[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 38 (Monday, March 5, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E259]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TERRY VAUGHN, A HURRICANE HARVEY HERO

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 5, 2018

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute another of our 
Harvey Heroes. I want to recognize Terry Vaughn, district manager of 
pharmacy and retail operations for 14 Walgreens stores in the Lake 
Houston area where I live. As Hurricane Harvey hovered over the Houston 
area dropping up to 50 inches of rain in some parts, Terry and his 
Walgreens partners were watching and waiting like most Houstonians. In 
the wake of the storm, all but one of Terry's stores closed due to 
damage or impassable roads. The only store the Walgreens team could get 
to was the location on West Lake Houston Parkway and FM 1960--in my 
neighborhood of Atascocita.
  Terry lives one mile from the store. As the San Jacinto River rose 
and Lake Houston came out of its banks, a fellow team member's house 
was flooding so quickly she and her family of six had nowhere to turn. 
They walked through water to the Atascocita Walgreens where Terry and 
other volunteers met them with kayaks and transported them to Terry's 
home where Mitzi, his bride of 19 years, and their two boys provided 
the food and shelter the family so badly needed.
  The forecasts said this storm would be here for days. Since he could 
get to the store, Terry decided to open up the Atascocita location. 
Terry, three other managers, and Walgreens team members who couldn't 
make it to their own stores but still wanted to help, kept our 
Atascocita location's doors open through shortages of power and 
shortages of patience. The one thing they didn't have a shortage of was 
dedication to their community. Terry would wake up each morning, check 
the water level of Lake Houston to make sure it wasn't coming closer 
into his own home, then report for service.
  Mr. Speaker, during Harvey, Terry's store was the only continually 
operating Walgreens this side of the Gulf of Mexico. He partnered with 
the City of Humble to deliver life-saving medications to evacuees at 
the city's emergency shelter at the Humble Civic Center. He immunized 
40 local first responders to protect them from the flood borne diseases 
of tetanus and Hepatitis A; then took his immunizations on the road 
setting up first responder clinics at fire and police stations. Terry 
and his team immunized more than 1,000 people in two days.
  Virtually all Lake Houston-area grocery stores were closed due to the 
flooding. The stores were filled with water. Distribution trucks could 
not get to the area. As the storm damage continued, Terry led a team of 
Walgreens managers who with their own trucks (Texas trucks with plenty 
of lift to get through those waters, Mr. Speaker) went to 13 other 
Walgreens and gathered household supplies, diapers, baby formula, and 
medical supplies to distribute at the operational Atascocita location.
  For days Terry kept answering the calls and kept serving. One of 
those calls was from United Airlines who had personnel and displaced 
passengers stuck at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Terry and his 
Walgreens team fulfilled an order of more than $30,000 in supplies and 
delivered it straight to the tarmac. Was there a bright spot in all 
this for Terry? He told me, ``Seeing people come together and my team 
working non-stop without breaks--with their own families going through 
the worst times--we showed up to help our community and put our own 
issues aside.''
  Mr. Speaker, those who know Terry know he has a servant's heart. He 
is active with the Lake Houston Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scouts, and 
Humble Area Assistance Ministries. Terry started with Walgreens as a 
cashier more than 21 years ago. He has performed every job in the store 
and worked his way up to be a district manager. On August 18 as 
Hurricane Harvey ravaged and flooded our area, he was called upon to 
once again do every job. And he did. And he makes us proud to be 
Texans.

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