KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On September 27, the unthinkable stormed Appalachia.
Knoxville philanthropists Randy and Jenny Boyd were not prepared for what they saw during the nonstop news coverage of Helene's torrential rains that turned into record floods.
Randy was in disbelief.
"We don’t have hurricanes in East Tennessee. It’s not something we are prepared for, and we didn’t know what the scope would be," he said.
Walls of water consumed communities. Bridges and roads were reduced to rubble. And lives and livelihoods were wiped out in Upper East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.
As the Tennessee Commissioner of Economic Development during Governor Bill Haslam’s administration, Randy connected with people in the far reaches of Tennessee. When the waters receded, the couple had to see the destruction for themselves.
"We got in the car and drove up. Each of the counties had their city council and county commission to meet us, " Randy said.
Jenny said she was struck by the widespread devastation.
"The sadness, the overwhelming nature of what had happened. I don’t think they were even able to decide what they should do first. How do you do that? How do you know what you need to fix first?" she said.
The Boyds knew, at that moment, they needed to help jumpstart the recovery process. Through their family foundation, they donated $3.5 million to some of the hardest-hit counties. A million each for Carter, Cocke, and Unicoi Counties and $500 thousand to Johnson County to be used as needed.
"It didn’t feel like much," Jenny said. Randy added, " It doesn’t feel like enough, but we’ve been blessed to be in a position to be able to give back."
In return, Randy said they received hope.
"One of the things that was very inspiring was how resolved they were to rebound. Nobody was giving up. They will keep fighting. It will take a while, but they were determined."
The Boyds say they’ll continue to stand with the devasted communities, knowing there is no quick fix. They’re asking all Tennesseans to do the same through their time, talents, or treasures. And if that’s not possible, Jenny said, maybe this is...
"Just pray for them, every day."