The storm that rolled its way through the area on Father’s Day weekend may have lost most of its initial sting, but it’s certainly not erased from memory, especially not for the 100 or so people gathered in the fellowship hall of First Baptist Church in Sapulpa on Wednesday evening.
The church is hosting Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief, a volunteer-based program that goes out to assist communities that have been devastated by storms or other disasters similar to the one that hit the area two weeks ago.
The organization celebrated 50 years in existence last year, and has counterparts in virtually every state where the Southern Baptist Convention is present. Many of the volunteers eating dinner on Wednesday evening are from surrounding states, including Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, and Kansas.
Dan Fuller, wearing the same yellow shirt as nearly everyone else, but identified by his white hat, is the site leader for the week. Fuller, who is from Medicine Park, near Lawton, has been with Oklahoma Disaster Relief for 26 years, and site leader for the last 6 years.
He says his promotions came mostly through his consistency to show up and do the jobs required. “They just kept giving me more to do, and I did it,” he said, smiling.
It’s their first full week in Sapulpa, after relocating from a church in Owasso due to circumstances outside their control. They expect to be here for “at least the next three weeks,” Fuller said.
The crew is working about 200 jobs at the moment, several of which are in Sapulpa, but most others are in nearby communities like Sand Springs, and Broken Arrow.
“We work a lot of tree removal,” Fuller explained. Each time disaster strikes, the organization puts out a phone number and a form on their website to start collecting calls for assistance from those hardest hit by the turmoil, whether it be tornadoes, floods or some other event. The jobs get assessed on-site by team leaders and a chaplain and are prioritized, with incidents involving first responders, handicapped, and seniors given first priority, particularly if they are trapped in their house or their driveway. Then they start working their way down the list, sending teams to various locations as needed.
For the volunteers, each day starts the same: a devotion at 6:45 am, followed by breakfast at 7:00 am, and then team leaders gather their work orders, pack a lunch and head out to the site.
Teams consist of anywhere between 6-15 people, and Fuller says each team can tackle “between 1 and 5 jobs each day.”
Chaplain Carl Rudek is one of those who assesses jobs and helps determine priority. When he’s not doing that, he’s taking care of the teams in the field. “I spent a lot of time this week delivering popsicles,” he said. “I check to make sure they’re taking breaks. It gets pretty hot out here.”
Depending on what’s required, each job may be made up of just people, but bigger projects can require equipment like a skid steer or a man lift.
Aside from the teams taking care of the community, there’s also the team taking care of the volunteers, providing logistical support, cooking meals, and keeping the water running. Fuller says there are at least 5 full-time staff members, but an expanded team of 15 people help keep operations running smoothly.
One of the staff, named Bert, spent the day not working on tree removal but working on a water pump for the shower trailers. His job is as critical as any, especially for the volunteers that want to come back to a hot shower after a day in the sun doing tree removal.
The entire operation runs like a well-oiled machine. Except for the shelter, which is provided by the church, the outfit is otherwise completely self-sufficient with its own generators, shower trailers, and a mobile command center. If the situation called for it, they could cook and distribute the meals outside as well.
To learn more or to donate, visit okdisasterhelp.org
