Participants in the “What We’ve Learned” panel at Tuesday’s Rebuild Kerr Grantee Gathering said the community’s values have been clearly defined and strengthened after the July 4 flood.
One panel member described a poster of an oak tree she saw depicting the roots underground as values and the branches above as dreams. At the top of the poster it read “The deeper the roots, the higher the reach.”
“So many people have asked me how our community got so strong and what did we lean on,” said Austin Dickson, CEO of The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country. “Deep roots are revealed. They don’t grow overnight. They were there all along.”
He said it’s been transformative to see the power of the community’s deep roots.
“I also think there are new roots that have grown and are shown in this gathering here today,” Dickson said.
Panel members included Anna Love with the Center Point Alliance for Progress and Peoples State Bank, Lisa Field with the Hunt Preservation Society and the Rev. Jasiel Garcia, senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church. Led by Dickson, each panel member had unique takeaways, but all agreed that Kerr County is stronger and more resilient than before the flood.
Love said she has learned that grief and gratitude can coexist beautifully. She described moving from the immediate aftermath of flood triage to anger at a lack of answers for how Center Point would recover.
Love said she demanded answers from Dickson, who said “Center Point will not be forgotten.”
Field described moving organically from conversations at the Hunt Volunteer Fire Department to volunteers giving what they could.
“Each one of us brought something to the table that turned into something special,” Field said. “It gave us a purpose as a group and a purpose individually. Now, as an organization, the growth has been amazing. We felt that shift from relief to now stepping into recovery.”
Garcia said the community is still in the phase of building capacity, of holding grief and hope together and “expanding ourselves in ways we didn’t know was possible, finding our grounding in ways that are new to us.”
He said he knew little about river ecology before the flood, but he is now learning all about the riparian recovery.
“I see genuine concern for each other and the place in which we live,” Garcia said. “There is a willingness to learn about the place we live and the dreams each household has as we seek to rebuild. We show up in unexpected ways.”
Garcia quoted a poem by Mary Oliver as applying to life and to flood recovery: Pay attention, be astonished, tell about it.
He said the recovery efforts have led to new relationships that cross boundaries as well as taught limits, have built trust and led to better conversations about grief and trauma.
Field said she has realized that systems and structure are very important for growth.
“Forget about the fact that we’re going to make mistakes,” she said. “We learned to put a system in place, and then go, then pivot, adjust as we need, put a new system in.”
She said the guidance of the Community Foundation and Kerr Together has helped her group not only deal with what is happening, but to prepare for events on the horizon.
“You guys have been great with engaging with the right organizations that can help us prepare for that,” Field said.
She said every community across the county is better equipped to handle a catastrophe in the future.
RECOMMENDATION TO OTHER COMMUNITIES
Finally, Dickson asked each panel member what they would recommend to other communities that are dealing with new disasters.
“It will break you open,” Love said “You will cry, but say yes. Get down, get dirty and do the work.”
Field said she would recommend getting over any imposter syndrome — quickly. Don’t ask if you’re qualified to help.
“Push through that — it’s a natural reaction. Say yes,” she said.
Garcia said having that list of trusted partners is essential. He would advise them to make a list of the people they can call right away.
All the panelists agreed that six months ago, at the first convening of Rebuild Kerr grantees, there were not as many community connections as there are now. New relationships have formed through the rebuilding efforts.
Field said like the roots of trees in a forest, the community is more connected on a deep level.
Garcia said the community is reimagining what wholeness means for Kerr County and the sense of togetherness is part of it.
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