Bulldogs pitch in to clean up damage after Seward storm

Damaged trees and fallen branches in front of Concordia’s Weller Hall on N. Columbia Ave. show the impact of a severe thunderstorm that struck Seward in the early hours of Aug. 9.

By Nora Betts and Kai Olbrich

Photo credit: Tobin Beck

Concordia students quickly pitched in to help with the cleanup after an early morning thunderstorm moved through Seward on Aug. 9 with 90-mph winds that severely damaged trees, homes and vehicles and caused widespread power outages.

There were 267 students on campus, many of whom were student athletes back early for pre-season practices and team building, according to Concordia Chief Operating Officer Kim Boyce.

Men’s soccer players during storm cleanup. (From left to right) Adrian Wambua, Grant Wells, Ricards Busmeisters, Oliver Benson, Nolan Fuelberth, Jason Payne, and Jasper Hofland. Photo submitted by Jason Payne.

More than 250 of them woke up and went out into the community to clean up the damage and serve their neighbors wherever they were needed.

Cathy Grummert Zabrocki said the Bulldog football team members helped remove a tree that fell across two driveways.

“When I saw them walking down the street and arrived, I had an inkling who they were before they even told me,” she said. “I asked if they were the Concordia football team and they said yes and I was very happy to see them! They were all angels among us that day!”

Jennifer Robbins also was grateful for the cleanup help. “These six young men walked up to our house, where multiple large trees and huge branches had landed on our house, power line and truck,” she said. “They saw us cleaning up from the destruction and instantly pitched in.”

Senior football player Carson Fehlhafer said the storm cleanup fostered servant leadership and teambuilding among his teammates.

“Coach Osten said it best: ‘Nobody took a snap today and we got better as a team,’” said Fehlhafer. “This is good because our coaches want us to get more out of the program than just playing football. They want us to be servant leaders and help others when we can, and this was a great time for us to do something to help others.”

Bulldog football players help with storm damage cleanup in the community on Aug. 9. Photo submitted by Jennifer Robbins.

Fehlhafer said the football team may have missed a scrimmage, but they still worked hard.

“The storms caused us to miss our Saturday scrimmage, but we as a team went out and helped the Seward community,” he said. “I think I ran a chainsaw for four to five hours and I know there were guys out cleaning up pretty much the whole day that day.”

Candy Herrold said she is thankful for the Bulldog football players who cleaned up her yard and those of her neighbors.

“It was so refreshing to see young people that were concerned about other people in this day and age,” Herrold said. “It was beautiful, it really was. I hope that they know that the people of Seward truly appreciated all that they did, because they helped out in many, many places.”

Bulldog football players spent hours cleaning up storm damage across Seward on Aug. 9. Photo submitted by Mark Case.

Senior men’s soccer player Ryan Brown said he was happy to give back to the soccer program and the university through his hard work.

“It was kind of eye-opening, seeing everybody who needed help and, you know, with all the free labor that we have, we were able to give back and get it cleaned up right away and help anybody who needed help,” said Brown.

Helping the community was also a good lesson for the new student athletes, Brown said.

“It was a good opportunity to show the new guys some new faces around campus, and show them kind of like what hard work means here, and you can’t take everything for granted,” he said.

Football coach Patrick Daberkow was proud of how his team responded, with a desire to help the community in the aftermath.

Volleyball players help clean up storm damage. Pictured are Tessa Reitsma, Sadah Willey, Clara Evert, Makenna Starkey, Lily Psencik, and Lauryn England. Photo submitted by Tommy Zke Matzke.

“Before I had even sent that [a team message] out, we already had guys who were lifting branches off of cars and helping people in the local neighborhood, just south of campus, get out from underneath all the stuff that was burying their yard and their house,” he said. “And so we had multiple crews all over town throughout the day. I don’t remember anybody stopping for lunch. It was an early, long day, but it was very rewarding to see our guys really just step up and just go serve.”

Senior women’s soccer player Savannah Andrews said the storm affected everyone on her team and in the community in some way, but her teammates grew closer despite the difficult situation.

“Some teammates had trees destroy their homes and cars,” Andrews said. “It was truly devastating. Many of us lost power for hours as well. With all that being said, we stood by each other and helped one another, whether it was cleaning up branches and trees or giving someone a place for the night because they were out of power. Our coach [Nick Smith] made sure we were all safe as well, despite his kitchen flooding.”

Andrews said that handling the storm damage and cleanup “really brought us closer together as a team and as a family.”

Fallen trees north of Ruth Hall. Photo submitted by Tobin Beck.

CUNE President Bernard Bull said in a release that the storm was challenging for the Concordia community, especially with preparations underway for the fall semester and the athletes already on campus. “But this situation also provided an opportunity the Concordia community to come together to share the love of Christ while serving both our campus and our neighbors in the Seward community,” he said.

Campus Chaplain Rev. Ryan Matthias said he loved witnessing the community and camaraderie around Seward while the electricity and internet were out.

“I hadn’t seen people just get outside and talk like that for years, maybe,” Matthias said. “I mean, everybody was outside, everybody was talking, and then everybody helped each other.”

Matthias said he appreciated how Concordia’s coaches and student athletes responded to the disaster. “To cancel practice and to say ‘the community needs you’ is pretty awesome,” he said.

Power was out for days in Seward and surrounding communities and the cleanup continues.

“It was incredible to have so many Concordia students helping with the community clean-up the past week! Their efforts have been incredible and their servant leadership and servant hearts have shown through since the storm hit,” said City Council President Jessica Kolterman. “Concordia had been such a special part of our community and their efforts have not gone unnoticed! With Christ-centered leaders like these as a part of our community, we are truly blessed!”

All students, faculty and staff present during the storm were safe, but the campus property sustained damage. Power was restored fully to campus by noon on Aug. 10, but CUNE had generator power that kept key IT functions running during the outage.

The Bulldog football team helped remove a tree that fell across two driveways. Photo submitted by Cathy Grummert Zabrocki.

Boyce said that nearly 90 percent of all trees on campus sustained some type of storm damage, 57 trees sustained significant damage, and 20 of the damaged trees have been or will be removed completely.

The only damage to campus buildings was a small area of siding on Jonathan Hall, a small area of the roof of the Thom Leadership Education Center, and a building that once housed a telescope behind the Walz Human Performance Complex, according to Boyce.

Boyce said he is grateful for the Buildings and Grounds workers, students, faculty and staff who helped with damage relief on campus. Two nonprofit service organizations, Lutheran Emergency Response Team and Team Rubicon, also spent several days cleaning up damaged trees on campus.

“We also had two nonprofit disaster relief organizations… that volunteered to come and help us cleanup, which is going to save the university thousands of dollars in what would have been cleanup costs,” Boyce said. “The benefit to that [for students] is that it allows us to use the money on exactly what we planned on using it for this year.”

As the Seward and Concordia communities continue their cleanup efforts, Boyce said he is reminded of God’s faithfulness.

“For the students who were here, they did an awesome job representing the university in the community,” said Boyce. “Even when things are difficult, God is faithful.”