This week we have shown why Statesboro is "America's Best Community."
        Regardless of what the judges decide in April, there is no question in my mind that we live in the best community in America. I have never been prouder of our community than I have been this past week.
        While our public safety workers were focused on keeping us safe, opening roads and protecting us, these agencies depended on the community to step up. Step up is an understatement. Hundreds of ordinary citizens have done extraordinary work to help get our community back on its feet.
        As the late Michael Guido famously said in situations like this, "It would bankrupt a dictionary" to try and properly thank everyone for what they have done and continue to do."
        For those of you who have not been following this organic movement on Facebook, here is a recap of what this community accomplished.
        In seven days, 614 volunteers distributed more than 80,000 pounds of food that totaled 1,576 bags, feeding 5,443 individuals. They cooked and served 8,326 hot meals, gave away hundreds of Bibles and gave hope to the hopeless.
These are the amazing acts of kindness we know about.
        I think you could easily multiply these number exponentially for what has really occurred by neighbors helping neighbors.
        My friends keep complimenting me and giving me the credit for all of this incredible philanthropy. I am certainly not deserving. All I did was use the resources and tools I had available to communicate the needs. The community found ways to meet the needs over and over again. The lineman, the public safety officers and each of you who stepped up in every way are the real heroes of this week.
        On Thursday, Oct. 6, as Hurricane Matthew was making its way to us, there was a story published in Statesboro High School's newspaper, "The Devils' Advocate." The story, "Emergency Management in Bulloch County," was written by my daughter Edie Grace and featured an interview with Ted Wynn, who is Bulloch's Public Safety director and leads the county's Emergency Management Agency.
        I accompanied Edie Grace to the interview with Ted. Ted was wonderfully generous with his time, giving her a tour of the facility, an overview of how the EMA operates and explained in detail the role EMA plays in the event of an emergency. Edie Grace explained in the article the 15 emergency support functions of the EMA. Number two is communication.
        About 24 hours later, we were being pounded by Hurricane Matthew. I never recall a storm hitting our community with a greater intensity and sustained winds for such a long period of time. Like many of you, I was certain the roof of our home would not survive. Because of the tour and Edie Grace's story I understood the role of EMA and also where there may be an opportunity to help. As a paramedic, firefighter, Red Cross volunteer, businessman and journalist I felt compelled, like so many of you to engage and assist in any way possible.
        On Wednesday, evacuations had begun and local service stations were running out of gas. The Statesboro Herald team started working on creating a list of where gas was available and I posted that on my Facebook and other social media outlets. As fuel was being trucked this list was changing constantly.
        I turned to crowdsourcing by asking my followers to comment on the post when stations ran out or were refueled. This continued into Thursday and Friday. People started messaging me with questions.
        In searching for answers, I quickly discovered that there was a tremendous amount of information on multiple websites and Facebook pages, but no one agency was consolidating the information. When the contra flow began on I-16 and mass evacuation began, the public broadcasting stations never left regular programming.
        Thousands of people were evacuating traveling through our county and were desperate for information. At this point I reached out to Wynn and he began providing me with all the information he had. In turn I began sharing that immediately. This included evacuation routes, shelter information and more.
        Then as the storm approached, my good friend Patrick Prokop, a retired meteorologist gave me access to all of his information and data. With this, I was passing along information on the storm that no one else had. I continued providing pulling data and information from everywhere I could possibly locate it.
        After the storm hit I drove around the city and witnessed how massive the power outages are. Red lights were out all over the city. The few restaurants that had power were slammed with business.
        I then reached out to the two power companies and began receiving hourly power outage reports, which I then began sharing. As a need arose, I worked to connect the need to the correct agency.
        I do not have space here to share everything that happened from that point, but I think you get the idea what was happening. My personal Facebook page become the place our community turned to for information. Thanks to many agencies and individuals feeding me with information, we were able to keep the community informed and empowered.
        A special thanks to Neal Ardman who gave Tommy Palmer and me access to his radio stations and made the first significant financial commitment to support our efforts. This allowed us to broadcast for two days in the height of the power outages to our citizens and travelers, giving them all of the information we were sharing on social media.
        We should not lose sight that there is much left to do. If you have not helped and want to get engaged please consider making a contribution to United Way of Southeast Georgia at any branch of Sea Island Bank or Farmers and Merchants Bank. They will in turn distribute these funds to the proper agencies who are working to meet the needs.