Disaster Volunteers Help Red Cross Chapter Grow

Written by Ray Steen, Staff Writer, Redcross.org

Diana and Lyle Kiser together have spent the past 17 years helping the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Red Cross serve the community.

April 5, 2002 — In November 1985, Hurricane Juan moved from the Gulf of Mexico, bringing devastating rains and massive flooding to the mid-Atlantic states. For six days straight, rivers across Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia overflowed, causing nearly $800 million in damages, and claiming the lives of 22 people.

Hit tremendously by the floods, the counties of Harrisonburg and Rockingham Valley, Va., needed immediate disaster relief. The local American Red Cross Chapter was not big enough to handle the load all on its own so it called on community members to get involved.

One of those called was Lyle Kiser, a poultry farmer and a longtime volunteer for the Mennonite Disaster Services.

At the time, the Harrisonburg County American Red Cross Chapter was operating under the meekest of accommodations.

"It was a one-man chapter run out of a hole-in-the-wall office on the third floor of a small bank building," Lyle said. "But they needed help in damage assessment. I told them I didn't know anything about it, and they told me not to worry — they'd show me."

The next day Lyle met Cheryl Fairchilds, who would eventually become a longtime, trusted colleague. Cheryl, a first-grade schoolteacher and Red Cross volunteer, was called to help meet the needs of families affected by the disaster. The two partnered up, walking door-to-door, visiting families whose homes had been severely damaged by the floods.

"There's a lot of pride in this area. People will not take assistance," Lyle said. "People did not really understand what the Red Cross was and we tried to explain to them that this wasn't welfare. It's people wanting to help in a time of need."

The next day, the local chapter asked both of them to help out in other Red Cross services. "We got hooked," Cheryl said.

"We really felt the need in the community," Lyle said. "We brought in some new blood and a little enthusiasm and the chapter took off."

As the community grows, so will the Harrisonburg Red Cross. The chapter looks forward to moving out of its current facility as it expands to meet the needs of 100,000-plus residents.

As the years passed, the two would continue to volunteer at the chapter in a variety of ways. Both spent time on the chapter's board of director's committee. Lyle took time away from tending his farm and served as chairman of the chapter's disaster services committee. Cheryl, meanwhile, took the lead in disaster services by chairing the state training committee, which is run strictly by volunteers with the goal of training local communities in disaster preparedness.

But it wasn't until a disaster of greater proportions occurred that Lyle and Cheryl really understood their roles as leading disaster specialists at the chapter.

In 1989, the Red Cross called on Lyle and Cheryl to travel to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to help provide disaster relief following Hurricane Hugo. The storm devastated the West Indies and the Southeastern United States, and was responsible for 60 deaths and $7 billion in damages.

Three years later, Hurricane Andrew, the costliest hurricane in United States history, wreaked havoc in southern Florida. Responsible for 23 deaths, Andrew caused nearly $26 billion in damages. Lyle and Cheryl were there in the wake of the storm. Lyle volunteered to operate an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV), while Cheryl served as a communication liaison during the disaster relief efforts.

"The Red Cross really impressed me after being involved in another disaster," Lyle said. "When you work a disaster, you become family with the people you work with and it's hard to leave."

After years of service, Lyle returned to working full-time on his farm while his wife Diana took over as Executive Director at the chapter. Lyle still volunteers his time on the weekends, responding to local disasters such as house fires and floods.

"I don't think I'll ever bail out," Lyle said. "The Red Cross has helped me mature. I can do things now that I would have never been able to do and it's been great!"

Although the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Chapter has long since grown from its "one-man operation in a hole-in-the-wall office on the third floor of a small bank building," it still operates in a modest environment.

Stationed in a four-room office downtown, the Harrisonburg Chapter is armed with only three full-time staff members, two per diem instructors, and about 150 volunteers.

"It's a small chapter," Lyle smiled, "but we've got some real diggers."

The chapter provides services to the armed forces, disaster relief and health and safety services to over 100,000 residents in the community.

For more information on your local American Red Cross chapter, visit www.redcross.org/where/where.html.

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