A topic that is on all our minds and in the news, Hurricane Helene and Milton. These storms have and will continue to be a threat and disastrous to residents in FL, TN and VA. For those who may not be familiar, Tanya Matthews, from TMG Construction Corporation serves as one of our board members. TMG recently launched a hurricane relief mission that mobilized numerous volunteers to help gather donations, manage logistics, and arrange flights to North Carolina for those affected by Hurricane Helene. Below is an account of what Tanya’s husband, Joe, communicated to the TMG team following their mission. Thank you, Tanya, Joe and the TMG team for their hard work and supporting those in need. All of you are heroes!
Rusty Cook and Joe Matthews made two relief flights to help people suffering in the area of North Carolina that were hit by Hurricane Helene.
In the first flight we moved 700# of relief supplies from Winchester, VA (KOKV) to Statesville, NC (KSVH) and thereafter a second flight in which we moved 750# of relief supplies from Statesville, NC to Ashe County, NC (KGEV). Rusty was the loadmaster, Tanya encouraged us and sent us on our way with great BLT sandwiches and I was the pilot. It was a memorable day to see hundreds of people volunteering to help others in need. Understanding that what we were participating in was a volunteer operation – it was amazing to see the complexity of the logistics that are allowing hundreds of aircraft and relief workers to effectively provide help to people in need. Statesville, NC served as a hub, with a 7,000’ runway that connected nine other smaller airports that have 3,000’ to 5,000’ runways. The day started out at our home base - Winchester, VA where Nick Sabo and his Staff had accumulated donations, which we delivered to Statesville, NC. Thereafter, we were asked to move a load to Ashe County, NC which was nestled in the mountains at 3,200 AGL at a location where the hurricane had done considerable damage. It was heartwarming to see all of good human energy. As a parallel, we got to observe shear craziness at these two airports in which dozens of airplanes and helicopters were coming and going. It felt like being of the flight line of an aircraft carrier. It sounds like things are stabilizing, however there is a need for a couple more weeks of relief work.
