On the Road with Copa Central Command [Updated daily]

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Jim Shoaf and Mike Connelly. Photo by Mason Callejas

Follow InMaricopa’s Mason Callejas, “embedded” with Copa Central Command on its trip to Rockport, Texas,  bringing supplies to victims of Hurricane Harvey. Learn about who’s in the volunteer convoy and what they are encountering as they deliver goods donated by Maricopans. Follow the story on InMaricopa’s Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.


Oct. 1, Houston, Texas

After a connecting flight via Houston and a subsequent three-hour delay, at last I’m settling into my cramped seat in this steamy airplane on my way back to Phoenix. In this moment, I cannot help but recall the past six days and feel humbled.

Photo by Mason Callejas

For nearly a week I’ve been embedded with the Copa Central Command team on their mission to provide Hurricane Harvey relief in Rockport, Texas, and the experience has revealed a unique and benevolent side of the city of Maricopa.

The city, the state and the entirety of our species should be proud of the collective human spirit that spread its feathers in the weeks after Harvey battered the Texas coastline in late August. And now, Maricopa is part of that in a big way.

By carefully observing both the volunteers and victims in Rockport, it became brutally apparent to me that in situations such as these, there truly is no full-proof or perfect response. Resources are spread thin on all avenues, and despite the efforts of so many, people are still scrambling to rebuild their lives.

Now, as Floridians rebuild after Hurricane Irma’s wrath, and citizens in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands suffer in the wake of that and other hurricanes, volunteers must pick and choose their battles.

For the next 5 days, Copa Central Command will continue to fight their battle in Texas. However, the group’s leader Jim Shoaf hopes their limited abilities will soon expand. The group, he said, “God willing,” will grow into something that can provide relief for other disaster areas both near and far.


 

 

Photo by Mason Callejas

Sept. 30, Rockport, Texas

After the first three days of labor intensive debris and tree removal, unloading donations from semi trailers and coordinating relief efforts, Maricopa volunteers are passing out BBQ sandwiches and water to residents and other volunteers.

 


Gail Dye. Photo by Mason Callejas
 Sept. 29, Rockport, Texas
Gail Dye is a former Arizona resident who for the past two decades has called Rockport home. Her humble life in this seaside Texas town was turned upside down as a result of Harvey’s destruction. “I lost everything,” she said. “But, in a strange way, its an opportunity. If you made it [through the hurricane], it’s a chance to start over.” Like many here, this new chapter in her life has been trying. On this day, she searched through pallets of donated pet food so she can feed her dog, a 7-year-old boxer who had a stroke as a result of the noise and chaos brought by the storm. The dog is recovering well, as is she. But times are tough, money is thin and every little thing helps, she said. Every dollar she saves on dog food is one dollar more she can spend toward making the best of this opportunity.

Sept. 28, Rockport, Texas

Twenty-nine-year-old Maricopa resident, father of two and Navy veteran Mike Connelly volunteered for the trip to Rockport. While clearing debris for a man who’s home was declared a total loss, Mike and another volunteer found an American flag buried under the rubble. As any current or former service member should, Connelly properly folded, carried and stored the colors that he has vowed to defend. “That’s my flag,” he said. “I signed a blank check, up to and including my life, for that flag.”

 

 

 

 


Lyle Riggs. Photo by Mason Callejas

Sept. 28, Rockport, Texas

Pictured right: The Judge, Lyle Riggs, gets his hands dirty moving debris for a family who lost multiple houses to Harvey’s wrath.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured Left: Representing Maricopa, the Honorable Lyle Riggs and his wife Veean are in Rockport to lend a hand!

Veean and Lyle Riggs. Photo by Mason Callejas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Photo by Mason Callejas

Sept. 27, Rockport Texas

Stan Ballantine has been a Case Mitigation Specialist with FEMA for nearly two decades. His primary job is to make sure people have their aid-paperwork in order.

In terms of damage caused and people displaced, he said, he believes Hurricane Harvey is a close second to Hurricane Katrina. Ballantine was on the ground in Louisiana in 2005 soon after Katrina.


 

Jim Shoaf. Photo by Mason Callejas

Sept. 27, 12 p.m. (central)

The first wave of Copa Central Command is on the ground in Rockport, Texas! Donations and more volunteers are set to arrive within the hour. Service should begin early this evening or first thing tomorrow morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Travis Kuriger. Photo by Mason Callejas

Sept. 27, 11 a.m. (central)

Barely 24 hours into the excursion, the convoy has suffered one shredded tire, almost two, and had clothes, bibles and other personal effects soaked in the West Texas rain. But, the trials haven’t swayed the optimism of 20-year-old volunteer Travis Kuriger. After a little help from a blow dryer, the important stuff was saved Kuriger said. “It was hell. Things got a little wet, but that’s life,” he said.
Kuriger just wants to get to work and do his part to help the world at large. “We’re all a part of it [the world] in some way, we’re all family in the end.”

 

 

 


Sept. 27, 12:50 a.m. (central)

 


Sept. 26, 11 p.m. (central)

 


Volunteer George Sopi. Photo by Mason Callejas

Sept. 26, 4:30 p.m.

The main objective of Copa Central Command’s convoy is to help. But, for some on the team, that help is a two-way road. “I’m finding myself,” 27-year-old George Sopi said. “You find yourself when you help someone in need. You can’t find yourself when all you do is think about yourself.” Sopi also sees this as an opportunity to represent Maricopa, and Arizona, and to show how people should all take care of one another regardless of the borders and distance between them. “You get what you give,” he said.

 

 


Sept. 26, 11 a.m. – Departure Day