Published: September 02, 2008 03:34 am            

Labor of Love

Red Cross crew drives from California to lend a hand

PALESTINE — When disaster threatens to disrupt lives, national American Red Cross volunteers like Bob Kawka and Frank Forsey are apt to drop what they were doing and step up to help.

Kawka and Forsey, both retired educators, drove an emergency response vehicle from San Bernardino, Calif., to Texas as part of the California ARC response to Hurricane Gustav, arriving at the Palestine Civic Center late Monday morning.

“We were re-directed twice,” said Kawka, who did the bulk of the driving while Forsey navigated. “The first spot was outside San Antonio, then it was head to Tyler. We got to Tyler and were there approximately 24 hours and we got the call to come down here.

“We’ll pre-position here for awhile until the storm actually gets through probably and they’re going to move us where they need us.”

The ERV, a refitted ambulance, can be used as a command center for radio communications, to serve meals or as an emergency ambulance or truck, Kawka said. It was one of 25 sent to assist where needed.

One of the ways they meet storm victims’ needs is by issuing “Cat Cards,” a type of credit card with a pre-set limit and with limitations of what may be purchased, Forsey said.

“The money is to buy food and clothing, etcera,” Forsey said. “The grand total is what we put on there. That’s what they’re supposed to buy. But they’re adults. They cannot buy alcohol and cigarettes.”

This isn’t the first time either Kawka or Forsey have left home for days at a time to help with disasters. They deployed during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and also during the San Bernardino fires earlier this year.

“The fires would move fast and it was real hard to keep track of where the shelter was because the next thing you know, here comes another 1,000 to 2,000 people,” Kawka said.

“It’s been pretty exciting at times. We’re not first responders. We’re support people.”

Over the years of working with the American Red Cross, they’ve seen the working relationships between agencies begin to improve.

“We’re all finding out that working together — various entities, various agencies, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the Southern Baptists — all of us working together, we can handle an enormous amount of disaster,” Kawka said. “It’s because of the generosity of the American people, going out of their way and sharing. It’s just awesome.

“We get to see all that in action. We don’t just read about it and say, oh yeah, that was interesting.”

The organization of the Anderson County emergency management community stacks up well with other events where they’ve been, Kawka said.

“The local people here are absolutely awesome,” Kawka said. “In fact, they’re disgustingly prepared. It’s like, why do they need us? They’ve gone the extra effort.”

“Even the Baptist church,” Forsey interjected, referring to Dogwood Hills Baptist Church. “They’ve built that building ... to work for a hurricane. They have showers in it.

“We take our hats off to them. They’re organized.”

“They are to be totally commended,” Kawka added.

Although both men retired from careers in education, their strengths lie in post-event needs, with Kawka specializing in shelter management, particularly in bulk distribution warehousing, and Forsey in assessing the damage left behind.

But learning to handle young personalities in the classroom left them well-suited for dealing with the public under duress, said Forsey.

“Most people, when they retire, don’t want to do what they did when they were working. I taught kindergarten. That was a disaster about every hour,” Forsey said, laughing. “I’ll tell ya, once you teach school, whatever field, you learn a lesson. Not everybody has a father or mother, and when a disaster hits, it’s even worse.

“We just like to make the kids’ lives a little better, and the parents, also. They’ve got enough to contend with.”

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Beth Foley may be contacted via e-mail at bfoley@palestineherald.com

        

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