About Us

The moments life presents us with are often defined in a way that is completely ordinary and mundane. However, moments can also add up in such a profound way they become part of something much bigger. The moments that have led me to where I am today have all, in hindsight been ultimately profound. Whether you're a believer in Christ as I am or a higher power or just the natural progression of life, I'm telling you it makes the hairs on my head lift by the sheer thought of the awesomeness of which my life has been directed.The story in which I'm about to tell unfolds itself in such a way I felt it necessary to make this sort of introduction. When hurricane Harvey struck Texas I had no idea the impact it would have on so many lives, the devastation it would cause or the future path it would lead me down. It all started with a Facebook post. I purchased a property in Crockett Texas several years back and one day with the hopes of evenings filled with fishing poles and beer, I purchased an old aluminum Jon boat for $50 at a garage sale and stored it there at that property. Fast forward about a year and 0 fishing trips later, Harvey hits Texas. I was staying at the Hilton Garden Inn in The Woodlands Texas and catching brief news reports here and there about the hurricane so I knew it was getting pretty bad. I was unaware of how bad though. I had this Jon Boat out in Crockett, and after some time I figured somebody could use it. I posted an ad on Facebook seeing if anybody wanted to use it. The only catch was, they had to drive out to Crockett and pick it up and bring it back. After literally hundreds of people responded saying yes please and later realizing Crockett was an hour and a half away and never coming and picking it up, I got turned on to a Zello Channel. It was the north Houston rescue coordination Channel and was the Hub for most of the rescue efforts in North Houston. After realizing, by listening in, that there were people out there needing rescue, my heart and brain went into rescue mode. I drove an hour and half to Crockett and strapped my aluminum jon boat to the back of my truck and headed off on the 2 and a half hour trip back towards the Woodlands. From listening in on the Zello app I got connected with The Crossing Church out of the Woodlands. That next morning I showed up at the church with my boat on the back of my truck, a few life jackets, a cooler of iced waters and one oar. I was ready to rescue some people. At the time of me getting there most rescue operations were in swift water, which my little Jon boat, without a motor, couldn't handle. I waited around about three-quarters of a day before they finally sent me home, as there were no rescues that I could perform in my boat. I showed up the next morning eager to help and they were able to send me out to Sugarland. So I went. During the trip down there I connected with another group of individuals from the Zello app. Moments later we arrive at a point where in normal circumstances would be considered, the shore. After a brief communication with a family, we start launching the boat off to retrieve some forgotten medications from the family’s house. The water was still swift at that time so the journey was perilous and very tiresome. After finding a security alarm yard sign to use as a second oar and Navy Seal-ing (carrying) our aluminum Jon boat across two bridges, we got to their house. I tell you the Heartbreak you feel from taking a family into their house of 30-plus years with three foot of water inside is a feeling I'll never forget. Hours and 2 more bridges crossed later we finally arrived back at "shore".Once we arrived there were constables telling us we had to leave, and after politely voicing my objections, we left. That evening I posted another request on Facebook for a boat motor, and someone was kind enough to say they’d let me borrow theirs. I picked up the motor the next morning and was sent by the church, out to the Memorial area. After doing some reconnaissance on a staging area at the mall and reporting back to the church, I met up with some folks down at Memorial Drive and Tallowood, as it was a launching point for boat rescue. After dragging the boat off of my truck and getting the motor on and loading all the supplies and people onboard, we launch the boat and begin what some might refer to as, “the beginning of a bad day”. Upon launching the boat we soon realized the motor that was supposed to work, did not. About an hour and a hundred or so pulls of the starter cord later, we decide we’ll try to walk the boat to a ladies house in which two cats were trapped inside. The trip was treacherous, the water was a lot more swift than the previous day, the houses were much closer and the horrors were a lot more real. Along the journey we encountered too many sad things, people still trapped, animals floating (some in cages) and total devastation. After helping the stranded people find rescue and what seemed like hours, we make it to the lady’s house and rescue the two persian kitties left behind. When we finally make it back to the boat launch we decide it’s too dangerous to go back out without a motor. After running around trying to find anyone with some mechanical knowledge or a screwdriver, I start hacking away at trying to get my motor to work. I know there’s some video footage out there somewhere that I’d love to see, as there was a film crew out there filming us the whole time. Hours and what seemed like hundreds of starter cord pulls later, I realized, do to the fact that my fingers would get stuck grasping the starter cord, that I was severely dehydrated. So I hang up my hat and go back home feeling parched and discouraged, but hopeful. Later that evening I put out another Facebook post for a different motor, one that absolutely, without a doubt, had to work. Shortly after posting my request, my prayers were answered and someone offered to sell me their motor for $60. I picked up the motor the next day and headed off to Academy Sports and Outdoors to pick up some waders. I felt the waders were necessary because the day before we noticed a large amount of sewage water being released into the flood waters at Memorial. When I arrived at the Memorial boat launch point there were dozens of people waiting around to be ferried out to their houses to retrieve pets, medications and other essentials. I unloaded my boat and got everything ready to set off. After getting everyone loaded up, we set off to discover, this motor didn't work either. 5 pulls of the starter cord later, a little spring inside the motor decided to give up and snapped. After spending a few hours tinkering with my motor, I realized, things just weren't meant to be. It was about that time I started getting more involved with the rescue coordination efforts. I remember someone calling for more boats to come out to the Memorial area and after talking to multiple people onsite, I realized we didn’t need more boats, we had plenty there already. After voicing that fact on the Houston Rescue Coordination Zello channel, I started going around to see if anyone needed my help. It was mere moments later that I started to see people all around beginning to get impatient with the rescuers thinking they were getting skipped in line, so I began to coordinate with others to bring some sort of order to the situation. It was during this time that I remember getting an emergency alert saying that people should not touch anything metal, as someone had died at our location the day before from electrocution by touching a metal pole. I remember a feeling of profound awareness setting in. I had been there the day before, how did I miss someone dying. What if that was me or what if it happens to any of these people around me. I started going around telling anyone who’d listen about the warning I had just received. It was that day I really started feeling the need for better ways to handle disasters. After sticking around to help for a few hours, I decided it best to go home as my health was rapidly deteriorating. The days that followed were somewhat of a blur. There were certain key moments I remember very clearly though. I spent the following weeks coordinating relief. I remember finding a home for 125 hot meals someone was donating to the refugees by tracking down a hotel in the area, who housed flood victims. I was finding warehouses to store donated goods and equipment and house medical triage units. I was tracking down any places offering vaccines for the flood rescue volunteers. I was driving to neighborhoods to verify whether they needed help still.I was coordinating supply drops. I was jumping in anywhere I felt I could help. It wasn’t too long after Harvey hit that I started to build and plan for this site. I don’t know exactly what it was, maybe partially PTSD, partially the burning desire for something better, but I became obsessed with making a way to eliminate as many of the problems that we experienced during Harvey as possible.