On August 25th, 2017, Hurricane Harvey torn through Rockport, TX leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. This was the strongest hurricane in the US since 2015. Towns were destroyed, homes were in shambles, and communities broken. In times like these, it is more important than ever for a community to come together and support one another, and Ace Hardware was there to do just that.
When disaster strikes, it does so unexpectedly, halting life at a standstill counting on the community to come together and pick up the pieces. Phil and Barbara of Salemi’s Ace Hardware knew that to help rebuild their town, their store was going to be a vital tool in providing the support and necessities needed. They recognized that in situations like these Ace Hardware becomes more than a hardware store and switches to an essential business. Therefore, even with their own set of losses and damages, Phil and Barbra We should double check the spelling of Barbara knew they had to push through and keep their store open to help the community. Bob, one of the store managers, comments on the importance of their customers being able to lean on Ace saying, “It was kind of a place or a community place where everybody knew they could come here and they could get a hug or a handshake or just someone to talk to.” When life is disrupted as suddenly as it was during Hurricane Harvey, people need hope and a way to restore the damage. Ace has always been a place of hope for communities in the past and will continue to be so forever. Richard, a long-time customer at Ace Hardware, shared his appreciation of being able to depend on Ace in such an unpredictable time saying, “Ace to me was just a saving grace to help not only myself, but the community.” Opening your own Ace Hardware franchise means more than just being a store, it means being a pillar in your community even in the darkest times. Phil and Barbra We should double check the spelling of Barbara making the decision to keep their Ace open and be a sense of normalcy and security in all the chaos represents at its core what Ace is all about, being the helpful place with the helpful hardware folks.
