How a Palmetto fishing community united for supply drive after hurricane devastation

When Hurricane Helene sent a surge into the west coast of Florida, many neighborhoods were forever changed.

One of those neighborhoods on Terra Ceia Bay is the historic Palmetto Point, known for its variety of homes and numerous anglers storing boats at their homes. The waterfront community has its own ramp, allowing those in the association access to the bay a very short distance from their homes.

But Helene destroyed their ramp, and resident Carl Gretenhardt quickly started thinking of ways to help get it back up and running.

“Before Milton, we wanted to figure out ways to benefit or maybe raise money for repairs. The ramp was messed up, houses were destroyed and we wanted to get together to get everyone’s minds off of the hassle we had been going through,” Gretenhardt explained.

“And then Milton came through, but we kept to that plan to bring everyone together, throwing a big fish fry. People slowly started donating to help out. Kyle Paulhus and Danny Trevino were evacuating for Milton so (they) donated about 50 pounds of fillets, mostly offshore fish like grouper and snapper. Then I got together with Donna DuBord who was able to organize a big commercial fryer and more. Buffy Brewington opened up the community facilities for use to allow us more space for donations. I wasn’t sure how many people would show up as it was all word of mouth.”

Bringing in DuBord and speaking with other local communities grew Gretenhardt’s event quickly. On Sunday, four days after Milton and with half of the neighborhood still without power, Gretenhardt showed up at 9 a.m. before the noon event kicked off. He was blown away by the support that was arriving.

“Donna was able to get with the company Cat5 Resources who showed up with a 53-foot truck and box truck full of supplies. There were washers, dryers, refrigerators, grills, charcoal, tents, chairs, diapers, all quality stuff. We filled up the hall near the ramp and had pallets outside with supplies.”

With a little community organizing, other local surge-affected neighborhoods were able to come and get supplies if needed. At the ramp, Gretenhardt and Art Shiver cooked for nearly three hours, serving what Gretenhardt estimates was more than 300 people.

“It was all so organized. There were 10 to 15 people helping everyone who needed supplies and different communities came at different times to not cause a rush. If you needed something you put down your address and some of the bigger items were raffled off,” recalled Gretenhardt.

“It was completely smooth and everyone stayed happy. We had power at the ramp so people could eat and watch the Bucs game. It was amazing the support that came together.”

“When you can call your neighbors for help and in 20 minutes so many show up to unload a 53-foot trailer and a box truck, God is amazing,” said DuBord. “In times like these, it brings out the true heart in so many and I’ve been in tears with joy since.”