News

By Kevin Kidd; Staff Writer

As citizens of Florida continue to piece their lives back together after the devastation of Hurricane Charley, one local woman is helping to deliver thousands of meals to those affected by the storm.

Glenda Boggs of Cedar Hill left for Florida August 13, the same day the hurricane reached landfall with winds of 145 mph. Winds could eventually reach up to 180 mph, causing billions of dollars in damages to homes and businesses.

Boggs, a volunteer with the American Red Cross, made the trip in an Emergency Response Vehicle. She was accompanied by fellow disaster relief volunteer Gerald Ellis of Illinois.

On their way to Florida, the two stopped at a staging area in Alabama. There, the vehicle was stocked full of supplies. When fully equipped, it is capable of holding enough food to distribute more than 600 meals.

Once the vehicle was ready, Boggs and Ellis had to wait out the hurricane at the staging area.

Once the hurricane went through Florida, they took the Emergency Response Vehicle down into Florida to help communities affected by the disaster, said Stephen Hall, American Red Cross spokesman.

Boggs in one of only 80 Red Cross volunteers in the state trained to assist with large-scale disaster relief situations anywhere in the United States.

“They’re specially trained in how to set up shelters and how to take the Emergency Response Vehicle into neighborhoods that have been affected,” said Hall.

Hall added that the battle to return Florida to normalcy has just begun. Many homes are still without electricity, causing residents to go without air-conditioning or refrigerators to keep food from spoiling. He estimates that the relief effort alone will cost more than $50 million.

“It’s the largest storm-related disaster relief operation that we’ve come across since Hurricane Andrew in ’92,” said Hall.

Boggs and Ellis are scheduled to continue to aid in the disaster relief until the beginning of September.

“When they accept a deployment like this, it typically lasts up to three weeks,” said Hall.

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