Special offer

"Florida people" helping "my people"

By
Property Manager with AmeriTeam Property Management SL#3200658
Maybe it's a good thing...maybe it's a bad thing. Maybe it's both, maybe it's neither. Call it what you will, but "home" is where the heart is- and "my people" are "my people". I've been around the world (both literally and figuratively) and lived in a number of places. My physical home's changed a good number of times- and I've even grown so attached to some communities that I've thrown caution into the wind and called them home. But in the nearly 24 years since I left Alabama for the Navy on May 18th, 1987, Alabama people have remaned (and will forever remain) "my people".

It's a biased opinion, of course- but it's the only one I've got: Alabama and her people are some of the toughest, strongest, hardest-working folks around. But they're also the sweetest, kindest, most loving and most giving people on the planet. "My people" have heart- and while the heart's breaking for many these days, it remains strong and will come back.

Resilience is something "my people" are known for, and that ability to bounce back will be aided by good folks like the following- who'll be headng out from my current "home" here to make a world of difference in the lives of some of "my people".

May God bless Bob Caldwell and all who join in his efforts- and may God continue to bless the great state of Alabama and her people.

Realtors respond to Ala. tornado tragedy

DECATUR, Ala. – May 5, 2011 – A small Alabama city was almost destroyed by F5- and F4-rated storms, and Realtors from Florida plan to help. Floridians understand the destruction nature can unleash, and a handful of men and women will spend a week at the end of May helping residents near Decatur, Ala., rebuild and restock.

Alabama was hit by tornados that left hundreds of people dead and thousands of buildings demolished. Some towns were almost completely destroyed, and at least one real estate agent died during the storm.

“Alabama Association of Realtors’ EVP Danny Cooper has coordinated Realtor volunteers who want to come to Alabama,” says Bob Caldwell, a Realtor from Altamonte Springs near Orlando who is heading the Florida relief effort. “When we called to offer help, he set us up with the Morgan/Lawrence County Association of Realtors, which serves parts of a three-county area near Decatur.” Caldwell says he’s now working directly with the local association’s president, Patti Lambert.

Caldwell plans to leave on May 21 with anyone who wishes to go along, and he’s accepting donations for the residents of Alabama.

“So far, we have six volunteers confirmed and a few more trying to work out the details,” says Caldwell. “The Realtors from the Decatur area will open their homes to us, so lodging is provided. We’ll leave Saturday, May 21, and return Friday, May 27; but anyone who can volunteer for only a day or two is more than welcome – there’s plenty of work to go around. We’ll be removing debris, repairing homes that weren’t destroyed, and distributing food and clothing to the surrounding area, which is very rural.”

Donate supplies

“Generators are in big demand,” says Caldwell. However, other supplies are also needed, including:

• Gift cards for Lowes or Home Depot • Water and nonperishable food that does not have to be cooked • Blankets and bedding supplies • Toys for children, such as coloring books, crayons or stuffed animals • Prepaid phone cards • Diapers and baby supplies • School supplies: backpacks, paper, pencils, etc. • Gently used clothing

To travel with fellow Realtors to Alabama or to donate supplies, contact Bob Caldwell by emailing him at bcaldw1030@aol.com or calling his cell phone at (321) 228-4564.

Supplies can also be sent directly to the Morgan/Lawrence County Association of Realtors in care of Patti Lambert’s agency: RE/MAX Platinum, 2699 Sandlin Road, Decatur, AL 35601.

Donate money

The Alabama Association of Realtors® Disaster Relief Fund is also taking donations to help the state’s Realtors.

According to Cindy Denney, president of the Tuscaloosa Association of Realtors, some members suffered major losses. One independent brokerage lost its offices. “But they found all their files intact in the rubble,” she says.



Posted by
 
DENNIS B. BURGESS
Property Manager

Licensed Florida Realtor
 
AmeriTeam Property Management
845 N. Garland Ave., #200
Orlando, FL  32801
 
 
 
205-445-4755 cell/direct
407-901-3636 x103 office
407-901-5147 office fax
 
Turning vacant into occupied, and "houses" into "homes"SM
 

Comments (4)

Gwynn Carpenter
Gwynn Teal Carpenter-Broker: Home and Hearth Realty (Austin) - Austin, TX
: Broker, Home & Hearth Realty (512)467-6191

Dennis:  I understand when you say "My People" although you've been gone a number of years.  I feel the same way when I think of folks from the country.....you can place a woman in the city but the Country Soul still lingers.  Bless all who have responded to the need of Alabama and may the hands of God surround those who are in need.

May 06, 2011 10:52 PM
Dennis Burgess
AmeriTeam Property Management - Mid Florida, FL
Orlando Property Manager and Realtor

Hi, Gwynn:  Thank you for your comment and sentiment.  Literally as I write this, my sister, brother-in-law and a few friends are out distributing nearly a semi-truck full of relief supplies to a few of the harder-hit areas of northeast Alabama.  One tornado deposited some trees on my mother's house- and Mother's Day will most likely be day 12 without power.  But as with the rest of my family, they're safe.  They join many, many others in doing the most and best they can wherever they can.  It's all about those that fared better helping those that didn't.  It's rarely good (in my opinion- which is the only one I have) to name other folks in your blog without notifying them ahead of time- so it should be done wisely.  Since they're out hustling, I'll not bother them- but I'll go ahead and use this forum to simply ask God's blessings upon my sister, Shaney Stover and my brother-in-law, Marty Stover.  It's a compliment about him through Him, but folks in the small communities of Hayden, Fultondale, Gardendale, Mt. Olive and others have long known him by name as one they can depend on to help them in any time of need.  The only difference now is that he needs others to step up and do their part- and they will.

May 07, 2011 06:17 AM
Rob Arnold
Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. - Altamonte Springs, FL
Metro Orlando Full Service - Investor Friendly & F

Got your message from last night.  Thanks for posting about this.  My office is right across the hallway from Bob Caldwell so if anyone does contact you about this, they are welcome to simply stop by here and bring stuff and I will make sure it gets loaded on the trailer headed to Alabama.

May 08, 2011 09:02 AM
Dennis Burgess
AmeriTeam Property Management - Mid Florida, FL
Orlando Property Manager and Realtor

Hi, Rob:  Thank you for your comment, and for both your and Bob's efforts.  I'll try and get in touch with you some time this week.  My cousin Rick has a radio show  called The Rick and Bubba Show (at www.rickandbubba.com), and I want to learn some more specifics on the drive here.  Their show is out of Birmingham, but is heard on over 50 stations- including WQRV 100.3 "The River" in Huntsville that covers Decatur nearby.  If it may be of benefit (no pun intended), I might be able to get on the air back there.  In the interim, they're spearheading a thing called the Make Your Move Benefit (www.makeyourmovebenefit.com) this coming Friday night.  It will include some acts like Contemporary Christian group Third Day.  I hope folks support it, too.

May 08, 2011 09:51 AM