April 18, 2025 • 17 mins
Kat Carlton stepped into her role as Executive Director of United Way of Henderson County on October 1st—just days after Hurricane Helene devastated the region on September 27th. What followed was an extraordinary demonstration of leadership, community mobilization, and innovative problem-solving that helped Henderson County navigate its darkest hours.
"We didn't have power and internet at our office for a month," Kat explains in this powerful conversation. Yet despite these fundamental challenges, she and her team created manual systems that kept vital information flowing. They established physical routes to deliver updates to fire stations throughout the county, launched a landing page for nonprofits to coordinate resources, and—perhaps most remarkably—mobilized over 1,000 volunteers in just the first month after the disaster.
The conversation reveals the evolution from emergency response to long-term recovery through the Disaster Recovery Partnership, which now unites over 50 organizations working collaboratively to rebuild Henderson County. This partnership, fiscally sponsored by United Way, creates a streamlined experience for residents seeking help while preventing duplication of services—a crucial efficiency when resources are stretched thin.
What shines brightest throughout Kat's story is the spirit of her community. "Neighbors helping neighbors is really the core of our community," she reflects, noting how consistently people asked one simple question: "How can I help?" United Way's role in creating structured pathways for that generosity demonstrates why organized humanitarian response matters in crisis situations. As Kat emphasizes, the recovery work continues as a marathon, not a sprint, with their Days of Caring events in May already attracting hundreds of eager volunteers.
Want to support Henderson County's ongoing hurricane recovery? Visit liveunitedhc.org to donate, volunteer, or access resources if you've been affected by the disaster.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The George Real Estate Group radio broadcast is
celebrating 10 years on WHKP.
The George Real Estate Group iscelebrating 10 years on the
radio live every Thursdaymorning at 10.05 on WHKP 107.7
FM and AM 1450 and streamingonline at WHkpcom.
(00:24):
Each Friday morning at 845,.
The George Real Estate Grouppresents the Hometown Hero Award
to someone in our community whogoes above and beyond to make
our hometown a better place tolive.
Here's this week's HometownHero Show.
Hometown Hero Show.
It's 845 and time now for ourGeorge Real Estate Group
(00:47):
Hometown Heroes Salute and everyFriday morning get to talk with
my friend Noah George and someof the leaders in our community
also, and I belatedly get towish you a happy birthday, sir.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
A lot to be thankful for.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Well, and I haven't seen you since the.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Masters either.
Well, right what I mean.
A lot has happened, no, I know,in the last week.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
We get to uh gather every friday morning kind of
recap the week, and and uh, wealso take a little time to kind
of recap the real estate markettoo, right?
No, noah, well, we do.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
And again, we're so grateful to sponsor the Hometown
Heroes series here every Fridaymorning and meeting and sharing
with our listeners incrediblestories about men and women
serving this community.
And we're so grateful to servethe community through real
estate.
This is my 20th year with mybroker's license and just so
grateful.
We've helped over 1,500families with their real estate
(01:44):
needs throughout the years, andjust we're grateful.
The markets, you know, overthose 20 years the real estate
market is evolving.
There's an ebb and flow,there's ups and downs, but guess
what?
The thing that never changes islife goes on.
Therefore, real estate goes onand people are buying and
selling, regardless of theinterest rates, regardless of
the economy, because housing isessential in what we call home
(02:07):
and it could be a reallypositive reason why someone's
buying or selling, or it couldbe a challenging reason, but you
know people are still movingahead.
We had three open houses thispast Sunday and every single one
of them was packed.
We even had multiple offers onone of the houses.
I mean the market's moving.
Great great, great.
And the prices are.
They were softening a littlebit.
(02:28):
The average single family homeprice in Henderson County right
now is $544.
Softened a little bit, itpeaked out at one point at $551.
But we're still.
The last two years we've beenholding steady at about 125
single family homes a monthselling in Henderson County.
But just to give a snapshot, inthe last seven days there's 56
new listings but there's 57homes that went under contract.
(02:50):
So there's a pretty balancedeffect happening in Henderson
County right now.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Well, I mean, after all, it is Henderson, it is
Hendersonville, come on.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
And I would just encourage people, be careful.
When you see the news that saysthe sky is falling, I mean,
like, just take that with agrain of salt.
You know every market'sdifferent, every community's
different, and I got to sayHenderson County and Buncombe
County.
I mean the market is veryhealthy, it's strong.
Of course it's not what it was,but it's still at a very
sustainable, healthy pace.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
And you guys have your hands on the pulse of real
estate all around Western NorthCarolina and Upstate South
Carolina right?
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Well, that's right.
We do North Carolina andUpstate South Carolina.
So if you're thinking of buyingor selling or investing in real
estate, or want to talk aboutyour investments or tax
strategies or giving strategiesin regards to real estate, we
can have that conversation.
But we're grateful to serve thecommunity.
Find us online atrealestatebygregcom, follow us
on social media or call usdirectly at 828-393-0134.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Noah and I work together on getting guests in
for our Hometown Hero series,and our guest today is one
person that you have chosen Wellactually I was going to let the
nominator the nominator,Larissa Griffin, is here from
United Way.
(04:13):
Hey, Larissa.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Hey, randy, good morning.
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
It's a pleasure to have you.
We really appreciate it.
How about you introducing ourGeorge Real Estate Group,
hometown hero?
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Yes, well, it is my honor to um.
This morning's hometown hero iskat carlton from united way of
henderson county.
She's the executive directornow and I'll let her tell you
more about herself good morningkat thank you.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Good morning, how are you?
I am well.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Thank you, what a beautiful day amen to that and a
beautiful easter weekend comingup, so thank you so much for
coming in here today.
Uh, noah and I get to meet alot of great people in our
community, and especially soafter the storm.
We we just have lots and lotsof heroes to honor during.
Uh, that did so much during thestorm right.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
it was a remarkable experience, I think, for
everybody and for the community,but for someone like yourself
in the leadership role and somany people looking to what you
do and Larissa was like we haveto nominate Kat for all that she
did specifically, I mean in theface of the storm and
everything.
But let's back up.
How long have you been servingas executive director there?
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Executive director.
I've been serving since October.
Congratulations.
October 1st was my first day.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Talk about stepping into something, and then, what
was the date of the storm?
Speaker 4 (05:33):
September 27th Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
But you were the interim acting director during
the storm right.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
Yeah, rob and Morgan, our director of finance, and
myself were interims for the sixmonths prior.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
And.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
I've served United Way of Henderson County since
August of 2019.
So I've been there for six years.
I've lived in Henderson Countyfor over a decade from Saluda to
Edneyville.
I used to serve through ManorFood Bank and I was really
(06:09):
amazed by United Way ofHenderson County's approach to
community partnership andsupport the neighbors and the
community.
And I came on board in 2019 andhave been participating in
different roles at theorganization and so when the
executive director opportunitycame in, I applied for that
position and I was reallyprivileged to earn that, and it
(06:33):
was supposed to start on October1st and we all know what
happened on September 27th.
Fortunately, I had therelationships and partnerships
and phone numbers in my phonebecause, as we all know, we were
walking trying to find a spotto have one bar of reception
maybe, if phone works, to callpeople, to make connections and
feel, figure out what was goingon.
(06:55):
And our mission to organize andmobilize community resources to
improve the lives of HendersonCounty residents was more
important than ever and westarted organizing and
mobilizing resources from dayone In the first month after the
storm, just to recap kind ofwhat October looked like and we
can get to where we are today.
(07:15):
But you know, we showed up withemergency management and said
what do you need.
And in that moment they said weneed people to run fire station
routes so that we can getinformation to the fire stations
throughout the county, becauseour technology is not working
and we would meet at the centrallocation each morning and pick
(07:36):
up information sheets from JimmyBrissy and two of our team
members every morning would runto every fire station throughout
Henderson County.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Physically deliver the information.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
We organized the mobilized resources.
When you didn't have technology.
We created a landing page fornonprofits to share who's open
when what resources you havewhat?
Because, while we rely heavilyon 2-1-1 and have a longstanding
partnership with them, whoconnects tens of thousands of
people to resources every year.
That wasn't going to work inthat moment because we didn't
(08:08):
know who was flooded out, wedidn't know who had staff, we
didn't know where supplies was.
So we quickly startedorganizing and mobilizing around
that so that nonprofits knewwho was open and they started
communicating together and wewere sharing with the community.
This is how you get help.
At the same time, the countyreached out and said we need
help with volunteers for ourresource hubs.
(08:29):
We had the six resource hubsfor a while as you remember and
so we launched a volunteerplatform, again with no
technology.
We didn't have power andinternet at our office for a
month, right down on FifthAvenue.
We bought an inverter from twohours away, like three days
before the power turned back on,because we were just like we've
got to figure it out.
But in that first month alonewe mobilized over 1,000
(08:53):
volunteers 1,000 volunteers1,000.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
My gosh.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
I'm blown away.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
Yeah, and I would talk every day with Karen from
the county and she says we gotthe six hubs open.
I need 25 here, I need 25 there, and even the night before we'd
be updating it.
We did calls to action to thecommunity and the community
showed up.
And the community showed updonating supplies and the
community showed up volunteeringand the community showed up in
(09:22):
so many ways and it just shineda light of hope on.
I always knew how incredibleHenderson County was, and we're
here for a reason, right, what abeautiful place to live, work
and play.
Some say right God's country,right, We've always known
Henderson County's incredible,but when you see all your
neighbors, many that that you'vemet some that you've never met
(09:43):
showing up, and there's onequestion I kept being asked
throughout all of that, and itwas how can I help?
Speaker 1 (09:48):
how can I?
Speaker 4 (09:49):
and it was our responsibility to figure out the
answer to that question andgive them a way to help, because
the organizing and mobilizingof those volunteers and of those
donors and supplies.
There's all this good intentand you have to create a path
for it to help people and meetthem where they are, and that's
what we've really worked to doover the last six months.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
I mean, it's a powerful example and, again, a
reflection of the community thatwe live in and people wanting
to come together and help andpeople that we heard story after
story of people themselves hadlost so much, but they were the
ones showing up to volunteer aswell.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Yes, yes, it's neighbors helping neighbors.
It's really the core of ourcommunity and I'm very proud of
where we live and the wayeveryone has shown up.
And then there's a lot ofgroups that have come in to help
in different ways from outsidethe community.
And then there's our nonprofitsthat have been here before the
storm and will be here afterthat, have all doubled down and
(10:45):
are still at 200% to servepeople, because the work is so
far from being done right nowand we are committed here for
the long haul.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
You're right, we're just it's a marathon.
It really is, and we findpeople new in need every day.
Uh, you are involved in aprogram called disaster recovery
partnership.
Is that right?
Speaker 4 (11:07):
yes, sir, tell us about that yeah, you know, when
you, the first phase is afterdisasters, that response and
that emergency response, and Iwant to give kudos um that I
could do every hour hour to ourEMS and to our county management
and our first responders.
John Mitchell and Chris Todd andJimmy Brissy and everyone that,
(11:27):
everyone in the county.
That didn't matter what yourjob was before the storm.
Your job was to serve in thehighest needs right after and we
plugged in where they said theyneeded the most help.
After the emergency responsephase, it really moves to the
long-term recovery and it's thecoordination of the nonprofits
that are here, the groups fromoutside.
(11:50):
There's incredible differentchurch groups that have all come
in and they each have adifferent skilled trade and
expertise and there's a lot ofcoordination to make it so that
you can help one individual havea streamlined experience to
help make them whole againwithout having to answer the
same questions every single timefrom every single organization
and try to manage themselves howto put their house back
(12:11):
together.
It's incredible.
But one group will do studs anddrywall and another does roof,
and another provides food andanother and it's amazing but
there's a quite a bit oflogistics and organization to
make that as seamless of anexperience as possible for the
client and also to connect themwith those resources, and the
disaster recovery partnershipwas created to do just that.
(12:33):
The mission of the disasterrecovery partnership is to unite
and empower henderson countycommunities in the face of
disasters by promoting effectiveinformation sharing,
simplifying access to criticalresources for individuals and
families and collaborativelyaddressing unmet needs.
And as we became moved into thedisaster phase and we learned
(12:55):
from other communities that havehad hurricanes and natural
disasters about what those nextsteps look like, they strongly
encourage we create apartnership between all of these
groups working together, and sowe have over 50 organizations
participating in it right now.
A steering committee wascreated and that steering
(13:15):
committee asked if United Way ofHenderson County would consider
being the fiscal sponsor forthe disaster recovery
partnership.
And we brought that through ourboard and enthusiastically said
yes, we will.
It's a big lift, but it's animportant lift and any new
entity coming in has a hard timegaining access to funding and
(13:35):
having the level ofaccountability and transparency
needed to access resources fromoutside of our region and state
to bring into the community.
And because we have that longhistory, we're able to mobilize
resources faster while thisdisaster recovery partnership is
taking form, and this is thenext iteration of the recovery
efforts.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Yeah, how can?
