When asked about the memories of his time working in Joplin, David recalled, “It was very sad and disheartening to see the disaster area, specially the hospital.” There is nothing you can do to prevent that disaster except pick up the pieces.”Īlthough deeply saddened by the decimation and loss of life, David’s training allowed him to take the long, 14-hour days in stride, hold his emotions at bay and save his strength for those who needed it. “Most of the people that I worked with were seasoned responders who were well aware of what disasters are. Any time you have the very first part of a disaster, the first thing you do is to secure the clients in safe housing and tend to their needs.”ĭavid and his team of volunteers did it all from unloading trucks, serving food, managing traffic in shelter parking lots to working in the shelters. “Thirty-five years in law enforcement helped,” he said. He was ready to do any and every job asked of him.Īrmed with a long career in law enforcement, and some two decades of Red Cross experience beginning with the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, David Meade was well equipped to handle the rigorous demands of the immediate recovery efforts. With a city in shambles after the twister and people stunned and trying to get their bearings, David knew there was much to be done and no time to waste.
He drove down to Joplin, checked in with Red Cross headquarters and as he succinctly puts it, “started to work, doing what needed to be done.” American Red Cross volunteer David Meade did not hesitate when he got that call to deploy the morning after the EF-5 tornado had ravaged Joplin, Missouri.
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