Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/1178690
66 | AD Today 2019 | ALL IN "Our company is located in Northern California, about halfway between Sacramento and the Oregon border, and during the summer fire season, smoke-filled skies and the occasional road closures have become somewhat routine," shared Dan Batman, President of J&L Supply, Inc. in Redding, CA. "However, last year the fires were much different." According to Batman, "the Carr fire in Redding occurred first on July 23rd, 2018, causing one-third of our Redding employees to be evacuated. The evacuations came with little warning, forcing thousands into shelters for over a week; hotels were sold out for over 100 miles. Fortunately, nobody from our company lost their home in that fire," he said. The Camp fire near Chico, CA that Fall proved much more devastating. "It started on a normal Thursday morning in November when Tim Baliterra, our Chico-based inside salesman, was already at work," Batman recalled. "Reports soon came in that the Camp fire had started in the nearby canyons just outside of Chico, at which point the Chico team began frantically calling loved ones and warning them to get out. Within six hours, the 50-mph fire storm wiped out the towns of Concow and Paradise and, unfortunately, completely destroyed both Tim's home and his daughter's home," said Batman, who noted that Baliterra and his family thankfully escaped unharmed. In the wake of both devastating fires, J&L Supply stepped in on numerous fronts to help. Among their efforts, "we assisted with housing and hotels for some employees evacuated during the Redding Carr fire, and our families donated food and clothing to the local shelters," Batman said. "In Chico, however, Tim lost everything; he only had the clothes that he'd worn to work that day. Our team ran a clothing drive for Tim and his family to get them through the first couple of weeks and we additionally provided Tim with paid time off. We really wished we could have done more," he said. "Everyone felt like they were being pulled in different directions." Thankfully, funds from the AD Disaster Relief Foundation came very quickly at a time when they were needed the most. "Tim and his family were feeling extremely discouraged dealing with the insurance company and FEMA," Batman shared. "Dan Maroni personally spoke with Tim's wife about their hardships and Tim expressed how grateful they were to receive both the financial and emotional support, saying that 'the AD funds coming through were a Godsend.'" Ferocious Wildfires in California Dan Batman President J&L Supply, Inc. "I don't think you can ever really prepare for the loss of life or losing your entire home, and people deal with grief and tragedy in many different ways." – Dan Batman, J&L Supply, Inc. 66 | AD Today 2019 | ALL IN