Student-athletes from West Texas A&M University and their coaches took a bus from Canyon to Perryton at 7:00 a.m. on Aug. 2. 20 students from the football and volleyball teams and 10 football coaches spent hours on Wednesday helping the city that was devastated by a tornado this summer. 

The WT volunteers were welcomed by Kerry Symons, Perryton’s mayor, who joined them for the day’s work. 

“Well, we lost 418 homes, 92 businesses,” Symons said. “It went from one end of the town all the way through the other. It lasted seven minutes; it was on the ground. Seven minutes going through town.” 

The athletes’ work detail began by unloading supplies from temporary storage onto trucks. One team of volunteers built a temporary fence around the community grocery distribution ministry.

“It’s just about being the helping hands that we’re needed to be,” Ainsley Malis, a sports and exercise science major on the volleyball team, said. 

The volunteers took food and hygiene supplies to Perryton’s north side, where some remaining houses were patched with tarps. The tornado hit the north side quickly, with little warning, and destroyed several homes and vehicles. 

“I think it’s really imperative that, you know, a football team that represents West Texas needs to be there when West Texas needs them,” Chris Watkins, a graduate assistant with the football team, said.  

Wayne Floyd, Ochiltree county chief deputy and emergency management coordinator, worked alongside the WT athletes. 

“The support that we received has been very overwhelming,” Floyd said. “There’s a lot of good people that have came to help us, so we’re so appreciative, you know, things like this. There’s no way we could have got this done like we’re gonna get it done today.” 

Terry Bouchard, Ochiltree county sheriff, also participated in the day’s work. Bouchard said that although the number of volunteers has tapered off the Perryton community is still rebuilding. 

“So now those have kind of gone, we’re on our own,” Bouchard said. “And our community, which is fantastic, our community pitched in just as soon as the storm cleared; people were out clearing roads, clearing debris out, just whatever needed to be done.” 

Kimberly Dudley, assistant athletic director for leadership and one of the project’s organizers, said that WT athletes, coaches and directors have “a heart to serve,” especially within the Panhandle.

 “This is my husband’s hometown; I grew up 45 minutes down the road,” Dudley said. “So, this is personal, and when you grew up in the Panhandle, you just take care of each other. You know, when one hurts, you all hurt, and you just take care of each other.” 

Although rebuilding efforts require more volunteers for physical labor, Perryton as a community is stronger than ever, according to Bouchard. 

“Well, there’s a slogan, ‘Perryton Strong,’ and we are,” Bouchard said. “We’re a very strong community. We help each other out.”