An EF4 tornado ravaged a Mississippi Delta town last Friday, and its impact hit close to home in Pine Bluff.
Pat Bourke works in Tyson Foods' headquarters in northwest Arkansas, and he and several other employees have been in the town of Rolling Fork, Miss., some 140 miles southeast of Pine Bluff, serving hot meals to those in need.
"As we see these individuals come through, I admire them for their resilience and their can-do attitudes – 'Hey, we're alive, and the Good Lord is taking care of us,'" said Bourke, a senior manager for Tyson's business operations sustainability team. "I would like to think, if I was ever in that situation myself, that I would be able to have that same can-do attitude that, hey, we will survive and we will move on and the Good Lord was good to me."
Bourke also noted some were not as fortunate.
The tornado traveled 166 to 200 mph, meriting an EF4 rating, and killed 25 people in Mississippi and one in Alabama, according to multiple reports. The rating is the second-highest on the Enhanced Fujita scale and obliterated the town of 1,900 that sits 36 miles south of Greenville.
James Merritt manages Tyson's service center in Pine Bluff. But this week, he leads one of Tyson's many cook teams serving the affected Deltans.
"When a disaster like this happens, we all know people are in need," Merritt said. "I'm a deacon at my church, and my heart is filled with the Lord every day. When you see the need in people – God gets all the glory for this – but then he sends out his servants to do all this work, and I'm willing."
Cook teams and other crews from Tyson Foods facilities across Arkansas have teamed up with Walmart to provide hot meals in Rolling Fork since Tuesday, when they served 3,200 meals to community members, electrical workers, construction crews and volunteers. They had served 3,430 more meals as of 3:45 p.m. Wednesday and will be in the area through Saturday.
Tyson has donated 2 million servings, or about 500,000 pounds, of protein, with Walmart providing other food items, according to Bourke. Tyson is also distributing frozen protein in Rolling Fork and serving hot meals only at another assistance location in Silver City, a smaller town 30 miles northeast of Rolling Fork that was also struck Friday.
For many in Rolling Fork and Silver City, the need is not limited to food. Many residents are without a familiar roof to sleep under, and the need for everyday items like water and toiletries is greater.
To fill that gap, a softball coach and three students got together for a donation drive outside the J. Thomas May Field House at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on Wednesday.
"We have several alumni from the area," said Cecilia Kolesar, an assistant softball coach and assistant director of athletic academics at UAPB. "Several have played football here. Several have graduated from our nursing department, specifically from Rolling Fork. And then my fiancé, his family was in the tornado. Since we have a connection with our alumni, I thought it would be good, especially from our athletic department, to come together and support a community in need."
Halfway through the 2-hour afternoon donation drive, Kolesar and the three students – volleyball players Fernanda Spengler and Tawyne King and Student Government Association Vice-President Trenton Wills – had collected at least 20 cases of bottled water, four 1-gallon jugs of water and four bags of toiletries that Kolesar will transport to Rolling Fork at a later date.
"It's always great when we can come together as one," Wills said. "Yes, we are student government, but anytime we can help athletics for a common good or another entity, it's a great atmosphere for the university, not only for us, but for athletics as well."
Back in Mississippi, this is not Merritt's first foray into helping people recover from a tornado. He and other cook team members served people in Moore, Oklahoma, following a tornado in 2010 and have been to damaged locations in Kentucky twice and Florida in more recent years.
Merritt's cook team includes Lamont Washington, Chad Hawkins, George Harris, Cameron Barnes and Dexter Smith, all Tyson employees in Pine Bluff. It is usually the same quintet that goes with Merritt when they are called to action.
"I notice people need help. My thing is, if I'm able, I'm going to go help them," Merritt said. "It does my heart good to do what I can."
An American flag hangs outside a damaged building in Rolling Fork, Miss., on Tuesday. (Special to The Commercial/Melissa Williams, Tyson Foods)
Members of the Pine Bluff cook team representing Tyson Foods and feeding those affected by last week's tornado in Rolling Fork, Miss., include: clockwise from bottom, James Merritt, Lamont Washington, Cameron Barnes, George Harris and Chad Hawkins. Not pictured is Dexter Smith. (Special to The Commercial/Melissa Williams, Tyson Foods)
An 18-wheel truck pictured Tuesday was one of several properties upended by an EF4 tornado in Rolling Fork, Miss., on Friday. (Special to The Commercial/Melissa Williams, Tyson Foods)
From left, volleyball players Fernanda Spengler and Tawyne King, Student Government Association Vice-President Trenton Wills and assistant softball coach Cecilia Kolesar conduct a donation drive outside the J. Thomas May Field House at UAPB on Wednesday. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)