First Beyond Katrina Assignment ... Edie Greene

Edie Greene
Television Production

When I received my first Beyond Katrina assignment, I decided to make a trip south. I’m not a coast girl, and I needed a site survey to understand the new lay of the land. “Be prepared,” my colleagues told me. I thought I was. After all, I’ve worked in television a long time and covered all sorts of disasters. So many times, I had experienced horror all around me when my camera only had tunnel vision. So many times, I had watched as families lost everything. So many times, I had chronicled grief. As it turns out, I braced for destruction but found something much more powerful.

I rode around the coast with Robert Renfroe, a thoughtful, educated young man who works for the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Services. For several months, Robert ran the Mississippi Volunteer Hotline in Jackson. In January, Robert assumed the duty of coordinating volunteers on the coast. Robert took me to camps where the volunteers sleep in tents and shower outdoors. Robert took me to sites where volunteers were removing debris and rebuilding homes. Robert pointed out how the damage increased as we drove further west.

Then Robert took me to the Hancock County EOC. That’s where he introduced me to Joe Williams. Joe worked in a management position before Katrina claimed both his job and his home. He began volunteering, taking ice and provisions to people. Now he coordinates volunteers and donations for the county. He uses his management skills to analyze both needs and services and in the most positive way, Joe tasks them out every day. As soon as we opened the door, almost before we set foot in Joe’s arena, I could feel his aura. Joe smiles all the time. He empowers everyone around him with his infectious energy.

Later, Robert and I stopped for a quick sandwich. As we ate, we reviewed what I had seen. I was overwhelmed not by the destruction around me but by the humanity, the positive outlook and ever-present smiles. How could these people who had lost so much and were working so hard in such adverse conditions, how were they maintaining this attitude? “Everything down here is amplified right now,” Robert advised. People could work 80 hour weeks, month in and month out, but still could be upbeat because they are helping. In my entire life, I had not been in a situation where the simple human emotions had been so strong, so pervasive, so enduring. I found it a powerful experience

We spoke about Joe. Robert said that some people look at disaster and see despair. Joe looks at disaster and sees opportunity. I suspect that Robert could look in the mirror and say the same thing about himself.