As a busy 2016 comes to a close, Virginia Baptist Disaster Response volunteers served attendees at the 2016 BGAV Annual Meeting in Roanoke.
Held at Bonsack Baptist Church in Roanoke, volunteers set up the Nickelsville-based feeding unit, a command unit, and the children’s response team’s equipment to serve throughout the meeting.
Attendees looking for a tasty lunch on Tuesday were treated to a menu of pork BBQ, chicken fajitas, and chicken tenders, while fresh-baked cookies, brownies, and cinnamon rolls were a welcome site and smell throughout the foyer at Bonsack.
As Disaster Response Coordinator Aaron Lee shared with WDBJ-7, “They’re going through all of the motions that they will actually do, in peace time when they’re not stressed, so that they can get the habits and the rhythms down. So when a disaster comes, they’ll be ready to go.”
Volunteers also utilized the meeting as a reunion of sorts, finding familiar faces from 2016 responses across Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Missouri, and Louisiana.
Virginia Baptist Disaster Response volunteers continue to serve in North Carolina following Hurricane Matthew, while also supporting long-term recovery in Appomattox and Essex counties in the Commonwealth following the February tornadoes, and West Virginia following summer floods.
Training opportunities for 2017 can be found at BGAV.org/Disaster with more to be announced throughout 2017.
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