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Detria Howlett and family
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| Charles Weaver |
We talk about it all the time in our board meetings: “It’s our ‘mission’ to help others in times of disaster.” But today, there was no time for talk – it was time to act.
So when I received the call from St. Louis Red Cross CEO Cindy Erickson to dust off my vest and come out to help the communications team tell the story of the devastating tornadoes that passed through St. Louis last night, I was game.
Cindy knew of my past as a communications employee with the Red Cross in the 1980s, and like any good chief executive, she knew it was time to leverage whatever I could offer in my current role as a member of the chapter’s board of directors.
So as a way to show the public how its generous contributions to the Red Cross are used to help disaster victims, I joined the disaster assessment team of Pam Hardy, Joanie Knappenberger, and her 18-year-old daughter, Melissa, to visit a few of the hard-hit areas in North St. Louis County. While assessing the damage, the team would inform residents affected by the storm how to access Red Cross services. I heard their stories.
Detria Howlett of Dellwood, was grateful to know that she could access Red Cross services. She said she was watching the NBA playoffs and then the lights started blinking. “Boom! Boom! Boom!, is the way it sounded,” Detria says. And before it was over, a tree had fallen on her home – in a spot where one of her sons would usually be.
“It was an amazing thing to see that tree come through my brick house,” Detria said. “I’m so glad my son wasn’t’ at home.”
The sons of Lydia Davis of Moline Acres were at home when she went out to pick up something from the store. But before she could return, the storm had hit and the tree in her front yard had crashed the top of her home.
“Some neighbors had to pull them out of a side window,” Ms. Davis said. Sporting a red STL Cardinals visor and talking to neighbor Frantella Beasley, whose home had also been destroyed, Lydia Davis was in a positive state of mind.
“We were very fortunate that no one was hurt,” she said. She added that she would be thankful for whatever assistance the Red Cross could provide for her and her family.
The story was the same for Charles Weaver, who escaped the brunt of the 75-year-old gum ball tree in his front yard; it fell sideways and missed his house. Nevertheless, the storm blew off the solar heating panel that was atop his home, and he lost power and suffered damage throughout.
Weaver was thankful, though, to have his nephew, Lamar Lason, an electrician, come over to restore his power. He’ll seek Red Cross assistance as well.
These are just a few examples of area residents who will be turning to the Red Cross for some sort of assistance. They’re able to do so because of the generosity of so many in our community.
Alonzo
Alonzo Byrd is the Assistant Vice President, Corporate Relations, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and a Member of the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter.