After an EF-4 tornado devastated the Arkansas towns of Mayflower and Vilonia, Nabholz employees joined together to help their neighbors in need. In less than four days, employees from five states gathered enough supplies—all donations from individual employees and their families—to fill a 25-foot trailer and delivered them directly to victims in Vilonia on Friday morning. Extra supplies (yes, there were extras!) were delivered to donation sites in Mayflower and Vilonia. The donations are still coming in and will be delivered to our neighbors in Mayflower.
Several of our people live in neighborhoods that were impacted or have friends and family who do. One in particular, Wellness Coordinator Samantha Nealey from Vilonia, has been working tirelessly since the storm hit to coordinate our relief efforts, along with the help of Tina Davis and many others. Here is Sam’s account of the days following the storm:
In 2011 when the last storms hit, I was a student at ATU [Arkansas Tech University], living in Russellville. I couldn’t get home to Vilonia for at least a week. I felt extremely helpless in the recovery and relief effort besides a small amount of cash I was able to donate. Sunday night, as I watched the chaos unravel, I knew I had the resources (access to a large group of kind, generous people) to do something. Monday morning, Tina and I sat down and composed an email to be sent out to the company asking for basic, essential items. Tuesday, I took a day off to help family friends clean up what was left of four homes. My hometown was unrecognizable. My heart felt like it was literally in pieces for all of those not only suffering material loss, but human loss as well. Because I was on the front lines that day, I was able to see that the needs in the community were great and vast. I sent another email, adding things to our original list. The donations started coming in. By Thursday, Tina and I were able to take the donated cash and gift cards and buy items we knew could be of use. Our Rogers office also sent a truck and trailer of donations for us to deliver. Friday morning, guys from our equipment department loaded all of the supplies into a gooseneck trailer. Sammy Duncan drove us and the trailer with his own truck, while a convoy of Nabholz employees followed. We were able to hand deliver a lot of our goods to an area that had not been reached and had no transportation to go to a donation site. It was extremely rewarding to be able to meet face to face with these people. Despite the devastation, spirits were high.
We are so proud to have people like Sam, Tina, and the countless others who have donated their time and treasure to help those in need and we thank them all for their kindness and generosity.
Organizations like the American Red Cross in Arkansas and United Way of Central Arkansas still need donations as they help the people of Mayflower and Vilonia rebuild. To donate, follow the links below.
