“It was very clear that we were on the bottom of costs of landing at Gregg County airport, and that’s good in a way, but it costs a great deal of money to operate that airport. Some things you just can’t keep low forever, some of the fees we raised today,” the judge says.

When it comes to recovery efforts, emergency responders from East Texas are already in Florida. “It’s a long road but all of our volunteers and all of our staff are willing to make it just to make the lives of Floridians a little bit easier,” said Doyle Rader, regional communications manager of the American Red Cross.

Hands on a Hardbody began as a contest in Longview at a Nissan car dealership, and it attracted national attention. “It’s a real honor to do it here and to be the first one to do it in this area,” says Tim Mitchiner, Director of Hands on a Hardbody at Tyler Civic Theater.