With a Little Help From Our Friends

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS

January 2, 2019

Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle on October 10th, 2018 with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph.

“I was scared. I won’t never do that again…It scared me to death. For six hours I stayed in the garage with my dog, Marble,” said Scott Mckenzie.

Scott was born in New Mexico and moved to Florida when he was six years old.

“We moved here in 1975 when Hurricane Eloise wiped out the beach. We rode it out in the church. We came home and all the neighbors’ sheds were in our backyard.”

florida_michael_hurricane_response_beneficiary_one_smiling_headshot — *Scott McKenzie*

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At the age of sixteen Scott met Cleo Brannon. For thirty-three years they have been building a deep friendship and have been by each other’s sides through ups, downs, and everything in-between.

“I had a heart attack a year ago. I had triple bypass surgery. Cleo sat in the hospital every day with me.”

The only thing bigger than Cleo’s heart are his bear hugs. After the storm, Cleo tried to help as many people as he could.

“My mother, brother, and eighty-eight year old Uncle lost their homes…I sure wish I won that lottery because if I had I would have helped out Bay County. I don’t need that much money for myself…I try to love everybody. Scott’s my family. It took me a week to get to him and I almost cried when I seen him.”

florida_michael_hurricane_response_beneficiary_couple_hugging_smiling — *Scott and Cleo*

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Our relationships and connections with each other are the building blocks of life. Like Cleo, All Hands and Hearts volunteer, Jason Wilson, quickly developed a bond with Scott.

“Our experience working at Scott’s property was so much more than removing a few trees and debris. Everyone on site made a genuine connection with him. Getting to know Scott was a real pleasure. The first tree I ever cut down was at Scott’s house and he saved a piece of it for me..”

Scott shared the sentiment, “I didn’t know what I was gonna do with those trees, trust me. When I got to watching them volunteers go they wasn’t playing…It was good. I love them. I can’t thank them enough.”