Shortly after Fred, then-Sheriff Greg Christopher was asked to explain why the community was able to respond so effectively to the tragedy. He told The Smoky Mountain News at the time that it was because of one simple thing — relationships. Many first responders, elected officials and local government administrators had served in their positions for years, acquiring the expertise, the training and the familiarity with municipal and county institutions to react instinctively. Those who were new to their jobs got to see how real heroes work when times are toughest.

Tropical Storm Fred taught not only our leaders, but also ordinary people like you and me, how to act and what to expect when expecting the unexpected. Volunteers responded immediately, making financial or in-kind donations, staffing distribution hubs, delivering meals and supplies to survivors, mucking out basements, chainsawing downed trees that blocked roads and using their own heavy equipment to clear landslides so aid could start flowing into the county.

So when Hurricane Helene hit on Sept. 27, it wasn’t just governments and churches that snapped into action by establishing shelters, coordinating supply hubs or rescuing people in danger. It was you, too, doing many of the same things you did in 2021.

The stories of bravery and sacrifice collected by The Smoky Mountain News in the weeks and months after Helene are too numerous to repeat here and far outweigh the stories full of cowardice, shame and lies we also had to report.

No one hopes we’ll again be visited by such senseless destruction. But if we are, we know that the people of Haywood County stand ready to persevere, for as long as it takes, because we remain #HaywoodStrong.