Today marks two years since Helene devastated parts of East Tennessee and changed our communities forever. Looking back, I still find it difficult to process exactly what happened. We knew a significant flooding event was possible, but reading the forecasts beforehand and trying to imagine the scenario that eventually unfolded almost seemed unthinkable. Never did I think the river I played in as a kid would become something capable of taking lives, homes, roads, bridges and entire pieces of infrastructure with it. That river was the Nolichucky. As Helene moved through the region, tremendous amounts of water poured out of the mountains. Parts of western North Carolina received 12 to more than 20 inches of rain, with much of that water eventually draining into rivers flowing toward East Tennessee. At its peak, an estimated 1.2 million gallons of water per second flowed over Nolichucky Dam. Five state owned bridges were destroyed, dozens of sections of state highway were closed, communities were cut off, and thousands of people suddenly found themselves dealing with a disaster few could have imagined just days earlier. Here in Greene County, it quickly became personal for me. The flooding damaged water infrastructure serving much of the county. As that first day went on, many people didn't realize our water system had switched to a backup supply and that we would soon run out. Much of the county would spend days, and in some places weeks, without running water. Three bridges connecting the southern end of the county to the rest of the area were also lost. Trips that once took minutes suddenly took two or three times as long just to get into town for water, food and other basic supplies. During those first few days, I spent almost every waking hour gathering information and relaying it through social media and to volunteers. That's actually how many of you found this page. I'll always be grateful that during such a chaotic and unimaginable time, so many people trusted the information I was providing. But I also won't forget how difficult those days were. It seemed like every few minutes something else devastating was happening. Another road was gone, another bridge had failed, another community needed help, another person was missing. Something I will never forget is people didn't wait to be asked to help. Trailers loaded with bottled water and supplies began arriving. Neighbors helped neighbors recover whatever could be salvaged from flooded homes. Volunteers searched for the missing. Churches, businesses, and individuals opened their doors. It was a sense of community that I have never seen before. Ultimately, 17 people lost their lives on the Tennessee side of the disaster. Today we remember the people we lost and the people and first responders that stepped in.