Speaker 1 (13:56):
people help.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
How can people help People?
Speaker 1 (14:01):
can help by donating by volunteering.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
On our website at liveunitedhcorg, you can click
on Helene Resources if you needhelp, and we have a list of
local resources available in thecommunity, or click on Helene
Response to get an overview ofthe ways we've responded.
We also I have to plug we haveour Days of Caring come up May
9th and 10th, oh that's greatOver 300 volunteers, 25 plus
(14:24):
projects and there's still spotsavailable.
But gosh, they filled quick.
That first two weeks we were80% full.
That's amazing.
People want to lend a hand andwe want to make it easy for you
to plug in.
So go to our website atliveunitedhcorg and you can
learn ways to get involvedFantastic.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
And you can learn ways to get involved.
Fantastic.
We've got about a minute leftand in that minute Noah has a
certificate for you, kat, andsome certificates to area
restaurants and little goodiesthat we want you to take with
you.
And also take with you oursincere appreciation and our
(15:00):
honor to honor you.
It's fantastic what yourorganization has done and
continues to do.
Thank you from the bottom ofour hearts.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
It's amazing.
Again, yeah, thank you foreverything.
And again, your passion, andit's so evident in your
commitment and your desire justto continue to give back into
the community and you were doingit before and now a different,
a whole nother level.
It's exciting.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Thank you for joining us for the George Real Estate
Group Hometown Hero Series.
We'll be back next Fridaymorning with another Hometown
Hero.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
If the story I shared with you stopped you in your
tracks, you're not alone.
People have been asking whathappened next.
Dr Robbins' car had plungedinto a freezing river and, as a
teenager, underwater anddisoriented, she remembered her
survival tip Blow bubbles andfollow them.
They will rise to the surface.
(15:54):
She did, but when she reachedthe top, expecting air, she
slammed into solid ice, Out ofbreath and nearly out of
strength.
She kept moving, desperately,searching for a break, and just
when she thought she couldn't goon, a stranger appeared and
pulled her to safety.
It's a powerful reminder we cando hard things, but we don't
(16:17):
have to do them alone.
At the George Real Estate Group, we're here to help you through
life's transitions, whetheryou're buying, selling or just
trying to figure out your nextmove.
The George Real Estate Group,because the right guide makes
all the difference.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
The George Real Estate Group is located in Flat
Rock, north Carolina, nearHendersonville in Henderson
County.
You can find them online atrealestatebygregcom.
The George Real Estate Groupcan be reached at 828-393-0134
or stop by their office at 2720Greenville Highway, flat Rock,
(16:53):
north Carolina.
Tune in live each week onThursdays at 10 0 5 AM on WHKP 1
0, 7.7 FM and 14 50 AM, orstream online at WHKPcom or
download these podcasts whereveryou get your podcasts.
The George real estate groupbrings you the WHKP hometown
(17:16):
hero series every Friday morningat eight 45.
The George Real Estate Group radio broadcast is
celebrating 10 years on WHKP.
The George Real Estate Group iscelebrating 10 years on the
radio live every Thursdaymorning at 10.05 on WHKP 107.7
FM and AM 1450 and streamingonline at WHkpcom.
(00:24):
Each Friday morning at 845,.
The George Real Estate Grouppresents the Hometown Hero Award
to someone in our community whogoes above and beyond to make
our hometown a better place tolive.
Here's this week's HometownHero Show.
Hometown Hero Show.
It's 845 and time now for ourGeorge Real Estate Group
(00:47):
Hometown Heroes Salute and everyFriday morning get to talk with
my friend Noah George and someof the leaders in our community
also, and I belatedly get towish you a happy birthday, sir.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
A lot to be thankful for.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Well, and I haven't seen you since the.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Masters either.
Well, right what I mean.
A lot has happened, no, I know,in the last week.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
We get to uh gather every friday morning kind of
recap the week, and and uh, wealso take a little time to kind
of recap the real estate markettoo, right?
No, noah, well, we do.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
And again, we're so grateful to sponsor the Hometown
Heroes series here every Fridaymorning and meeting and sharing
with our listeners incrediblestories about men and women
serving this community.
And we're so grateful to servethe community through real
estate.
This is my 20th year with mybroker's license and just so
grateful.
We've helped over 1,500families with their real estate
(01:44):
needs throughout the years, andjust we're grateful.
