Last Wednesday evening, an unexpected rainstorm hit our campus and dumped many inches of rain in just under an hour. The storm drains on Myrtle had a hard time keeping up which unfortunately, caused 6 of our patio homes to sustain some water damage from flooding, as well as numerous trees were downed across campus in addition to some additional flooded areas. Pictures of the flooding and downed trees were posted on social media so you may have seen them, or you may have taken a walk around campus to see the damage for yourself.
What you may not have seen was the fast and coordinated teamwork of our engineering and maintenance “First Responder” team, our environmental specialists, our security team, our grounds team as well as residency counselor, Jonathan Gibbs and management team consisting of Mitch Bradshaw, facilities director, Mark Winn, assistant director of facilities and Don Bergem, assistant director of security and grounds.
Mark Winn had the foresight years ago, to develop the engineering, environmental services and maintenance first responders that would respond in the event of any campus emergency. It was these fast-acting teams, under the oversight of Mark, that appear to have been able to prevent additional damage to the patio homes as well as other areas of campus. The crews were busy most of the night assessing for damage, moving furnishings and rugs, assisting with water extraction, unhooking electrical equipment, locating, and setting up fans to assist in drying the wet areas.
While they were doing that, Jonathan, Mark, and security were preparing and assisting in relocating residents from the patio homes into guest rooms and vacant apartments here on campus. While one never wants to leave their home, the residents appreciated having clean, dry, and warm apartments to sleep in that night. What many may not know is that Mark had a hidden talent which was revealed when he shared with me, his deep appreciation to his mom for teaching him how to make a bed with “hospital corners.” I am sure the exhausted residents appreciated it as well.
At the same time, Don Bergem and his grounds crew were locating, securing, and removing the downed trees across campus. According to Don, we lost six mature trees mostly in Central Park and one newer tree in the patio home area. Don also reported there was some damage to a carport from a downed tree and thankfully the vehicle under the carport was not damaged.
Mitch was working with residents and families regarding damage, relocation and assisted anywhere he was needed. He also kept in touch with senior management during the evening, keeping us apprised of damage, any needs so we could work remotely to ensure the staff and residents needs were met. Mitch will have a better understanding of the extent of the damage on Monday after baseboards and moisture tests reveal if there is damaged drywall and flooring. Replacements will be ordered and we hope to have our displaced residents back in their homes as soon as possible.
On behalf of all of us on campus, I would like to thank all of the staff that worked tirelessly Wednesday night, Thursday and through the weekend as well as thank the residents for their patience and cooperation in dealing with the flood and temporary relocation. We know this hasn’t been easy but we appreciate everyone coming together for the good of Beatitudes. I am once again reminded of how special the people on this campus are and how blessed I am to be a part of the Beatitudes Family.
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