It’s odd now that we all have our lives pre-tornado and post-tornado. While I’m still sorting out what still needs to get done from my pre-tornado life, I know for a fact what life is like post-tornado.

It’s hundreds of our students and staff out in the community helping our neighbors clean up from this disaster.

It’s a baseball team that spent several hours a day cleaning up the community, squeezing in practicing for the state tournament.

It’s staff who have volunteered counseling services and any other talents they have to help the community.

It’s an email to all staff saying the community needs help and then seeing them trickle in wherever needed.

I have never been more proud to work for this school district.

It can be a little cliché to say “the community is coming together” after a natural disaster. But in no case does that apply more than in Marshalltown. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it on Summit Street, Main Street, Woodbury Street, 17th Street, Fremont Street, Bromley Street and in our schools and businesses.

It will still take some time for our community to heal from this and there is still a level of uncertainty. But I know this for sure — there are no other neighbors I would rather take on this task than the ones standing beside me.

——

Andrew Potter is the Communications Director for the Marshalltown Schools.