Broad Channel Man Pays It Forward to Hurricane-Devastated Asheville

By Katie McFadden

As the 12th anniversary of Hurricane Sandy passes, we’re reminded of the utter destruction from that day…and then the help that came after. Many are reminded of it after watching any massive weather event unfold, devastating another part of the country. That was the case when Billy Grillman of Broad Channel watched the destruction unfold around Asheville, North Carolina due to Hurricane Helene in late September, and he knew they needed help. Paying it forward, Grillman has been filling his pickup truck with supplies and making multiple trips down to Asheville to help those in need down south.

On September 26 and into September 27, North Carolina and surrounding states were inundated with heavy rains from Hurricane Helene, causing an unexpected effect of flash floods sliding down the mountainous region, taking homes and hundreds of lives with it. “I felt so bad for them. We went through this with Sandy, and I was listening to the news, and it didn’t seem like anyone was doing anything for those people, so I decided to get something going. It’s like payback for what people did for us during Sandy,” Grillman said.

For Grillman, the effects of Sandy are still fresh, even though it’s 12 years later. On the night of October 29, 2012, he was in his Broad Channel home when the water took over the first floor, forcing his family to the second story. In the days after, Grillman, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam and a longtime stagehand, started to clean up and remove the sheetrock himself, with the help of his nephew and son. However, as he ultimately went with the city’s Build it Back program to help restore his home, it wasn’t until 2019 when Grillman was finally able to return to his home, seven years after the storm.

After going through that, he knew those in North Carolina could use a hand, and now being retired, he has the time. After returning from Vietnam, Grillman was stationed in Fort Bragg for a while, so he had some familiarity with North Carolina. But he didn’t know anyone in the Asheville area, so he went to a source he was familiar with to try to connect with someone to bring help—the Veterans of Foreign Wars. “I belong to the VFW post in Broad Channel. So, I was trying to call the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in Asheville, and I kept getting an answering machine, telling me that the building was there, but they must’ve been too busy to answer the phone,” he said. But it gave Grillman a destination point.

With a location in mind, he started purchasing things he knew the hurricane victims in Asheville would need. “I paid for the whole thing myself and loaded the truck up with generators, baby diapers, formula, water and clothes,” he said. And about two weeks after the storm, he left Broad Channel, plugged the Asheville VFW into his GPS, and set out for the 1,400-mile, 11+ hour trip, making a stop about 100 miles away to sleep in a hotel and refuel before heading into ground zero.

Even with having seen his own town be destroyed by a major hurricane, Grillman was floored by the scene as he got closer to Asheville. “It’s really a mess down there. Sandy was terrible. It was really bad, but Sandy was a walk in the park compared to this,” he said. “I really couldn’t believe it. We had the water come in and the water went out. With them, the mud came in and mud doesn’t go out. Even on the highway, you can see where all the trees fell down and had to be cut, and the debris along the roads.”

While Grillman was stunned by the devastation, those at the Asheville VFW, which was still standing, were happy to see him and his truck full of necessities. “They were happy. They really were because of all of the diapers I had. They didn’t have any there and they said, ‘we can sure use this,’” Grillman recalled. And they left him with an idea of what they needed next. “After the first trip, they were asking for cleaning supplies,” Grillman said. “I asked, what kind of cleaning supplies, bulldozers?”

As Grillman returned from the short trip, his Broad Channel and Howard Beach neighbors were already hard at work, gathering supplies for the next one. “I paid for the first trip myself but as people started hearing about it, they started taking up collections, and the VFW I belong to made a nice donation and a lot of people started giving me money, including family and neighbors,” he said. “My mother-in-law mentioned it to my cousin, Eddie O’Hare, and next thing I know, his garage was full of stuff. He has connections with the West Hamilton Beach Fire Department, so they started collecting supplies too.”

With more funds, Grillman was able to buy some cleaning supplies and other needs, and with the other supply donations, he once again filled up his truck and in the early morning hours of Friday, October 25, he made the trip to Asheville once again. And this Friday, he’s ready to head out for round three. “I promised I would be back this week because there was a little old lady that came up to the VFW, asking for dog food and they didn’t have any. This man, Larry, that I met there, said he would get dog food. I told him to get a week’s worth, because I’ll be back next week with a year’s worth for her,” Grillman said. Plus, he’ll have even more. “It’ll be a lot of cleaning supplies and clothes. After I left from the first trip I made, it snowed there the next night. You look at the way people are dressed down there and it’s getting cold and they’re trying to put on warmer clothes, but everything is mixed and matched,” he said.

Grillman says he’ll keep making trips until the donations run out. “Right now, I might have enough for about four more trips, and it’ll depend on whether the donations keep coming because I can’t afford to keep paying out of pocket. The gas alone is over $200 every trip,” he said. But making the trips has been rewarding. “I feel good about it,” Grillman said. “I just remember what people did for us after Sandy and I’m paying it back.”

If anyone would like to help Billy Grillman in his efforts, donations can be made at the Broad Channel VFW (713 Shad Creek Road) or at Ruffle Bar (919 Cross Bay Blvd.). He’s also looking for volunteers to help split the drive and keep him company for the long trip.