A Local Hero: Randy

Randy spent over a week rescuing his neighbors from rooftops and attics. He faces eviction from his FEMA trailer while he awaits a promised insurance payment.

Randy was loading his truck, ready to evacuate, when the water appeared around his feet. Within seconds, the water was up to his thighs. He quickly climbed to a roof. Shortly thereafter, he realized his elderly neighbor may need help, and Randy almost drowned trying to reach him.

Luckily, Randy survived and he evacuated the neighbor by boat to a local shelter. That was the beginning of Randy's rescues. He spent the next nine days taking a boat throughout the county to assist his neighbors - evacuating them to shelters and finding food and water to ensure their survival.

Randy's mother was in St. Rita's Nursing Home when Katrina hit. She was one of the last residents evacuated via Blackhawk helicopter. Many elderly residents of St. Rita's perished in the floodwaters.

For more than nine days, the people of St. Bernard Parish were left to fend for themselves with no outside aid. Randy was part of the local effort to take care of their own. Then volunteers started arriving to lend a helping hand.

He wants all the people throughout the country to know how grateful he is that they care enough to give their time, money, and help to the people of St. Bernard Parish.