A Goulden Opportunity

Yes, I did a spellcheck 🙂

Goulden…as in Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould who, along with a bunch of his teammates, paid a visit to Washington, IL today.

It wasn’t just a photo-op and leave visit, either. Gould and the guys spent the entire day here, first talking with Washington High School football players, then eating lunch with students there, and then walking through the tornado impacted neighborhoods.

I knew where they were going to be this afternoon so I arranged to pick up my sons from school, but I didn’t tell them why. After turning onto the street where they were and seeing Robbie, I let the cat out of the bag. The boys went crazy. They are huge Bears fans!

We stopped to talk with Erica who works with Robbie’s charity, The Goulden Touch. She gave me a sharpie, then pointed us in the direction of the players and we were off.

Positive Press (Special Edition: Washington Tornado Recovery)

This week’s Positive Press is dedicated to the good things coming from a tough situation in Washington, Illinois – a community hit hard by a tornado Sunday morning, and a place I have gotten to know a lot more about and have come to feel a close bond with these past several days.

The envelopes you see above contain birth certificates and Social Security cards belonging to people who live in Washington. They are addressed to each person and they were hand delivered to the Washington Police Department Thursday evening by a woman who lives in Morris, Illinois. Why is that significant? Morris is more than 80 miles away from Washington.

I don’t know what’s more amazing, the fact that documents from homes in Washington were blown so far from their original location, or that they were found intact, or that someone was nice enough to take the effort to not only preserve them but then also drive them to Washington and hand deliver them to police to make sure they would get to their rightful owners.

It doesn’t stop there. The woman also placed gift cards in each one of the envelopes for the recipients who, more than likely, are without a home right now.

This is just one of the dozens of stories already being told and no doubt many others that will be shared as more time passes. I have been truly impressed and heartened by the level of love and dedication shown by so many folks this past week. I look forward to hearing more stories of people helping people in the days ahead.

God bless Washington and all of the communities impacted by these tornadoes. If this is any indication, the road to recovery for the victims will not be traveled alone.

Thank you to everyone who has helped in some way to this point and thank you in advance to everyone considering helping in the future. You are appreciated!

Visit http://www.facebook.com/CentralIllinoisEmergencyInformation for official updates on the tornado recovery process.

Washington, Illinois Tornado Aftermath

This is video I recorded today in Washington, Illinois. If you haven’t heard, a series of tornadoes ripped through central Illinois and elsewhere Sunday morning. Washington was the hardest hit location.

Approximately 1,000 homes were damaged there, many of those destroyed. The level of destruction is beyond words.

I will write more about what I’ve seen and heard these past few days as I have been involved in the recovery effort by way of working as a media liaison for the emergency management team. Some of the stories are heartbreaking. Others are encouraging.

For now, just say a prayer for the folks in Washington and all areas impacted by the recent tornadoes if you would. I know they would certainly appreciate it. Thanks everyone.