Volunteer Voice: Gene Williams

Gene Williams accepts the Governor’s Volunteer Stars award from Miss Tennessee for 2013.

 

Heart of Tennessee Chapter volunteer, Gene Williams, was recently selected to receive the Governor's Volunteer Stars award for Bedford County.  The Governor's Volunteer Stars Awards is an initiative from Volunteer Tennessee that seeks to recognize one outstanding youth and one outstanding adult volunteer from each of Tennessee's 95 counties.

Williams has been a member of the volunteer disaster action team for Bedford County since 2004 and currently serves as the Disaster Action Team Captain.

As the Bedford County Disaster Action Team Captain, Gene helps the local community to prepare, respond and recover from disasters of all sizes, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through its Disaster Action Teams (DAT). Always on call, DAT volunteers provide disaster relief aid to meet the emergency needs of people affected by house fires, storms, tornadoes, floods, transportation accidents, and man-made disasters. Assistance needed by clients is evaluated by case workers and may include shelter, food, clothing, emotional support, household items, prescription medication, and other critically needed items.

Williams has worked on several large national disaster relief operations and is also a certified emergency response vehicle driver. In addition to his service to the Red Cross, Williams also volunteers with Meals on Wheels, the Fly Cultural Arts Museum and Bedford County Amateur Radio Society. He is also a board member of the Bedford County Historical Society.

“I volunteer because I love serving my community and serving people,” said Williams.  “It’s not about me, it’s about helping others.”

Gene Williams surveys the damage in a rural community after the Estill Springs tornado in 2011.