The markets, you know, overthose 20 years the real estate
market is evolving.
There's an ebb and flow,there's ups and downs, but guess
what?
The thing that never changes islife goes on.
Therefore, real estate goes onand people are buying and
selling, regardless of theinterest rates, regardless of
the economy, because housing isessential in what we call home
(02:07):
and it could be a reallypositive reason why someone's
buying or selling, or it couldbe a challenging reason, but you
know people are still movingahead.
We had three open houses thispast Sunday and every single one
of them was packed.
We even had multiple offers onone of the houses.
I mean the market's moving.
Great great, great.
And the prices are.
They were softening a littlebit.
(02:28):
The average single family homeprice in Henderson County right
now is $544.
Softened a little bit, itpeaked out at one point at $551.
But we're still.
The last two years we've beenholding steady at about 125
single family homes a monthselling in Henderson County.
But just to give a snapshot, inthe last seven days there's 56
new listings but there's 57homes that went under contract.
(02:50):
So there's a pretty balancedeffect happening in Henderson
County right now.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Well, I mean, after all, it is Henderson, it is
Hendersonville, come on.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
And I would just encourage people, be careful.
When you see the news that saysthe sky is falling, I mean,
like, just take that with agrain of salt.
You know every market'sdifferent, every community's
different, and I got to sayHenderson County and Buncombe
County.
I mean the market is veryhealthy, it's strong.
Of course it's not what it was,but it's still at a very
sustainable, healthy pace.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
And you guys have your hands on the pulse of real
estate all around Western NorthCarolina and Upstate South
Carolina right?
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Well, that's right.
We do North Carolina andUpstate South Carolina.
So if you're thinking of buyingor selling or investing in real
estate, or want to talk aboutyour investments or tax
strategies or giving strategiesin regards to real estate, we
can have that conversation.
But we're grateful to serve thecommunity.
Find us online atrealestatebygregcom, follow us
on social media or call usdirectly at 828-393-0134.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Noah and I work together on getting guests in
for our Hometown Hero series,and our guest today is one
person that you have chosen Wellactually I was going to let the
nominator the nominator,Larissa Griffin, is here from
United Way.
(04:13):
Hey, Larissa.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Hey, randy, good morning.
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
It's a pleasure to have you.
We really appreciate it.
How about you introducing ourGeorge Real Estate Group,
hometown hero?
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Yes, well, it is my honor to um.
This morning's hometown hero iskat carlton from united way of
henderson county.
She's the executive directornow and I'll let her tell you
more about herself good morningkat thank you.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Good morning, how are you?
I am well.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Thank you, what a beautiful day amen to that and a
beautiful easter weekend comingup, so thank you so much for
coming in here today.
Uh, noah and I get to meet alot of great people in our
community, and especially soafter the storm.
We we just have lots and lotsof heroes to honor during.
Uh, that did so much during thestorm right.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
it was a remarkable experience, I think, for
everybody and for the community,but for someone like yourself
in the leadership role and somany people looking to what you
do and Larissa was like we haveto nominate Kat for all that she
did specifically, I mean in theface of the storm and
everything.
But let's back up.
How long have you been servingas executive director there?
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Executive director.
I've been serving since October.
Congratulations.
October 1st was my first day.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Talk about stepping into something, and then, what
was the date of the storm?
Speaker 4 (05:33):
September 27th Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
But you were the interim acting director during
the storm right.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
Yeah, rob and Morgan, our director of finance, and
myself were interims for the sixmonths prior.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
And.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
I've served United Way of Henderson County since
August of 2019.
So I've been there for six years.
I've lived in Henderson Countyfor over a decade from Saluda to
Edneyville.
I used to serve through ManorFood Bank and I was really
(06:09):
amazed by United Way ofHenderson County's approach to
community partnership andsupport the neighbors and the
community.
And I came on board in 2019 andhave been participating in
different roles at theorganization and so when the
executive director opportunitycame in, I applied for that
position and I was reallyprivileged to earn that, and it
(06:33):
was supposed to start on October1st and we all know what
happened on September 27th.
Fortunately, I had therelationships and partnerships
and phone numbers in my phonebecause, as we all know, we were
walking trying to find a spotto have one bar of reception
maybe, if phone works, to callpeople, to make connections and
feel, figure out what was goingon.
