Strong South Texas Roots

By Della AdameSeptember 19, 2017

Volunteers remove tree from coworkers house after Hurricane Harvey
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

CORPUS CHRISTI ARMY DEPOT, Texas - The hashtag #CCADStrong means #family to the Corpus Christi Army Depot and #family extends to the military service members and contractors that work alongside each other at the depot every day.

Billy Morris is a DynCorp contractor working for the US Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center supporting CCAD in Corpus Christi. He lives in Aransas Pass, a small coastal community that suffered utter devastation from one end of town to the other as one of the hardest hit towns when Harvey, then a Category 4 hurricane, made initial landfall, Aug. 29.

Morris was displaced from his home after a huge tree (over three feet in diameter) smashed the roof of his house during Hurricane Harvey's assault on the Coastal Bend.

That's when the #CCADStrong #family went into action and showed what Army Readiness means to the depot.

CCAD's Employee Assistance Program stepped up to help Morris at his time of need with assistance in connecting him with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. More importantly, they were able to coordinate accommodations for his family at the Navy Lodge on Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.

The local chapter of the Army Aviation Association of America also helped the Morris family with some of their relocation expenses. With the essentials taken care of, he could now move on to the business of dealing with the house.

Repairs to Morris' home were put on hold until the large tree laying on his roof could be removed from his property. In another showing of #CCADStrong, a large group of government and contractor employees went to Morris' home in Aransas Pass to remove the fallen tree.

With roots sewn deep into the South Texas soil, removal of the giant cottonwood tree stump, which measured at least six feet tall and four feet in diameter, had to be done with chainsaws and pulled out of the ground with a tractor.

Work continued through the weekend to chop up the massive tree stump and clean the property. Then everyone helped in gathering up roof shingles scattered around the lawn, carefully collecting the ripped siding and other debris around the yard for removal by the city debris crews.

The Morris family is just one of the more than forty CCAD team families that were displaced by Hurricane Harvey. No matter how the extent of damage, CCAD employees and contractors with deep South Texas roots have overcome the effects of Hurricane Harvey, and through it all the ever resilient #CCADStrong #family workforce has heard the call for help and given freely with their time, donations and support.