When Hurricane Harvey struck the Houston area in late August, a number of our employees stepped in to help their community. Darryn Lindsey, Area Operations Manager, Hanson Aggregates worked with fellow Hanson managers, Sean Steagall and Jake McCurry, to rescue people in a nearby flooded neighborhood. The team used a boat from the Brazos plant to pick up and evacuate more than 25 people.

“We knew the neighborhoods in the surrounding area were going to get flooded, just based off the weather forecasts,” said Darryn.

Ready for the worst, Darryn knew that he had to take action to help those in need. “We thought there might be an opportunity to help,” said Darryn. “The need was so great that there just weren’t enough emergency responders to evacuate everybody that needed to be evacuated.”

Darryn and his team also worked hard to prepare area locations for potential flooding. As a result, damage to the Houston sites was minimal and the facilities were able to resume operations quickly.

"We’re pretty good at anticipating floods,” said Darryn. “We’ve learned a lot of lessons over the years, mining along these rivers.

Darryn was awarded the Agg Man of the Year 2017 award by Aggregates Manager magazine for his efforts and leadership.

In addition, Steve Wild, Vice President & General Manager of Campbell Concrete and Materials, worked closely with the team from a nearby Martin Marietta facility to coordinate the shipment and distribution of three 50-foot trailers loaded with donated supplies from Florida. The items were transported to a central location and distributed to those in need.

“These items were mostly things like baby formula, sanitary products, sheets, towels – the types of things that really help people to feel normal after a tragedy,” Wild said. “We may be competitors with Martin Marietta in the business world, but the thing about this industry is that we’re all good people who look out for one another first.”

Thanks to Darryn, Sean, Jake and Steve, for helping their communities during this time of need. Their efforts are an outstanding example the company’s and the industry’s dedication to giving back to the communities where we do business.