N.C. Baptist Men Disaster Relief teams from across the state teamed up with local emergency management and state agencies to aide in cleanup after tornadoes hit Beaufort County April 25.

According to 82-year old J.E. Skinner, leader of the Memorial Baptist Church team in Williamston, they have actively worked with communities in the county the past two weeks to help those affected. About 20 teams, with six to eight volunteers each, have worked throughout 49 different work sites, putting in nearly 1,200 man-hours.

Skinner said after Hurricane Andrew (hit Florida), over 20 years ago, state leaders decided to form the statewide disaster relief organization.

“That’s probably the biggest area a hurricane ever hit,” said Skinner. “When we came back (from Florida), the state leaders decided to form a statewide organization. One group of them is good, but when you can get 10 groups of them, it makes it even better. That’s when we formed the Baptist Men Disaster Relief Team.”

According to Skinner, when a disaster occurs rendering a community helpless or in need, a volunteer county assessor reports to the county’s emergency management services office, which, in turn, contacts team leaders.

“At that point, I contact the state agency and they put it out on the website, ‘need volunteers in Beaufort County,’” Skinner said. “Then, me or someone responds.”

Jim Rosene, a member of First Baptist Church in Washington, is Beaufort County’s Baptist Men contact for assessing disaster situations. Rosene, Skinner and emergency management met at First Baptist Church in Washington the Saturday after the tornadoes and set up their operation. The church cooked meals and provided sleeping arrangements for the volunteers who started arriving that Saturday.

“I don’t go with the team because usually I’m the one that sets it up,” Skinner said. “I have to work with the church to be sure the church is in good standing with us to help us and let us go in the church because it messes up a church when you bring 50 people in there to sleep on cots and things like that. But I haven’t been to a church yet that didn’t receive us and cook for us. It’s very impressive when you go to an area like Beaufort County and the Saturday morning after the tornado, you see all the local people out there helping neighbors. That’s the good thing. That’s what we encourage.”

Each morning, Rosene and Skinner met with emergency management to formulate a game plan and communicate what areas needed help. The main request for this particular incident was the need for chainsaw crews.

Skinner said that teams fund the efforts. Most teams are made up of retirees or those who can take a day or two off of work. Some churches provide vans for transportation and funding for gas, and each squad usually has an equipment trailer. There are over 300 trailers in the state that are used to aid disaster relief, according to Skinner.

“The churches are usually self-sufficient,” Skinner said. “If we say we need chainsaw crews, they’ll bring chainsaws and rakes and most of the time they’ll bring a tractor to move logs and things like that.”

Skinner said that although some team members have returned to their own areas for work, those remaining continue to give time to helping those affected by the disaster.