Editor’s note: Lane Sutton, Haskell’s Healthcare Market Construction Leader, recently led the Charlotte office’s effort to provide meals and relief to Lake Lure, North Carolina, a small mountain town devastated by Hurricane Helene in late September. The effort embodied Haskell’s core values of Team, Excellence, Service and Trust. With Lane’s permission, Haskell.com is republishing his thank you note to his Charlotte colleagues.

TEAM,

You will likely see a LinkedIn post from Haskell soon, but I wanted to take the time to share my gratitude and the story firsthand. I want to sincerely thank every single one of you (and your spouses) who helped with this effort. We had roughly 30 people who were involved in this effort in some form. We also had a few Novant personnel join us Friday for serving.

The overnight smoke and lunch rode the momentum of the prep, with all three being huge hits. We estimate to have served approximately 325 meals in Lake Lure, ranging from residents and first responders to crew members for recovery efforts. Having really no idea of how many we were feeding, we swung for the fences and had some items left over. Those leftover items were promptly donated to the Shelby Presbyterian Adult Ministries.

It is truly hard to put into words the true impact of the event. We saw and connected with people who were fighting to overcome the most daunting of challenges in the aftermath of the storm. Some were emotionally grateful for the support and meal. Some were huggers. Some were sharers of their story. Some were committed to helping by shuttling meals to others who simply could not make their way to us for whatever reason. Some shared how good the meal was as they hadn’t had many complete meals since the storm. Some shared they are only eating one meal a day, which is the continental breakfast being provided by the hotel they were staying in. ALL were truly appreciative of the SERVICE.  

I genuinely believe that breaking bread with others is one of the most effective ways to cultivate relationships, share experiences, show love, build TRUST and break down barriers of almost any kind. The experience last week very much exemplified that for me. I have smoked a LOT of BBQ in my life, thousands of pounds through the years, and have enjoyed the process of every pound. There is just something special about the process that calms me (story for another day). However, I can honestly share that this was the most rewarding experience I have had with BBQ because of what it meant to those individuals we fed and how we, as a TEAM, came together to pull it off with EXCELLENCE. Some have probably heard me share that I plan to retire from Haskell (in 53.978 years). I have a lot of passion for who we are as a company and what we achieve day in and day out, and I can honestly say I have never been prouder to work for this company than I was Friday when I could step back and witness the impact of our efforts.

At Haskell, we passionately share the belief that we create things that matter. I cannot think of something that matters more than what we were able to pull off last week in Lake Lure. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU for all you do to make this such a special organization to be a part of Haskell.

Lane

You can help 

Autumn is the peak tourist season in the picturesque mountain towns of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock, but most local businesses are still not operating. Send a donation by following this link to the town’s official website.