(06:55):
And our mission to organize andmobilize community resources to
improve the lives of HendersonCounty residents was more
important than ever and westarted organizing and
mobilizing resources from dayone In the first month after the
storm, just to recap kind ofwhat October looked like and we
can get to where we are today.
(07:15):
But you know, we showed up withemergency management and said
what do you need.
And in that moment they said weneed people to run fire station
routes so that we can getinformation to the fire stations
throughout the county, becauseour technology is not working
and we would meet at the centrallocation each morning and pick
(07:36):
up information sheets from JimmyBrissy and two of our team
members every morning would runto every fire station throughout
Henderson County.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Physically deliver the information.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
We organized the mobilized resources.
When you didn't have technology.
We created a landing page fornonprofits to share who's open
when what resources you havewhat?
Because, while we rely heavilyon 2-1-1 and have a longstanding
partnership with them, whoconnects tens of thousands of
people to resources every year.
That wasn't going to work inthat moment because we didn't
(08:08):
know who was flooded out, wedidn't know who had staff, we
didn't know where supplies was.
So we quickly startedorganizing and mobilizing around
that so that nonprofits knewwho was open and they started
communicating together and wewere sharing with the community.
This is how you get help.
At the same time, the countyreached out and said we need
help with volunteers for ourresource hubs.
(08:29):
We had the six resource hubsfor a while as you remember and
so we launched a volunteerplatform, again with no
technology.
We didn't have power andinternet at our office for a
month, right down on FifthAvenue.
We bought an inverter from twohours away, like three days
before the power turned back on,because we were just like we've
got to figure it out.
But in that first month alonewe mobilized over 1,000
(08:53):
volunteers 1,000 volunteers1,000.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
My gosh.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
I'm blown away.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
Yeah, and I would talk every day with Karen from
the county and she says we gotthe six hubs open.
I need 25 here, I need 25 there, and even the night before we'd
be updating it.
We did calls to action to thecommunity and the community
showed up.
And the community showed updonating supplies and the
community showed up volunteeringand the community showed up in
(09:22):
so many ways and it just shineda light of hope on.
I always knew how incredibleHenderson County was, and we're
here for a reason, right, what abeautiful place to live, work
and play.
Some say right God's country,right, We've always known
Henderson County's incredible,but when you see all your
neighbors, many that that you'vemet some that you've never met
(09:43):
showing up, and there's onequestion I kept being asked
throughout all of that, and itwas how can I help?
Speaker 1 (09:48):
how can I?
Speaker 4 (09:49):
and it was our responsibility to figure out the
answer to that question andgive them a way to help, because
the organizing and mobilizingof those volunteers and of those
donors and supplies.
There's all this good intentand you have to create a path
for it to help people and meetthem where they are, and that's
what we've really worked to doover the last six months.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
I mean, it's a powerful example and, again, a
reflection of the community thatwe live in and people wanting
to come together and help andpeople that we heard story after
story of people themselves hadlost so much, but they were the
ones showing up to volunteer aswell.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Yes, yes, it's neighbors helping neighbors.
It's really the core of ourcommunity and I'm very proud of
where we live and the wayeveryone has shown up.
And then there's a lot ofgroups that have come in to help
in different ways from outsidethe community.
And then there's our nonprofitsthat have been here before the
storm and will be here afterthat, have all doubled down and
(10:45):
are still at 200% to servepeople, because the work is so
far from being done right nowand we are committed here for
the long haul.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
You're right, we're just it's a marathon.
It really is, and we findpeople new in need every day.
Uh, you are involved in aprogram called disaster recovery
partnership.
Is that right?
Speaker 4 (11:07):
yes, sir, tell us about that yeah, you know, when
you, the first phase is afterdisasters, that response and
that emergency response, and Iwant to give kudos um that I
could do every hour hour to ourEMS and to our county management
and our first responders.
John Mitchell and Chris Todd andJimmy Brissy and everyone that,
(11:27):
everyone in the county.
That didn't matter what yourjob was before the storm.
Your job was to serve in thehighest needs right after and we
plugged in where they said theyneeded the most help.
After the emergency responsephase, it really moves to the
long-term recovery and it's thecoordination of the nonprofits
that are here, the groups fromoutside.
(11:50):
There's incredible differentchurch groups that have all come
in and they each have adifferent skilled trade and
expertise and there's a lot ofcoordination to make it so that
you can help one individual havea streamlined experience to
help make them whole againwithout having to answer the
same questions every single timefrom every single organization
and try to manage themselves howto put their house back
(12:11):
together.
