Amanda Murphy

Good morning loves, I want to shine a little light on this darkest of weeks. If you live in NC, humanity won Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Secretary of Public Instruction. OH and broke the super majority in the House of Representatives, which is a big deal. I imagine this might be true in other states here in America as well. If so, please share about it! We all need the light.

It’s time for us to talk community resilience. I'm starting to talk with my communities of people to learn what their skills are and make sure we have one another's contact information.

This is not a time for panic, this is a time for calm, strategic decisions. We have more in common with our neighbors, no matter how they voted, than you think. And we need one another. I need you.

Love ya'll, mean it. Take good care.

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Ya'll. I spent this week learning and hearing first hand about what is happening in multiple counties in the western part of my state, North Carolina. I know you are seeing the devastation on the news. I wanted to also share what I'm hearing firsthand.

I heard that entire water systems are completely closed, these water systems can serve anywhere from 100,000-150,000 people. I heard of stories of grocery stores being empty and owners unable to get more food for the community because of road closings. I heard stories of gas being out at all gas stations and owners only accepting cash because cards don't work unless there is power. I heard stories of families taking baths by hauling buckets of cold pond water to hot tubs, and relying on neighbors for well water as they are completely out of water and/or the water has a boil advisory because of contamination. I heard stories of folks having to leave messages on white boards at homes and at fire stations for other community members. And AM radio is back in this as the cell phone towers and wifi are not working. The worst story I've heard is that community members have watched their friends die in the flooding and there was nothing they could do.

The western part of the state is in distress. They are asking folks not to drive up there. If you want to send money, I highly recommend trusted places like the Red Cross, the NC Department of Environmental Quality website, https://www.deq.nc.gov/, they have a button at the top with a link to donate to help rebuild these destroyed water systems, or send money if you know local agencies in the area with boots on the ground.

For the rest of us not in distress, I urge you to prepare for these storms and their increasing intensity. It can take rescue groups days to find folks. I highly encourage you to purchase things like water purification tablets, flashlights, candles, a whiteboard to leave outside your house for messaging, an AM radio, extra water for a couple of days, grill with propane tanks or fire pit, canned food. Make yourself a disaster kit, and do not, I repeat, do not selfishly empty shelves with hoarding behavior like during COVID times, you know who you are.

And finally, are you able? If so, how can you serve your community, how can you support building community. Do you know your neighbors? These people can and will be a lifeline in times of emergency. We can and will need one another.

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I'm super excited about this upcoming webinar series I get to work on. The webinar is scheduled for November 14th at noon EST. Please share this FREE event. We would love to have as many folks in attendance as possible. We have a limit of 500 attendees, so be sure to sign on early on the day of the event. Note: From the Forestry Webinar Portal page, click on "Export to Calendar" to save this awesome event in your personal calendar.

You can’t succeed in an interview without the skills to compete. The National Woodland Owners Association has partnered with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) to increase awareness of forest/woodland opportunities to underserved landowners / farmers. This first webinar of our series will be for students, alumni, university extension, academic researchers, and landowners to learn about career development. National Woodland Owners Association ABAC School of Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://forestrywebinars.net/webinars/workforce-opportunity-series-career-development/webinar_view/