The morning of November 28th, 2016, dawned to a community on fire.  The sky burned yellow from the fires with a thick layer of smoke filling the town.  A fire that had burned for a week on Chimney Tops had spread into Gatlinburg.  Throughout town, many residents and vacationers donned masks to prevent smoke inhalation but carried on with business as usual.  Voluntary evacuations began in the Mynatt Park area at noon but the town would not be issued a mandatory evacuation notice until 9:30PM.  Many people throughout town never received this notice due to communication losses.   Throughout the day, strong wind gusts spread the fire further into town and caused power poles to go down sparking new fires. 


At 11:00PM, the store was forced to close early due to the amounts of smoke within the building.  There were many customers remaining within the store because they had nowhere to go.  Several associates remained at the store with Junior Watson to prepare the store in the event of a power loss.  Phone lines and cellular service were spotty and internet was down at the store.  Due to this, associates were unaware of the mandatory evacuations until 3:00AM when the Gatlinburg Police Department came to notify them. 


Tuesday, November 29th, our store remained closed due to road blocks.  Steve Trout, Junior Watson, Martin Johnson, and several district supervisors were allowed in to the store to assess damages.  Our store was fortunate, the fires burned close to the store but did not physically damage it.  We lost some product due to power loss and a layer of black film covered everything in the store.  Tuesday and Wednesday were spent assessing and beginning to clean up with the store only opening for a few hours late Wednesday afternoon.


The following week was spent working under hour constrictions in compliance with town curfew.  It was a trying week for many, waiting to find out if their homes still stood while attempting to reach out to family members and friends.  The response from our Food City family in the aftermath was immediate and overwhelming.  Associates from throughout the region came to our location to help clean the store and get it back up to standards.  They helped to cover shifts that our displaced associates could not work.  


Fourteen of our associates lost their homes.  An additional Twenty-Four associates were affected by displacement and damage to homes.   Many of associates throughout the company donate to the Kare Fund, never thinking about how it actually comes into play.   We cannot express how relieving it was to know that our associates had a net.  Would the Kare fund replace everything they lost?  No, but the Kare fund has assisted these associates to pay bills and purchase food so that they could focus on other issues.  The fund assisted not only the associates who lost their homes, but the displaced associates as well.  Many of our associates were evacuated with nothing but the clothes on their backs.  The expense of being out of your home and out of work for a week takes a toll on their mental and financial well-being.  Michelle Hodges and Jenna Johnston were instrumental in helping us get these applications in and processed quickly so that our associates would have help immediately. 


In addition, to the KARE Fund, the amount of donations we received was astounding.  Donations of food and clothing came in from throughout the company.  Jennifer Robeson, known to many of you as a previous Bakery Deli Manager with our company, rallied her community of Nolensville, TN behind her and arrived at our store with a U-Haul packed to the brim with donations.  There were many more acts of kindness that we witnessed or heard about; people who donated vehicles and cash; many more who donated their time and efforts to cleaning the community so we could rebuild again.   We would also like to send a special thanks to Pam Murray and Barbara Thomas who organized a collection in the corporate offices and distribution center to help provide a better Christmas for the children of our associates who lost their homes.  I know for many it made all the difference in the world to many of these parents that they were able to give their children Christmas in the midst of chaos from losing their homes.


Food City supported our store, our associates, and our community in the wake of the fires.  When the company made the decision to extend the Race Against Hunger for another week with proceeds to go 100% towards wild fire aid, our cashiers and customers far exceeded expectations.  $750,000 collected in one week!  Those funds are a welcome addition to the Gatlinburg-Sevier County Relief Fund and the My People Fund.   The week following the fire all First Responders and Emergency Personnel ate free at our location.  Holiday dinners were provided in conjunction with Hormel.  In the face of losing your home, a holiday dinner may not seem like much.  However, it provides a sense of normalcy that many of our residents needed. 
We have found many things to be grateful for in the aftermath of the wildfires.  We mourn the lives that were lost but are thankful more lives were saved.  We are appreciative that much of the main strip downtown was saved as it provides hope for restoration.   I think for many it has been a time to re-connect with their neighbors and community.


We extend our thanks to all of you; those of you who made donations of your time, money, and basic necessities; those of you who kept us in your prayers and thoughts.  In the end, Gatlinburg will rebuild and restore.  Gatlinburg will remain Mountain Strong

Ammie Barnett, Head Cashier, Food City 611
Junior Watson, Store Manager, Food City 611