Our Gratitude to All

Written By: Luke Osteen | Issue: November 2024

Allow me to offer my thanks to the men and women – the neighbors – who once more demonstrated that generosity, that compassion, that courage, that have been the hallmarks of the Plateau’s communities since their founding.

I’m writing this in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Power’s been restored, toilets are flushing, and the internet’s once more giving us glimpses of life Out There.

And we’re seeing that our neighbors just a few degrees to the east had their lives upended – ruined – by this unexpected monster.

For Western North Carolina, Helene brought her worst. For those of us here on the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau, it revealed our best.

I’m thankful for the town and county teams who were working, even as they were being pelted by hurricane-strength rain, to restore power; to the crews who labored to remove fallen trees and plow through mudslides to keep our roads cleared; to the neighbors who would not be deterred from checking on their elderly or infirm neighbors.

But once we began to get back on our feet, we gazed to the east, and that old Plateau spirit of looking after our neighbors began to extend to the horizon.

Here’s the testimony of Robin Armstrong:

“Like so many in Highlands, we have many friends that live and work around the impacted areas.

“We almost felt guilty (although extremely grateful) that we had as little damage as we did, both at the house and at the store. When the power came back on and I could put my employees back to work cleaning out our fridges and freezers at the store, I knew that I could focus my attention on our neighbors.

“The Abranyis are good friends of ours – they came over to our house to use our power, water, and internet while there’s was still out. All of our hearts were hurting for WNC.

“Mary had the idea to make a video and get it out on social media. We shared the video with friends and family and customers and clients and before we knew it, donations were pouring in. We connected with other folks in Highlands and Cashiers that were making supply runs and shared our contacts and information as we got it.

“Our husbands loaded their off-road vehicles and volunteered with ARG Rigging & Rescue to help bring supplies to areas that could not be reached.  Mason even went on a mission with two military nurses to deliver life saving insulin in Hendersonville. When we met people in affected areas, you could see the exhaustion in the faces of those living in this tragedy. It felt good to give them even the smallest bit of relief. Witnessing the outpouring of the larger community has been amazing to see. We expect to continue our efforts for as long as possible, for we know that the needs will be ongoing and changing over time.

“With so much gratitude that we were spared major damage and we wanted help and to be good neighbors. We are all in this together.”

Here’s Robin’s friend Mary Abranyi with her portion of the tale:

“I became inspired to become active in the relief efforts when two good friends, Hannah Moody and Lindsay Heller, reached out to me letting me know that they were collecting supplies and money for supplies.  Hannah’s husband, Brad Holmes was a long-time firefighter in Black Mountain and Asheville and had direct contacts in these hard-hit areas.  Lindsay and her husband, Joel Rice, were collecting gas cans to fill and take over to several areas along with cash.  I knew I had to jump in and do my part to help.  Not knowing what that meant, I reached out to Judy Michaud and Tricia Cox, the owners of our local BHHS Meadows Mountain Realty firm where I am a broker and asked if I could borrow the company van which they instantly provided unlimited access to.

“From there, I recruited my husband, Steve Abranyi and friends Robin Armstrong and her husband Mason Neil.  Steve and Mason are both local builders and have trucks and trailers that we could also use to haul our supplies.  At that point, fund raising became a primary piece of our collective so I reached out the Realtors I work with at BHHSMMR, clients from my yoga and wellness studio in Cashiers, and friends and family on Facebook.  Steve also reached out to his client base and Robin and Mason did the same and we received donations through my Venmo and Zelle accounts, cash and checks.  We quickly made direct contacts in Black Mountain and Swannanoa thanks to Hannah and another local friend, Kirsten McKim.  After our initial haul of three pallets of water, food, blankets, first-aid supplies, medicine, 5 gallon buckets, propane, diapers and other miscellaneous supplies we learned that the needs were changing day by day so we shifted gears to purchasing generators, dehumidifiers, fans, extension cords, chainsaws, propane heaters and propane.

“We then learned that a 24KW whole house generator was needed to power up the Chimney Rock Inn that was housing the volunteer firefighters and FEMA rescue and relief workers.  Steve contacted Bryan Dearth of Dearth and Sons Generators and they generously met that need and Steve and Mason drove it over the next day.  Another friend, Katy Callaway then reached out to me to offer a fiscal sponsorship with People in Partnership, a 501(c)(3) which would allow tax deductible donations which provided access to larger donations.  The phrase “it takes a village” could not be more true and everyone’s willingness to help in some way has been amazing.”

“If anyone would like to donate to our efforts, your contribution will help us help others. We are fiscally sponsored through People In Partnership, a 501(c)(3), and the qr code link below is for those who prefer a tax deductible donation option, otherwise call or text Mary at (828) 226-9818 for other donation options.”

There are hundreds of stories just like these on the Plateau. And we thank everyone who stepped up to the plate to help our neighbors.

I hope you’ll never take this marvelous Plateau Spirit for granted. If you’re not feeling it, please resolve to get involved in the life of your community. I promise it’s waiting for you, and it’ll return your kindness tenfold when the storms come.