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By Ron Fitzwater
The well-respected, High Country-based, international relief
organization Samaritan's Purse held an official ribbon cutting
and open house at its new North American Disaster Relief Headquarters
in North Wilkesboro, Thursday, Feb. 26. The organization has
been running disaster relief operations out of the building
since last summer.
Some local residents will know the property, located at 411
Elkin Highway, as the old Coca-Cola bottling plant. But now,
the building produces something that brings more than smiles,
help for those who need it most, when they need it most.
Since 1998, the North American Disaster Relief Team has answered
the call when hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms and fires have
hit 69 separate locations across the country, responding with
an emphasis on assisting those most in need such as the elderly,
disabled, uninsured and economically disadvantaged.
Samaritan's Purse, which has long been based in Boone, is
an international Christian relief organization that provides
immediate, "no-red-tape" assistance to meet the physical
and spiritual needs of people left in the wake of a natural
disaster with special emphasis on the people located in hard
to reach areas where few re-lief organizations are working.
Samaritan's Purse has conducted operations in more than 100
countries providing aid to victims of war, dis-ease, disaster,
poverty, famine and persecution.
But the reason for celebration on Thursday was to open, the
North Wilkesboro headquarters building to the community and
celebrate the hard work it had taken to make the facility come
together.
Calling the donation of the building to the organization "a
tremendous gift," Samaritan's Purse president and evangelist,
Franklin Graham, recognized chief executive officer of Coca-Cola
Bottling Co. Consolidated in Charlotte, Frank Harrison, for
the donation.
"I noticed that the building was sitting empty, so I
called Frank Harrison and asked 'Frank, what are you go-ing
to do with that building?' and he asked 'do you want it? I'll
give it to you.'"
Harrison is a member of the board of directors for the Billy
Graham Evangelistic Association and a staunch supporter of Samaritan's
Purse.
The new headquarters is now complete with office furnishings
donated from Bank of America, is staffed by both employed and
volunteer workers and is fully stocked with materials and equipment
needed to respond to almost any disaster.
As recently as two weeks ago, assistance was sent for the
severe food shortage among the indigenous peo-ples in Alaska.
During his address to the more than 200 supporters and workers
at the ceremony, Graham talked about the Alaskan mission.
"Last Friday, Governor [Sarah] Palin and I went throughout
Western Alaska to distribute food to a number of villages there,
it was coordinated and managed right here out of North Wilkesboro.
"Last week in the Yukon, we went to an Eskimo village
where the people were hungry. The leader of the tribal counsel
came and held the [relief supply] package in his hands and with
tears in his eyes said, 'if I had to go to a store and buy this,
it would cost me $400. Thank you for coming.'
"We respond out of this building to disasters in North
America. For us to be able to be a part of this commu-nity,
we feel blessed to have this facility based right here in Wilkes
County."
As for his part in the donation of the building, Harrison
explained that making the call to donate the prop-erty was "an
easy decision. Samaritan's Purse has the strongest and most
effective ministry I know of any-where. They are helping people,
and doing it in Christ's name. Having the opportunity to give
this building to the organization was a pleasure to me. I just
love what Samaritan's Purse does all over the world," he
said.
Luther Harrison, Director of North American Projects for Samaritan's
Purse, said the special day was the end of nearly a year's work
to get the facility ready to go.
"We had to get all of our materials and equipment here;
we have about 100 pieces of equipment that we take out for natural
disasters in the United States. Whatever the case is, we want
to get out there and meet people wherever they are and help
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