A Follow-Up on NATCA's Tornado Relief Efforts
Friday, June 03, 2011


Tornado relief efforts continue across the country; and not just for members, but for the communities in general. Whether it be the middle of Joplin or the outskirts of Birmingham, NATCA members are working hard to help those in need in the disaster zones.

Since the tornado hit Missouri on May 22, Central Region members have been collecting supplies and donations. This week, these crucial items made their way to those affected during two separate delivery runs.

On May 30, Kansas City Center controller (ZKC) and licensed commercial pilot Sarah Owens loaded up a PA30 with NATCA's donated relief supplies. Accompanied by her husband, Jim, who is also a veteran controller at ZKC, Owens flew in gusty conditions to deliver the much-needed supplies to waiting hands at Joplin airport. “The devastation is unbelievable,” said Owens of the mass destruction that could be seen from a distance in the air.

The next day, the relief efforts continued in Missouri as ZKC member Alan MacDonald headed for Joplin in his truck, with a trailer filled with relief supplies in tow. His son and nephew, two future NATCA members (and pictured below), assisted in the delivery and unloading in Carthage, Mo. These supplies had been donated by ZKC members, as well as $1,000 worth of additional items from NATCA Central Region.		      



 
Above: The Owens' fly supplies to
JLN.


Several states away, Southern Region members were hard at work, as well, in efforts to assist the widespread damage across Alabama. On the night of this area's tornado, Birmingham trainee Bobby Sharp gathered a group of friends together to assist survivors of the storm. Meeting up at 7 a.m. the next day, the team headed to Pratt City, one of the hardest hit areas. Though initially stopped by police due to first responders still occupying the area, the group refused to be deterred. While understanding the importance of the rescue mission, the group also knew that the quicker they could get to the survivors, the quicker they could help them. They detoured around the police into the South Hampton neighborhood, and went to work asking families what they could do to help.

“It was a startling sight to see that blocks of homes that I had known to be in existence for years had disappeared almost instantly,” stated Sharp -- a situation especially difficult to grasp for this Pratt City native. Among the piles of wood, nails and glass, he and his fellow volunteers helped individuals rescue important items from the rubble that they would need in order to prove residence and qualify for assistance. Remembering one grandmother they assisted that day, Sharp shared: “It was a gratifying moment for us to see her face light up and smile after such a traumatic and devastating event that had just occurred only hours earlier."
 
A friend stopped by and brought supplies to the group -- items such as juices, baby bottles, chips, water and more -- which were distributed to survivors as they left the area to report to the police command post. The team effort didn’t stop there, however. They took donated supplies to help the people of Tuscaloosa and Holt who were also greatly affected, and volunteered at a school that had become the Disaster Relief Center for the area.

“The work is not even close to being finished,” explained Sharp. “We still have a long way to go…Things will never be the same but my group and I will do whatever we can to make it as close to right as possible.”



Pictured below: Alan MacDonald was assisted in the efforts by son Trevor Macdonald, 16,
and nephew Jeremy Trexler, 20.