Jim and Jase Reid tell of partnering with community to provide relief efforts
Published 9:31 pm Friday, October 25, 2024
Commissioner Jim Reid and his son, Jase Reid, gave an interview recently about how they and Reid Brother’s Irrigation responded in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Jim Reid told how it was a community effort. “It’s not about us. This community came together to support the communities that were hit.”
He gave his reaction to the aftermath of the Hurricane. “We woke up Friday morning and we were relieved that we were not damaged, and then our hearts went out to the people that were damaged and then everybody wanted to do something.”
Jase Reid told how he learned of the aftermath from Gunner Jackson. “There’s a guy [in] Hazlehurst Georgia that we do business with, and we knew it was hit hard.”
He responded quickly. “I reached out to him on Friday, and on Saturday, he got back with me, and that’s when we started hauling our first loads over there.”
Jase Reid detailed the supplies they took. “We took generators, we took formula, we took diapers, we bought out Walmart in Americus, Walmart in Perry, and half of Walmart in Warner Robbins.”
Jim Reid told how a friend of his in Douglas, Rodney Miller, was able to get cell service despite a lack of power, making a post showing the damage to his farm. “He posted and I reached out to him, and he said we need water. He said we need bottled water.”
Jim Reid told how they acquired it. “We bought all the water that Joel Veatch at Piggly Wiggly had.” He also told how they cleaned out Food Lion.
Jim Reid told how he alerted others to the needs on Facebook. “They wanted to send money on Venmo. Well, my niece, my brother’s oldest daughter, had a Venmo account, so she posted her account. She got over $8,000 donated to her.” He told how he went to SAMs afterwards and brought supplies by the carton.
With the influx of donations, a lack of boxes was a problem. He alerted the manager at Fresh Plants. “I called Phil Hart, he’s the manager out there. They have their own box making machine. He made us forty boxes. We had forty boxes within thirty minutes.” Jim Reid told how they organized the donations. “So then my men sat out here and they grouped the stuff and labeled the boxes.”
Jim Reid detailed the supplies they bought in addition to the goods that were donated. “We went to Sam’s. They needed baby diapers. They needed baby formula. We bought every box of baby formula that Sam’s had on the shelf.”
Jim Reid told how they discovered a need for bread to go with peanut butter donated by Georgia Peanut. He told how Joel Veatch went to the Ellaville Piggly Wiggly for bread, and David Jordan, working for Flowers Bakery, was able to provide 173 flats of bread at a greatly reduced price.
Jim Reid gave his reaction to seeing so many people partner with him to provide relief. “I took it as a compliment because the people trusted us. They realized that we were going to make sure the stuff was going to get in the right hands, and it was not going to be abused or wasted.”
Jase Reid shared his experiences supplying water. “Hazlehurst was bad. It reminded me a lot of hurricane Michael. But then when I started hauling water to Douglas, it was so bad that I couldn’t even get in there with a semi-truck, so I was staying on the outskirts, dropping water off.”
A week later he was able to bring water to the G. W. Carver Gymnasium. He told what the town was like. “You had single-wide trailers laid on their side, you had trees through houses, you had tarps everywhere, no electricity, it was like you went into a third world country almost.” He recounted the gratitude he received, telling how everyone who passed the truck made a point of thanking him.
Jase Reid talked about how the need was especially strong in the smaller cities. “It was like the smaller towns, like Hazlehurst, Soperton, they were kind of getting jumped over because everybody was trying to go to the big cities to get them back up and running.”
He told of another small community outside of Hazlehurst called Snipesville. “I took a load of potable water down there, about 6,500 gallons, and a lady came up to me and she said ‘I would give you a hug, but I haven’t had a bath since Thursday.’”
Jim Reid told he had contacted Pete Gelber and Andre Coen with Barrington Dairy, about their need for water. He told how they sanitized a milk tanker, which was what Jase Reid had used to deliver the water. Jim Reid told how they received donations from so many based on their ability to give, both large and small. “The smallest check was $10. The largest check was $10,000.” He told how the donations totaled over $70,000. He summed up everyone’s mindset. “Everybody just gave what they could.”
Jim Reid credited Stephen Perry, manager of the local Gas N Go’s, and David Miller, owner of the NAPA and ACE Hardware store, for their help getting water. He noted that Miller’s employes donated a pallet of water. Jase Reid praised Perry. “Stephen helped us out tremendously.”
Jim Reid also credited Lowes of Americus for their help in the relief efforts. Matt Berry was credited for helping with transportation. A church in Mississippi also provided relief. Jim Reid recounted so many who gave, he expressed concern that someone might be left out.
He told how he thought people were dealing with a mixture of relief and responsibility after the storm, recalling the reaction of EMA director Fire Chief Jerry Harmon. “Everybody felt the responsibility to help those that were in need, that were hit. Because, as you heard the Chief say, [the] reason the TV station stayed here Thursday night, that was supposed to be us.”