Group spearheads relief effort for victims of Hurricane Katrina
Staff reporter
Philanthropist Margaret Mead once said "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever does."
A small group of people at Golden Heritage Foods of Hillsboro, Brent Barkman, Judy Hiebert, and Jacqueline Cusick, heard a calling to help change one corner of the world by organizing relief efforts to victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Instead of sitting around and talking about the tragedy, these individuals inspired others to donate money and time to the relief effort.
Three semi trailers loaded with donated supplies headed Thursday for Comite Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, La.
Many evacuees are being housed in the Baton Rouge area and are in need of basic necessities.
The hurricane was a category five and then weakened to a category four, when it hit the south coast during the early morning hours of Aug. 29. The 200-mph sustained winds wiped out thousands of homes in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
Authorities encouraged residents to evacuate but some of the poor, elderly, and ill could not. When the storm ended, large and small cities were uninhabitable with homes flooded, stores destroyed, and transportation at a standstill.
"The idea started the evening of Aug. 30, but didn't start to materialize until the next morning," said Cusick.
A meeting was held the afternoon of Aug. 31, and the leaders made the announcement to Golden Heritage Foods employees of their intentions of sending semi truck loads of water, diapers, and other necessities to a hurricane relief site.
Twenty-seven hours later, three semis loaded with 4,536 cases of bottled water, 4,320 rolls of toilet paper, 504 packages of baby wipes, and 432 packages of diapers headed for the church relief site.
"We were inspired by God to do this," said Barkman, who is chief executive officer of the company. He said two of them received the same message to help their fellow man.
"You can live without clothes on your back but you can't live without water," Barkman said.
On Thursday evening, before the trucks left the Golden Heritage Foods parking lot, two local ministers offered a prayer service for the drivers and hurricane victims in the south.
Local ministers Steven Humber and Steve Schroeder offered prayers for the safety of the drivers and thanksgiving for leadership in planning this project.
Barkman was one of two drivers of a Golden Heritage Foods truck who drove to and from Baton Rouge, a 1,800-mile trip.
In all, there were five drivers for three trucks. The other trucks were furnished by Suhler Trucking of Lyons, and Mike Casjens of Bowdle, S.D., who also drove his own truck.
Containers Services Inc. and Ag Service Inc., both of Hillsboro, donated funds for items to fill one semi trailer.
Another local driver was Gary Slater of Hillsboro, who shared driving time with Barkman.
"There was a designated drop point at a football stadium," said Slater.
However, one location was changed to a warehouse where forklifts to unload the items and volunteers were available to distribute the items.
Barkman's and Slater's truck was unloaded and distributed in a small community.
"The church we worked with was wonderful and the people were amazing," said Barkman.
An EMS volunteer, Slater said he has assisted with tragedies but knows this will be different.
"The magnitude of this is not something I'm familiar with," Slater said.
A Golden Heritage Foods employee, Slater volunteered as did the other drivers, to do this on their own time.
By the next day, Friday, enough funds had been raised to pay for the first three trucks and a fourth truckload.
"A truck driver from Moundridge called Friday morning and donated a truck and rig," said Cusick.
Golden Heritage Foods employees met the truck driver at Sam's Club of Wichita, loaded it up with supplies, and it headed out Saturday morning.
"Money is the best donation," Cusick said. With the money, items can be purchased on pallets which makes it much easier to load and unload. Otherwise donations of individual items have to be boxed.
County residents have heard a similar call and have come to the aid of the relief drive.
"The response has been incredible," said Cusick.
