A street in North Carolina destroyed by floodwaters as a result of Hurricane Helene. Photo by Steve Neuliep, CGCS
Editor’s note: The GCM team will be doing our best to maintain an up-to-date feed of announcements and resources on this page. If you have additional updates to share, please email Andrew Hartsock or Abby Olcese.
Friday, Oct. 4
Aerial data collection company Mapware is offering a significant discount on their services to superintendents in the process of recovery and damage assessment in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
According to the company, Mapware's services can assist with the following needs:
- Damage assessments for insurance claims
- Identifying tree and erosion damage
- Evaluating structural damage to clubhouses, shacks, cart paths and more
Mapware says their Daytona Beach-based team is ready to mobilize to help with course recovery. Interested superintendents are encouraged to contact Jacob Schwarm or Lita Watts.
Thursday, Oct. 3
Communities in North Carolina, South Carolina and eastern Tennessee are recovering from extensive damage caused by Hurricane Helene after the Category 4 storm made landfall Sept. 26.
“It’s worse than anything I’ve ever lived through or seen,” Tim Kreger, executive director of Carolinas GCSA, says.
The GCSAA Foundation is raising money through its Disaster Relief Fund and GCSAA is helping local GCSAA Chapters source needed supplies and materials to aid members affected by Hurricane Helene. The GCSAA Foundation is looking for additional support for its disaster relief fund to assist members. Please click HERE to donate.
Allen Storie, GCSAA Class A superintendent at Hound Ears Club in Boone, NC, and 13-year GCSAA member, has been helping with recovery efforts in Avery County, NC, where homes along Highway 19E, including those of several golf course employees, lost access to roads when the bridges connecting them to the highway were washed away in the storm. To assist the relief efforts, any donations of bridge materials and or bridge expertise are being sought.
“The golf industry in the high country is a huge part of our economy,” Storie says. “A lot of employees can’t get to their facilities to help the golf courses and their communities recover.”
Replacing the bridges will help residents access needed storm recovery and medical care and help employees at area golf courses access resources to help their own recovery efforts.
In addition to receiving support from the GCSAA Foundations’ Disaster Relief Fund, Kreger says that the Carolinas GCSA has also received donations from organizations and local associations that it will distribute to affected members, their families and crews.
Advanced Turf Solutions shared on X (formerly Twitter) that they will take donations of needed items at their store locations until the end of the day on Friday, Oct. 4. Collected items will be shipped to the company’s Winston-Salem location to be distributed to those affected. Visit the Advanced Turf Solutions website to find a store location.
According to Kreger, immediate material needs include:
- matches
- stick lighters
- flashlights
- bottled water
- canned goods (pop-top)
- bread
- peanut butter
- jelly
- ground or instant coffee
- can openers
- toilet paper
- paper towels
- 20lb propane tanks
- batteries
- over-the-counter medications (i.e. first aid materials)
- charcoal grills
- camp stoves
- zip-top bags
- trash bags
- tarps
View the Carolinas GCSA social media for additional information and updates.
The Ohio GCSA has also partnered with Advanced Turf Solutions to collect items through Friday.
For additional information on how to donate funds or items to victims of Hurricane Helene, visit the following websites:
GCSAA will continue to provide support in coordinating the dissemination of information through GCM Online and other communication vehicles.
— Abby Olcese