Reunited as K of C Volunteers

As Georgia Knights scramble to store, ship supplies, old friends reunite

SAVANNAH – It took a hurricane to reunite a couple of old friends.

When Hurricane Florence hit and supplies poured into the areas expected to take damage, State Deputy Mark Corrigan and Sal Gulo, the disaster response director for Georgia, searched for a place to store donations. They had to keep bottled water and canned food safe until it was needed.

Hurricane season forces Knights to get ready for the worst. Last year the Knights of Columbus raised more than $4 million to help hurricane victims in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. This year, Hurricane Florence is one of the worst disasters in North Carolina History. Knights of Columbus disaster relief teams prepared for the storm and now have supplies headed to the hardest hit areas.

Corrigan said he had little trouble finding friends who could store the goods for a night or two, but he needed a long term commitment. Mike Lyons, local grand knight and old friend, had spoken to Corrigan for the first time in a decade just days before, inquiring about a separate Knights’ activity. Corrigan reached out to Lyons’ brother, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Father John Lyons, asking if their old gym was available.

“Little did I know that they were renovating the old gym,” Corrigan said.

Gulo had contacts in FEMA and reached out to a warehouse in Savannah. Out of the hundreds of warehouses around Savannah’s port, they found a place owned by a man who was not only Catholic but also a grand knight.

“This is where the Holy Spirit comes in,” the state deputy explained.

When Gulo described the warehouse owner “named Mike” to Corrigan, he immediately knew that the last name had to be “Lyons.” Corrigan said he had no idea the grand knight ran a warehouse.

“What are the odds?” Corrigan said. “I hadn’t talked with him for years.”

Knights like Corrigan and Gulo are part of a national effort to provide relief and aid to victims of Hurricane Florence. Food, water and even diapers are all being delivered to affected residents of the Carolinas. You can help by donating here.