After an EF3 tornado barreled through east Hattiesburg and Petal in January 2017, many organizations stepped up to help in recovery, from city officials to volunteer coalitions and federal agencies.
But as far as Arthur Siggers is concerned, one group that aided greatly in recovery has gone mostly unrecognized: the Forrest County Board of Supervisors, who were instrumental in receiving a $250,000 grant from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to help rebuild damaged homes.
“You hear a lot of talk about the organizations, and what they did, and their contributions,” said Siggers, who serves as pastor at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Hattiesburg. “But you never hear about the supervisors.
“Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is a quarter of a million dollars, and they were responsible directly for getting that approved.”
To help correct that oversight, Siggers stopped by a recent supervisors meeting to present each member of the board with a framed Certificate of Appreciation in honor of their work.
“I just thought somebody should say something about it,” he said. “You know, the board really does a lot of good work and you don’t hear about it.”
Supervisors were presented with a symbolic $250,000 check in June, with the stipulation that the money be used only for building materials for tornado-damaged homes. The funds were then transferred to Breakthrough Community Services – a Mt. Olive Baptist Church non-profit housing counseling agency – for distribution.
As per terms of the grant, county officials turn in to MEMA receipts for items purchased, after which point MEMA reimburses the funds. So far, MEMA has sent county officials four payments totaling $193,865.
“We owe a debt of gratitude to MEMA, because of the fact that they awarded Forrest County $250,000 to help rebuild,” said David Hogan, president of the Forrest County Board of Supervisors. “It’s worked out really well – in fact, MEMA has bragged on Mrs. (Dequandra) Johnson, who handles the money (for Breakthrough Community Services) and does the record-keeping and reports back to MEMA.
“So we’re real appreciative to (Breakthrough Community Services) for their efforts in helping us help some of the people in our community that need it the most.”
Hogan also praised the efforts of Mennonite Disaster Service, a Pennsylvania-based volunteer network who assisted in recovery efforts.
“It’s pretty amazing, what the Mennonite men and women do for our community at no charge,” he said. “Some of these (residents), without that MEMA money and without the Mennonites, would not be able to save their homes.”
Hogan said board members were very appreciative of Siggers’ gesture.
“The board isn’t necessarily looking for recognition, but it was nice that Rev. Siggers came and recognized the board for their efforts in helping … with rebuilding,” he said. “He felt that the board members haven’t got the recognition they deserve.”
According to numbers provided by MEMA shortly after the tornado, 240 Forrest County homes were by the storm, along with 259 homes that suffered major damage and 632 with minor damage.
“(The $250,000) is invaluable, because there are no state programs on the books where we’re allowed to provide state resources,” said Greg Flynn, director of external affairs at MEMA. “But this money (is) left over from the (Hurricane) Katrina cottage program … that was just sitting in an account.
“It’s earmarked to go towards these kind of events to help people that have unmet needs, and that’s exactly what it was designed for.”
