Virgil Mills shelter volunteers lauded

As a disabled veteran and senior citizen who had just gotten out of the Bay Pines V.A. Hospital for a stroke a day before the Hurricane Irma closed in on Manatee County, I elected to go to the Virgil Mills Elementary School shelter because I lived in a zone A flood area in Palmetto.

From the moment I walked into Virgil Mills Elementary School and told them my physical plight, they not only treated me with compassion, warmth and respect, they treated me with an understanding of my comfort and medical needs. I wasn’t quite eligible for a special needs shelter but Virgil Mills Staff made me feel looked after and cared for in many ways that made me feel singularly special in this time of uncertainty and stress. I am grateful to all staff that I came in contact with at the school who comforted and provided shelter for more than 1,000 people and many, many animals.

If the staff of Virgil Mills Elementary are an indication of the Manatee County School District as a whole (and I’m sure it is), our children are in good hands and our community is richer for their in compassion, caring, understanding and professionalism. As a retired member of the U.S. Army, I was honored to come in contact with these new personal heroes of mine to add to all the heroes I have come to know in my lifetime.

This story was originally published October 3, 2017 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Virgil Mills shelter volunteers lauded."