The unprecedented flooding following Hurricane Harvey has tapped into the strength of our communities and company like never before. We’ve seen favorite couches stiff and ruined on curbs, stores flickering out of power, lives being entirely rewritten—and yet, even as the thunder rolled and the rain fell, there’s been joy at the core of tragedy. At the time Harvey eyed the Texas coast, Lufkin’s own “Thundering 13” eyed the Little League National Championship. Together, these two storms came to embody the heart of Brookshire Brothers and our response to this disaster. From the little leaguers who hail from our corporate “home base” to our big league store directors who held firm in the path of the storm, Texans refused to let Harvey strike out their spirit.

 

 

 

As Harvey prepared to make landfall—the first time—our stores and employee partners across the region prepared to meet community needs. Store directors continually reached out on personal social media channels to let people know that our shelves were stocked with food, water, and any other necessities—regardless of the rush to gather supplies for weathering the storm. Additionally, our pharmacies were available to access and refill prescriptions for customers, regardless of displacement. One of our Katy shoppers put it best when she wrote in to share her appreciation:

 

 

This is the same drive we witnessed in our local Little League team—the Lufkin All Stars, who went on to claim the Southwest Regional championship. These boys essentially gave up their summer to two-a-days and extended Sunday practices. This dedication has consistently been a thread in all the praise surrounding the team, including a congratulatory speech from our own chief executive:

 

 

 

Indeed as the storm wrought destruction across our communities, we’ve witnessed time and time again how our communities never quit. In Katy, one of the first shelters was activated in the early morning hours. Our store opened at 2:00 A.M. so that responders could gather the essentials they needed to welcome their first guests. In Cleveland, as the waters rose, our Pharmacist Brad Smith refused to go home—despite his own battle with leukemia—because his pharmacy was the only one open in a region where the needs were many and the services few. The same can be said of a retired Brookshire Brothers pharmacist in Sour Lake. Randy Richard kept the pharmacy running when floodwaters kept the current pharmacy manager from getting to the store. Richard won’t take all the credit though. He claims pharmacist Candice Bailey and tech Michelle Dunlap were his “saving grace”—particularly since Dunlap couldn’t get to her own pharmacy in Winnie, yet she continued to work where she could. In this same way, team members everywhere went above and beyond their normal duties, as these two testimonies demonstrate:

 

 

 

 

We’ve heard and seen moments of heart like this every single day since Harvey arrived. Throughout the impacted areas, team members have slept in their stores to be ready to render aid or re-open when power returned. They did not hesitate to give off their shelves to address the critical needs in their communities:

 

 

 

Customers, too, have awed us with their heart. We’ve seen people and companies spend $1,000+ on goods to deliver to communities in need. Others have generously paid for the groceries of someone else in need, while still more have offered gas/supply donations to first responders, National Guardsmen, and even volunteers gathering in our parking lots. This kind of community is what it’s all about to us.

 

 

In the days since Harvey, we’ve sent and continue to send truckloads of products to Southeast Texas.  Faith-based groups, helping agencies, and volunteers have helped serve as our hands and feet on the ground. Our vendors have blessed us with additional product set aside for either the evacuees in our communities or the people who remain in harm’s way. Our Catering Division spearheaded Angelina Helps—an impromptu but highly effective pop-up feeding mission for the hundreds seeking shelter in our region.  Plumbers, electricians, and other Brookshire Brothers service partners stepped up to cook for 600 individuals in the Beaumont area with food we donated. Day after day, the selfless stories of volunteers dropping everything to love on those who’ve lost so much continue to inspire us.

 

 

In the midst of it all, our home base—Lufkin, TX—paused to celebrate the “boys of summer.”  As Harvey roared through Texas, thirteen young men thundered their way to Williamsport, PA to become the U.S. Little League Champions. In doing so, they won the hearts of America as they fought to make their town and their beleaguered state proud.

 

 

Looking back, the championship journey has been full of heart since the beginning. While an early Harvey was building momentum in the Caribbean, Brookshire Brothers and its customers rallied to raise funds to help support the travels of the team and their families to Williamsport.  Our stores sold #Thundering13 rally towels, provided a fried chicken send off, and distributed gift cards to offset expenses for the families. As the team advanced round to round, we wore their colors to work and watched every hit and home run. And when the sun finally came out Thursday, August 31^st after almost a week of Harvey’s nonstop rain and clouds, thousands gathered at Lufkin’s Expo Center to welcome the National Champions home.

 

 

To commemorate the historic win, State Representative Trent Ashby gave each player a Texas flag that had flown over the State Capitol, while Lufkin Mayor Bob Brown lauded the respect and courtesy the young men displayed on their quest for the title. Additionally, Brookshire Brothers gave the team $17,000 from our rally towel sales—one of which ended up in the Little League Museum and Hall of Fame in Williamsport. In one tribute, Clay Oliver—Brookshire Brothers CFO, father of a twelve-year-old, and former coach to several of the players—spoke of the magnitude of their accomplishments:

 

 

To cap the celebration, pitcher Chip Buchanan told the crowd that his team was selling commemorative, autographed “Helping Home Base” T-shirts to raise money for Harvey relief efforts.  In their honor, Brookshire Brothers followed with a $50,000 donation to the American Red Cross for disaster response, coupled with a program that enables customers to make donations during checkout at any of our 114 locations.

 

  

 

 

View more testimonies and pictures below: