 prisoners to help unload the truck, which turned out to be three semis!
The warehouse finally got everything sorted and distributed, and closed the doors on May 10. It served 18 facilities with $61,233 worth of supplies. In addition, many more supplies that weren’t needed for the disaster went to local social service organizations, which serve people on a daily basis. This storm
hit a relatively well-to-do area, and many people were insured, so the need for donated goods was not as acute as the previous year. However, the ability to immediately begin distributing made possible by the cooperation with the Samaritan Center allowed this operation to be very effective.
Twelve volunteers logged 1,452 hours of volunteer time in this operation.
August 31, 2011
AUGUST 17, 2011 GREENEVILLE, TN, TORNADO RESPONSE SUMMARY
Trouble seems to come in bunches. The same storm front that produced the tornadoes in north Georgia and southeast Tennessee also caused tornadoes in northeast Tennessee, in the Greeneville area, later in the day. Damage was extensive, and Greene County needed help managing donations. Adventist Community Services Disaster Response (ACS DR) was asked to assist, but the local Methodist Church began doing the distribution, and area coordinator Bob East decided that rather than try to run competition with them, the Adventists would help them.
However, after several weeks, the Methodists wanted to close the operation down. There was, however, still a need to have a location where the building supplies that were just then beginning to come into the area could be sorted, inventoried, and stored for use by the volunteers who were coming in to help with rebuilding the homes that had been destroyed or damaged. AIDNET, the Long-term Recovery Committee for Greene County decided to ask the Adventists to help.
On Aug. 10, chaplain Jan Lefferts, of Takoma Regional Hospital and Treasurer of AIDNET, called Terry Haight, ACS DR coordinator for the Georgia-Cumberland Conference (GCC), and asked if a set-up team could come for about two weeks and organize things there and train local people to carry on after the team left. Haight agreed, and he and Henry Beaulieu, GCC warehouse specialist, met with the AIDNET people and discussed how the operation would be run. AIDNET agreed to cover the costs of the operation, including travel and housing expenses, and Takoma Hospital provided meals for the team.
Space had already been obtained at a huge warehouse located on Industrial Road. The building had no office space, but Jeff Idell, a Baptist and owner of a local construction company, provided a construction office trailer, the Red Cross provided computers, and AIDNET purchased a copy of Quickbooks and a copy/FAX machine, and we were in business. Joining us as part of the team were John and Elaine Veldhuizen, who served as floor manager and office manager, respectively. Bob East, northeast Tennessee regional coordinator, also joined us and agreed to supply local volunteers and someone to manage the operation after the set-up team left. A crew of eight prisoners assisted in cleaning the area and helped
John sorted and organized the items already in the building. Several truck-loads of donated goods were transferred from the Methodist Distribution Center after it closed—the idea being to have all building supplies under one roof. By Aug. 22, Elaine had a complete report of all the things in the warehouse ready for presentation at the weekly AIDNET meeting!
Finding a local Adventist to manage the warehouse after the set-up team left was proving difficult, but Bob East persisted, and produced Jim Clayburn, a retired teacher and member of the Greenville Adventist Church, who came and looked at the project and agreed to take over the operation after some training and on-the-job experience. Jim ran things until the warehouse finally closed and received special commendation from AIDNET for his service.
Again, ACS DR’s reputation for organization and accountability resulted in being the “ go-to” organization for donations management.
It is interesting that just being trained and experienced isn’t always enough. God always provides opportunities, and often miracles, to help us serve His hurting children. He always provides the people needed to accomplish His will, if we are willing to be a part of His team. Anyone willing to become a worker in this field is invited to join ACS DR.
However, after several weeks, the Methodists wanted to close the operation down. There was, however, still a need to have a location where the building supplies that were just then beginning to come into the area could be sorted, inventoried, and stored for use by the volunteers who were coming in to help with rebuilding the homes that had been destroyed or damaged. AIDNET, the Long-term Recovery Committee for Greene County decided to ask the Adventists to help.
On Aug. 10, chaplain Jan Lefferts, of Takoma Regional Hospital and Treasurer of AIDNET, called Terry Haight, ACS DR coordinator for the Georgia-Cumberland Conference (GCC), and asked if a set-up team could come for about two weeks and organize things there and train local people to carry on after the team left. Haight agreed, and he and Henry Beaulieu, GCC warehouse specialist, met with the AIDNET people and discussed how the operation would be run. AIDNET agreed to cover the costs of the operation, including travel and housing expenses, and Takoma Hospital provided meals for the team.
Space had already been obtained at a huge warehouse located on Industrial Road. The building had no office space, but Jeff Idell, a Baptist and owner of a local construction company, provided a construction office trailer, the Red Cross provided computers, and AIDNET purchased a copy of Quickbooks and a copy/FAX machine, and we were in business. Joining us as part of the team were John and Elaine Veldhuizen, who served as floor manager and office manager, respectively. Bob East, northeast Tennessee regional coordinator, also joined us and agreed to supply local volunteers and someone to manage the operation after the set-up team left. A crew of eight prisoners assisted in cleaning the area and helped
John sorted and organized the items already in the building. Several truck-loads of donated goods were transferred from the Methodist Distribution Center after it closed—the idea being to have all building supplies under one roof. By Aug. 22, Elaine had a complete report of all the things in the warehouse ready for presentation at the weekly AIDNET meeting!
Finding a local Adventist to manage the warehouse after the set-up team left was proving difficult, but Bob East persisted, and produced Jim Clayburn, a retired teacher and member of the Greenville Adventist Church, who came and looked at the project and agreed to take over the operation after some training and on-the-job experience. Jim ran things until the warehouse finally closed and received special commendation from AIDNET for his service.
Again, ACS DR’s reputation for organization and accountability resulted in being the “ go-to” organization for donations management.
It is interesting that just being trained and experienced isn’t always enough. God always provides opportunities, and often miracles, to help us serve His hurting children. He always provides the people needed to accomplish His will, if we are willing to be a part of His team. Anyone willing to become a worker in this field is invited to join ACS DR.
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