By Don Coble, Senior Reporter

I learned on Monday that I will be alone on Christmas. I should be sad, but I’m not. Nancy received a text message from Team Rubicon, a veteran-based organization that specializes in disaster response, that she’s needed in Jamaica. 

I want Nancy to be home on Christmas. Jamaica needs Nancy to be with them on Christmas. Needs are more important than what I want. 

Nancy retired as the Deputy Director of Emergency Management of Gwinnett County, Georgia, nearly three years ago. It’s considered a part of metropolitan Atlanta with 1.1 million residents. 

The term “retirement” is used loosely. She started with Team Rubicon in 2022, and she’s been a volunteer since. With her background, she apparently has special command skills that go well beyond my level of understanding. I know she’s on Zoom calls four or five times a week, and she remains on call seven days a week. 

Nancy loves using her knowledge to make a difference. That’s why I step back and let her do her thing. It gives her purpose, and it makes a difference to thousands of people who are hurting. 

Three weeks ago, she was in Alaska. Did you hear about Typhoon Halong? I didn’t. But it was a 107-mph storm that did widespread damage in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in early October. More specifically, it destroyed 56 indigenous villages as the brutal Bering Sea winter approached. 

Team Rubicon to the rescue. 

Volunteers rushed to replace the floors of flooded raised houses. She spent more than two weeks there organizing work crews, who had to do repairs in bitter weather and in remote areas. 

She’s also been deployed to Augusta and Douglas, Georgia, following Hurricane Helene. She was sent to Punta Gorda following Hurricane Milton. Team Rubicon also installed smoke alarms in homes in Baker County and AED stations in Clay County. They help with Wreaths Across America and Veterans and Memorial Day ceremonies at Jacksonville National Cemetery. 

I’m still working full-time, and her retirement schedule is as busy as mine. 

After unpacking from her trip to Alaska, she’s now headed to a completely different environment. The damage is significant; the desperation is absolute. 

But help is on the way. 

The only payment she wants is the faces of families who finally sleep on a mattress, or who, for the first time in weeks, have a roof over their heads or a hot meal. She said that it makes her feel she’s been paid in full. 

I will miss Nancy on Christmas morning, but I will have joy in my heart because I know she’s doing the work that spotlights the true spirit of the season. 

Merry Christmas, baby. I’ll keep the Christmas lights on until you get home.