Virgin River/Santa Clara River Flood Relief, Inc

The Foundation 

The Relief Quest: "The Fund Raising & Distribution Efforts Come Together."  On Friday, January 28, a meeting was held in the City of St. George Administration Building in an effort to focus the various activities of community members to help flood victims. It was decided that the Virgin River Santa Clara River Flood Relief, Inc. (VRSCRFR) would be the entity which would collect all funds raised by community members in charitable enterprises and charitable efforts thereafter. In addition, VRSCRFR was selected as the entity that will disburse the funds on a needs basis to the victims of the flood. The entity has been organized as a non-profit, charitable 501c3 organization.

The mission of the Virgin River Santa Clara River Flood Relief Corporation is to be completely independent of any other organization, that it will be short-lived, that it exists solely to collect funds to relieve the needs of those left in need by the flood, and to disburse those funds in a fair manner.

Part of the corporate challenge was that VRSCRFR would be as broad-based in the community as possible. The organization invited a number of different people to participate as trustees and as members of committees, necessary to accomplish its mission.

The Virgin River Santa Clara River Flood Relief, Inc. officers are:  David Watson, President; Michael Day, Vice-President; Morris Peacock, Treasurer; Carolyn McDonald, Secretary.  All Trustees & Committees

Donations can be made directly by the public to accounts that have been set up to assist flood victims at any of the participating St. George area Banks and Credit Unions. Donations can also be made on-line through the www.utahfloodrelief.com website.  All funds will be consolidated to the VRSCRFR for distribution to the flood victims.

The Project

"Portraits of Loss - Stories of Hope" a book and DVD set is one of these fund-raising projects to assist flood victims. The brainchild of local investment advisor Lon Henderson of Soltis Investment Advisors, this project will be a key contributor to the broader effort to raise donations for flood victims. Henderson stated, "This book will be "perfect-bound" and include 140 pages of color photos, editorial and first-hand accounts from those directly affected by or involved in the aftermath of the flood." Soltis Investment Advisors donated the initial funds to produce the book, and Lon contacted local business and community leaders to form the group that is dedicated to see that this book and DVD are available for distribution for contributions during the Parade of Homes.

Doug Bringhurst, president of The Village Bank, announced recently that four community banks in St. George have joined together to add $40,000 to a fund to help cover the printing costs of this memorial book and DVD fund-raising effort. According to Bringhurst, "This project evidences the devastating physical losses and tells the inspiring human stories of those whose lives it has changed. We are excited to be involved in a project of this magnitude which is being produced with donated time, services, materials and funds." The Village Bank, SunFirst Bank, State Bank of Southern Utah and Far West Bank have committed $10,000 each to the publishing of this memorial book and DVD.

Writer Lyman Hafen served as the book's editor and coordinated the gathering of editorial content with assistance from Doug Alder. Alder had 17 oral historians collecting tape-recorded accounts from around the area. From that point, 8 - 12 people transcribed the contents and send it to Hafen for editing. Local photographer Nick Adams served as the photo editor and reviewed thousands of photos from local photographers and community residents deciding which ones were included in the book. Alan Griffin of TenneyClemons served as art director and directed a group of volunteer graphic designers from St. George to layout the book. Hal Hilburn, of PhotoAir Productions and Kelly Nyberg, of InfoWest coordinated the DVD portion of the project. All parties came together to donate their time, talents and services to produce this book - the proceeds of which will help relieve the financial stress of families and individuals who lost their homes during the flood.

Committee members who assisted in the production of this book and DVD include Lon Henderson, Lyman Hafen, Nick Adams, Doug Alder, Hal Anderson, Gail Bunker, Alan Griffin, Brian Tenney, Kim Hafen, Mary Jo Hafen, Hal Hilburn, Kelli Holmstead, Bryce Hunt, Larry Gardner, Brent Low, Marc Mortensen, Kelly Nyberg, Lorri K. Puchlik, Kenneth Hinton, Dave Hawk, Russ Clove, Jill Ence, and Carol Sapp.  Read Larry H. Gardner's comments in "Making of a Miracle in the Binding of A Book."

Donations will continue to be received at all of the community bank offices for this project and for other fund-raising efforts. The first printing of 10,000 was available for distribution by February 18th and were available for donations at various locations and at some of the Parade of Home locations.   This  first printing was nearly sold out in two weeks.  A second printing of 5,000 has been ordered and the books and the DVDS will be available about April 15th.  The book and the DVD can be ordered online.  CLICK HERE TO ORDER A BOOK & DVD NOW

This project is funded completely through volunteer services and generous donations received, including those from Soltis Investment Advisors and the four community banks. "Thanks to the generosity of everyone involved, 100% of all book and DVD proceeds will aid the flood victims," stated Henderson.

"Portraits of Loss/Stories of Hope" Contributors

PORTRAITS OF LOSS  |  THE FOUNDATION  |  FUNDS RAISED  |  PROGRESS TO DATE 
EVENTS/MEDIA  |  CONTACT US  |  ORDER A BOOK & DVD  |  MAKE A DONATION   
PORTRAITS OF LOSS/STORIES OF HOPE CONTRIBUTORS |   CONTRIBUTORS