By Mindy Nelson, RedRover Responders volunteer

I did the RedRover Responders training in Illinois in 1994, and very shortly afterwards the flood hit in Liberty, Texas. Oddly enough, I had a plane ticket to Texas because I was going on a long weekend vacation - but instead of going on vacation, I deployed to the disaster. The memories are as vivid as ever:

By Jeane Westin
From Northern California flood response, 1997

I guess I’d grown cynical. Over the years the wrong presidential candidates were elected, vicious crime seemed to dominate the news of the nation, and in my own neighborhood a depraved cat torturer was on the loose. I wasn’t always an enthusiastic booster of the human race. Until Saturday, January 4, 1997.