ashley gallagher, a small business owner, turned her indoor skate park to a distribution center for foodwater, clothing, heaters, building supplies for neighbors. amy davis and her family provided tens of thousands of meals to hungry mcdowell county neighbors from their country store and cafÉ in old fort. ashley carpenter, excuse me ashley cook and freddie carpenter got food, propane tanks, heaters and anything else the people in avery county needed. none of the individuals i met cared a wit about the party registration they were helping. it never entered their minds. they stepped up helping neighbors. truly, i could stand here all day and list heroes who performed courage, decency, large and small. our people are good and ready to meet any challenge. they are north carolina strong. north carolina strong means supporting our neighbors in western north carolina the same way they are supporting each other. we must fast track getting people back to their homes as quickly as possible. we must support small business owners so they can keep powering our economy for decades to come. we must reb