The Knoxville-based Boyd Foundation has donated $500,000 to hurricane relief efforts in Johnson County and $1 million each to efforts in Carter, Unicoi and Cocke counties. Foundation members are Randy and Jenny Boyd, Thomas and Lindsey Boyd and Harrison Boyd.
“Jenny and I have friends in each of the counties ravaged by Hurricane Helene,” Randy Boyd said, speaking for the foundation. “So, on Sunday, Oct. 5, we drove to visit with mayors and other community leaders to ask directly what they needed.
“They were inundated with bottled water and paper goods. But their needs were so varied, ranging from barbed wire for cattle fencing to books and computers for schools, to restoring an animal shelter.”
Boyd said the family decided that the best way to help was by donating money to relief efforts in each of the four counties.
“Their needs are hundreds of times greater,” Randy Boyd said. “While no one of us can fix everything, if we all work together, we can do anything! I hope others will join us. As Tennesseans, we take care of each other.”
In Elizabethton, the county seat of Carter County, Jenny and Randy Boyd met with Mayor Patty Woodby. She told them that the town of Hampton had lost its historic high school and that 450 students were now being crammed into an elementary school with a shortage of books and supplies and with no computers.
Of Carter County’s 21 bridges, 14 have been destroyed. Cat Island Park in the city of Elizabethton, which provided tennis courts and ball parks for area residents, is gone. The isolated communities of Elk Mills and Posy are completely cut off and are having supplies brought in by Black Hawk helicopters.
In Johnson County, the Boyds met with Mayor Larry Potter. He told them they need fencing for their farm animals and that their biggest concern is for families without shelter.
In Cocke County, the Boyds were told that 250 homes were deemed “unlivable,” and all local restaurants were closed. The building holding county offices is beyond repair and must be relocated.
While visiting Erwin in Unicoi County, Randy Boyd said the couple discovered that “none have suffered more.” The most pressing problem, he said, is the lack of water treatment. In addition, the community has lost its animal shelter and 60 percent of its industrial park. Eighteen homes are destroyed and 100 more have serious damage. The largest employer is closed indefinitely.
“I think it brings comfort to those suffering to know that others are helping and care for them and that help is on the way,” Randy Boyd said.
The Boyd Foundation provided information and quotes for this report. All of us have a story and I want to tell yours! Send them to susan@knoxtntoday.com.
