CommUNITY Works! Residents and Businesses Partner to Power Through Winter Storm

In late March, thousands of residents in Fremont found themselves without power after winter decided to have a last hurrah, two days before the official arrival of spring.  Power lines down. Electricity off. For some, the outage lasted a few hours. For others, days. But within minutes, the community rallied together in an effort to provide as much help as possible to those who were impacted, from clearing snow to serving hot meals. 

The Greater Fremont Development Council (GFDC) applauds the collaborative effort of the community to work together to provide as many resources as possible to all who were affected. 

Calm in the Storm

Within two days of the outage, the Greater Dodge County Long-Term Recovery Group was activated, which is a collective designed to quickly respond to any number of disaster scenarios whose participants include: 

• Fremont Area United Way
• Methodist Fremont Health/Fremont Health Foundation
• Fremont Area Community Foundation
• Fremont Family Coalition
• Fremont Family YMCA
• City of Fremont
• Salvation Army of Fremont
• Fremont Ministerial Association
• Trinity Lutheran School and Church
• Care Corps LifeHouse
• First Lutheran Church
• Fremont Public Schools
• Dodge County Sheriff’s Office
• Dodge County Emergency Management
• Fremont Habitat for Humanity
• Three Rivers Public Health Department
• Fremont Area Habitat for Humanity
• Rebuilding Together-Platte Valley East
• and more!

“I’ve been told time and again from people who are new to the community that Fremont is unique in how collaborative it is. It’s just second nature to us. I have a list of people I call who are on speed dial, and they have me as well.

This is just who we are and what we do,” said Fremont Area Community Foundation executive director and Recovery Group member Melissa Diers. One of the first action items was to identify and prioritize the resources that were needed most: blankets, flashlights, batteries, water, diapers, and pet food. Within a short amount of time the Recovery Group also established warming stations as well as charging areas for personal and medical devices. 

“The City of Fremont's participation in the Greater Dodge County Long-Term Recovery Group fosters a coordinated response to recovery efforts after disasters, like the recent March 19 winter storm,” said City of Fremont’s executive assistant/grant coordinator Angie Olson. “This partnership enriches resource sharing, supporting more effective management of recovery resources. This unification allows us to increase our impact.”

The Recovery Group was further supported by the generosity of local restaurants, Lincoln Premium Poultry and Fremont Beef, enabling the provision of grab-and-go meals over several days.  A group of local residents also donated 22 pounds of beef that were cooked and distributed as hot sandwiches to Fremont Department of Utilities crews. 

The Power of CommUNITY

“The rapid response of the Recovery Group in setting up warming stations, charging stations for medical devices, and meal distribution demonstrated a collective commitment to the immediate needs of the community,” said Olson. “The efforts of organizations like Fremont Area United Way and Care Corps LifeHouse were amplified by the support of local restaurants, community members, and businesses. This spirit of collaboration highlights how everyone came together for the common goal of response and recovery and underscores the resilience of Dodge County.”

It also reinforced the tireless efforts that residents and business owners were willing to weather until the storm had passed.

“We put out information about resources as well as needs during a disaster like this. Our community likewise has always stepped forward and responded. We saw that happen in a beautiful way with this power outage in March. We had a number of businesses and individuals supporting each other, working arm and arm,” said Diers.