An Ugly Storm’s Silver Lining: Unity and Compassion
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| Steve Syfan, Exec. VP |
This past September, I was sitting in the stands at North Hall High School watching a Friday night football game on a Saturday afternoon.
A severe hurricane named Helene caused the schedule change. The storm had been predicted to cross directly over us. However, our county was extremely lucky. Helene shifted eastward at the last moment, leaving us with little damage. Unfortunately, our good news was bad news elsewhere.
Watching the game, I suddenly started receiving a flood of text messages and phone calls notifying me of vast damage in surrounding areas.
One text was from Debbie Norris with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office several miles away. She had been getting calls from South Georgia residents in desperate need of supplies and asked if we could provide trailers for their community to fill. Our company responded quickly, delivering the first trailer in hours. It was our first exposure to Helene’s devastation, and we soon learned its impact was even greater than imagined.
The following day, we devised a plan to deliver five or six trailers of relief items to areas in eastern Georgia, South Georgia, Tennessee, and western North Carolina. Through local press and social media, we asked our Hall County community for help. Within a day, we received more donations than we ever expected.
There was only one thing to do — keep accepting supplies and loading more trailers for the overwhelming number of small towns and rural areas in need. Our Syfan Logistics team, along with numerous volunteers, did just that for the next two weeks. We ended up sending more than 40 trailers and over a million pounds of canned goods, water and other donations.
The immense amount of support from our community was extremely humbling and heartwarming. Individuals and local companies alike showed we didn’t need to wait for the government to solve our issues and help our neighbors.
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The majority of supplies came from individuals, while local businesses donated equipment such as generators and coolers. Koch Foods and Gold Creek Foods donated poultry products while J&J Foods donated numerous pounds of food for free or at wholesale prices.
Simpson’s Trucking and Grading donated a Bobcat for debris removal in Lake Lure, North Carolina. Wilheit Packaging donated a plethora of boxes to create family packs of necessary supplies. Several churches, including Gainesville First United Methodist and Asbury Chapel, served as drop-off sites. Wahoo Baptist Church in Murrayville donated 150 new generators, a truckload of bottled water, and a full trailer load of canned goods for us to deliver to Anchor Baptist Church in Pisgah Forest, NC.
I want to sincerely thank each and every individual and business who donated what they could during our relief campaign. Your generosity means more to me than you will ever know.
Weeks later, the relationships our company and family formed with local churches and Sheriff’s departments of the affected areas remain strong. I still talk with some of them every day — not about the hurricane but about the power of God in our daily lives.
Now, our challenge is to remember the unity we shared as a community during this relief effort. I urge everyone to keep working together to help our fellow man in any way possible.
Our Team, Our Community… Coming Together To Help
Team Member Spotlight: Steve Reed
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| Steve Reed |
To say Steve Reed spent two weeks on a forklift would be an exaggeration, but only a slight one.
During our Hurricane Helene relief effort, Steve was one of the many Syfan team members who spent long days unloading, sorting, and then loading donations. Steve manned the forklift throughout the operation.
“He was on the forklift loading and unloading every day,” President Greg Syfan said. “Whenever I was out there, he was there.”
It started as a plan to send three trailers of donations to areas decimated by Hurricane Helene. It turned into a two-week effort that sent 40 trailers to towns in Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Steve was stunned by the amount of donations that came in.
“We were not expecting to do anywhere near what we did,” Steve said. “We were only supposed to do three or four trailers. We ended up doing a lot more than that. People were just coming in left and right with loads and loads and loads of donations. It was pretty awesome.”
Steve has worked for the Syfan family for 20 years and describes his job as whatever they need him to do. For a couple of weeks, it was driving a forklift.
“I would have just kept on going with it if they wanted me to,” said Steve. “We were enjoying doing what we were doing and knowing what we were doing it for.”
Syfan Logistics Receives Chamber’s Humanitarian Award
Syfan Logistics was honored with the first-ever Humanitarian Award from the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce on November 20 at the Industry Appreciation Luncheon.
The Chamber’s Industry Appreciation Selection Committee created the award after witnessing Syfan Logistics’ Hurricane Helene relief efforts and made the company the inaugural winner.
“We are immensely proud to present the Humanitarian Award to Syfan Logistics,” said Kit Dunlap of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce. “Their unwavering commitment to helping others and willingness to go above and beyond is truly commendable. They exemplify the spirit of compassion and selflessness that we value in our community.”
Syfan Logistics was honored for spearheading a community-driven initiative in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Recognizing the urgent need for assistance, the company swiftly mobilized its resources and rallied the community to provide much-needed supplies to affected areas in Georgia and North Carolina.
“The dedication and generosity of our community have made a significant impact on the affected areas,” said Steve Syfan, Syfan Logistics executive vice president. “We are blessed to live where people see a need and want to help. We are thankful for our Syfan team members who spent countless hours sorting supplies and loading them on trailers.”
As a central gathering point for donations, Syfan Logistics played a pivotal role in coordinating relief efforts. The company generously offered its fleet of trucks and dedicated drivers to transport a staggering 40 loads of essential supplies to 32 towns in the affected regions. The community’s generosity and Syfan’s organizing efforts ensured that vital resources reached those who needed them most, providing much-needed relief and support to the affected communities.
Members of the Syfan Logistics team accept the 2024 GHCC Humanitarian Award.
DRIVER Spotlight: Tami and Bob Chamberlain
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| President Greg Syfan, left, thanks Tami and Bob Chamberlain before the couple heads out on a relief delivery. |
A former Californian, Tami Chamberlain once asked her husband, Bob, if he had ever been to Atlanta. He replied, “Atlanta where?”
That was back in the 1990s. Tami’s father had been diagnosed with colon cancer, and he wanted to retire on the East Coast. One plane ride later, the couple left sunny California and have lived in Georgia, near Lake Lanier, since 1993.
Bob and Tami eventually started their own independent trucking business — and have partnered with Syfan Logistics for about a decade. Their successful partnership began after a recruiter approached Bob while his truck was undergoing repairs at a Syfan mechanic shop.
“They took us in like family,” said Tami. “We’ve never felt like just a truck driver.”
The Chamberlains particularly appreciate Syfan’s Christian business values. Bob shares that “Syfan Logistics is a faith-based company. Through the years, seeing their faith has caused my own to grow.”
This past fall, Bob played an important role in Syfan’s relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Helene.
Initially, our executive vice president Steve Syfan, who thought there would be only three loads of donated supplies, asked Bob if he would take one. However, the abundance of community giving resulted in 40 loads, and Bob hauled six of them.
Bob expressed his amazement at Syfan’s ability to direct and organize such a large-scale operation — and his gratitude for being a part of it. Bob and Tami are adamant that the praise for the success of the relief efforts belongs to God.
“We’re just His messengers,” says Tami.
Bob and Tami have two sons, Ryan and Eric, and seven grandchildren. Ryan and his family live in Albuquerque, N.M., where Ryan is stationed in the Air Force. The rest of the Chamberlains currently reside in Lawrenceville, Ga.