It's incredible.
But one group will do studs anddrywall and another does roof,
and another provides food andanother and it's amazing but
there's a quite a bit oflogistics and organization to
make that as seamless of anexperience as possible for the
client and also to connect themwith those resources, and the
disaster recovery partnershipwas created to do just that.
(12:33):
The mission of the disasterrecovery partnership is to unite
and empower henderson countycommunities in the face of
disasters by promoting effectiveinformation sharing,
simplifying access to criticalresources for individuals and
families and collaborativelyaddressing unmet needs.
And as we became moved into thedisaster phase and we learned
(12:55):
from other communities that havehad hurricanes and natural
disasters about what those nextsteps look like, they strongly
encourage we create apartnership between all of these
groups working together, and sowe have over 50 organizations
participating in it right now.
A steering committee wascreated and that steering
(13:15):
committee asked if United Way ofHenderson County would consider
being the fiscal sponsor forthe disaster recovery
partnership.
And we brought that through ourboard and enthusiastically said
yes, we will.
It's a big lift, but it's animportant lift and any new
entity coming in has a hard timegaining access to funding and
(13:35):
having the level ofaccountability and transparency
needed to access resources fromoutside of our region and state
to bring into the community.
And because we have that longhistory, we're able to mobilize
resources faster while thisdisaster recovery partnership is
taking form, and this is thenext iteration of the recovery
efforts.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Yeah, how can?
Speaker 1 (13:56):
people help.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
How can people help People?
Speaker 1 (14:01):
can help by donating by volunteering.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
On our website at liveunitedhcorg, you can click
on Helene Resources if you needhelp, and we have a list of
local resources available in thecommunity, or click on Helene
Response to get an overview ofthe ways we've responded.
We also I have to plug we haveour Days of Caring come up May
9th and 10th, oh that's greatOver 300 volunteers, 25 plus
(14:24):
projects and there's still spotsavailable.
But gosh, they filled quick.
That first two weeks we were80% full.
That's amazing.
People want to lend a hand andwe want to make it easy for you
to plug in.
So go to our website atliveunitedhcorg and you can
learn ways to get involvedFantastic.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
And you can learn ways to get involved.
Fantastic.
We've got about a minute leftand in that minute Noah has a
certificate for you, kat, andsome certificates to area
restaurants and little goodiesthat we want you to take with
you.
And also take with you oursincere appreciation and our
(15:00):
honor to honor you.
It's fantastic what yourorganization has done and
continues to do.
Thank you from the bottom ofour hearts.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
It's amazing.
Again, yeah, thank you foreverything.
And again, your passion, andit's so evident in your
commitment and your desire justto continue to give back into
the community and you were doingit before and now a different,
a whole nother level.
It's exciting.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Thank you for joining us for the George Real Estate
Group Hometown Hero Series.
We'll be back next Fridaymorning with another Hometown
Hero.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
If the story I shared with you stopped you in your
tracks, you're not alone.
People have been asking whathappened next.
Dr Robbins' car had plungedinto a freezing river and, as a
teenager, underwater anddisoriented, she remembered her
survival tip Blow bubbles andfollow them.
They will rise to the surface.
(15:54):
She did, but when she reachedthe top, expecting air, she
slammed into solid ice, Out ofbreath and nearly out of
strength.
She kept moving, desperately,searching for a break, and just
when she thought she couldn't goon, a stranger appeared and
pulled her to safety.
It's a powerful reminder we cando hard things, but we don't
(16:17):
have to do them alone.
At the George Real Estate Group, we're here to help you through
life's transitions, whetheryou're buying, selling or just
trying to figure out your nextmove.
The George Real Estate Group,because the right guide makes
all the difference.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
The George Real Estate Group is located in Flat
Rock, north Carolina, nearHendersonville in Henderson
County.
You can find them online atrealestatebygregcom.
The George Real Estate Groupcan be reached at 828-393-0134
or stop by their office at 2720Greenville Highway, flat Rock,
(16:53):
north Carolina.
Tune in live each week onThursdays at 10 0 5 AM on WHKP 1
0, 7.7 FM and 14 50 AM, orstream online at WHKPcom or
download these podcasts whereveryou get your podcasts.
The George real estate groupbrings you the WHKP hometown
(17:16):
hero series every Friday morningat eight 45.
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